The 1063 feet (324 meters) tall, iron structure of the Eiffel Tower stands proud amidst the greenspace of Champ de Mars in the city of Paris – the heart of France.
Named after its creator Gustave Eiffel, the tower offers a breathtaking view to its visitors and its beautiful truss-based framework appear to be belonging to the third world.
With its first and second levels lined with restaurants serving delicious French food to the visitors, Eifel Tower is one of the most popular and most visited monuments in the world.
Some Figures & Facts associated with the tower:
- From its construction starting in the year 1887 to its public opening in the year 1889, the tower took a total of 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to be completed and the total weight of the tower is around 10,000 tons.
- There are over 100 cameras, about 1/3rd of them being infrared for night-time surveillance, are installed on the nooks and corners of the tower for keeping an eye on its security.
- At night time, 20,000 light bulbs, 5,000 on each side, light up the entire tower and it is illegal to click the tower’s photograph at that time.
- The tower is open 365 days a year for the visitors and has crossed the mark of receiving more than 250 million visitors, who come to enjoy the view, the food, the extreme sports and stunts that are offered at the tower.
- As protection against rusting, the tower is painted every 7 years in 3 tones of the paint colour with lightest shade at the top and darkest at the bottom. It takes around 15 to 18 months and 60 tons of paint, as heavy as the weight of 10 elephants, to complete the job.
- The tower’s height alters with heat to up to 15 centimeters and it sways in the wind. In 1999, during a storm the tower moved about 13 centimeters from its initial position.
- The tower has elevators to each level, at the time of World War II, during Hitler’s France-visit the elevator cables were cut so that he had to climb all the 1665 steps to reach to the top.
Truth is stranger than fiction – Some crazy Facts about Eiffel Tower:
- The nick name given to the Eiffel Tower is same as that of Margaret Thatcher – the Iron Lady.
- The creator Gustave Eiffel wanted to save his name through this project after failed Panama Canal project. Later he even designed some interior elements of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
- Gustave even built a small apartment for himself on the top level. It is now open for public.
- The project of the tower was originally meant for Barcelona in Spain but was rejected there.
- Eiffel Tower was intended to be a temporary entrance arch built for the World’s Fair exposition at the Champ de Mars. It was supposed to be demolished in 1909 but was its usability as a giant radio antenna saved it from the demolition.
- The tower has even been “sold” to a scrap metal dealer, of course by a con artist named Victor Lustic.
- In 2007 an American woman Erika La Tour Eiffel, “married” the Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel is Eiffel Tower’s French name).
- London got so envious of Eiffel Tower’s height that in 1891, it built a structure taller than Eiffel which before it could be completed fell down in 1907 due to its unsteady framework.
