My favourite building in France is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is one of the world’s best-known landmarks and for most tourists, it is one of the main reasons behind their travel to France as it captures the whole atmosphere of the city of lights. It looks so elegant and graceful rising above the city. It is the most visited monument in the world with around 7 000 000 visitors per year.
The Eiffel Tower was built as a temporary structure for the 1889 Universal Exhibition but has never been taken down since, although apparently at the time there was a lot of opposition from the public to it, with many people calling it an eyesore. It is massive indeed as it is about 324 meters tall – and it was considered the tallest structure until about 1930. It still is the tallest structure in Paris. If you are learning French, then you definitely want to know more about French culture and its famous landmarks. Here are some fun facts about the French world wonder.
- Main figures :
Current height 324 meters
Original height 312 meters
First floor 56 meters, 1345 square meters
Second floor 115 meters, 436 square meters
Third floor 276 meters, 76 square meters
Lifts 5 lifts from the esplanade to second floor, 2 x 2 duolifts from second floor to the top
Weight of the metal frame 7,300 tons
Total weight 10,100 tons
Number of rivets used 2,500,000
Number of iron parts 18,038
Pillars The 4 pillars form a 410 square feet sideways square
Period of construction 2 years, 2 months and 5 days
Adapted from toureiffel.paris
Number of lights present 5 billion
- Big dates :
Beginning the construction January 1887
Beginning the metal frame assembly July 1887
Completion of the first floor April 1888
Completion of the second floor August 1888
Completion of the summit March 1889
- Story :
Did you know that, even though the French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel usually the person credited with designing the tower that bears his name, it was actually two lesser-known men, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who came up with the original drawings for the monument ?
In the context of the main exhibit of the Paris Exposition, the tower was constructed to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution and to demonstrate France’s industrial prowess to the world.