Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - SpottingHistory.com

The Eiffel Tower (La tour Eiffel) is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world.

The tower is 324 metres tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to assume the title of the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. Because of the addition of the aerial atop the Eiffel Tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Not including broadcast aerials, it is the second-tallest structure in France, after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second. The third level observatory's upper platform is 276 m above the ground, the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. Although there are stairs to the third and highest level, these are usually closed to the public and it is generally only accessible by lift.

References:

Wikipedia

Top historic sites in Paris

User Reviews

Crazy Thamizha (2 years ago)
Fantastic monument that everyone needs to see in their lifetime. Mind blowing architecture with restaurants and lifts on it. It has three floors. Entrance is free for everyone to roam around the Eiffel Tower but one has to pay to climb on it. Either you can take the stairs to climb or you can take the lift. One Adult has to pay 25 euros to go to the third and last floor of the Eiffel tower where you’ll get an awesome complete view of Paris. Worthy watch.

Amy Louise (2 years ago)
Iconic structure. Especially beautiful at night when lit up ☺

Mateusz Skorupski (2 years ago)
Magical place. Definitely best work of Gustave Eiffel. Trademark of Paris! Worth visiting at sunset, make sure to check out during light show, quite impressive! Even though queues are really long, the view from the top is breathtaking. If you're in Paris you have to see Eiffel Tower (at least be in the area). There are river tours nearby as well (great way to discover Paris bridges).

Geoffery Smith (2 years ago)
The Eiffel Tower is really cool. Our tour guide gave us so many historic details from when it was built to when they put in elevators. It’s very unique because it doesn’t fit into the skyline, but it is very intricately constructed. My daughter Samantha and I loved the view from the top, and the glass floor above ground. It also has gift shops. Just don’t buy from street vendors since it’s illegal. Buy from the legit shops. Anyways, this is one of my favorite places in all of Europe and it is a great setting with many views of the river, France’s Statue of Liberty, and the city across from Paris where there is a modern Arc de Triumph right in front of the old one. This is an absolutely fantastic place to go with family, friends, and even kids. It’s worth going to Paris just to go. Anyways, if you go anywhere in Europe, Paris is the most beautiful place you can visit. Please, please support this place by going there and getting a ticket.

ganesan ganesan (2 years ago)
Extremely breathtaking. Totally worth every minute. I never thought I would spend more than 3 hours in a place like this. But we did. We visited the first floor which has a restaurant, a cafe, and outdoor seating even in the winter. It's an igloo type of seating area to shield you from the cold. The restaurant doesn't open until dinner time. So we didn't get to eat there. In the second floor, it is very high up. We enjoyed the sights since we got there right before sundown and stayed until dark. They also have a cafe in the second floor, the coffee was good, and the macaroons were to die for. When we went to the first floor we went down the steps from the Second Floor, it wasn't that bad since it was going downhill , but on the way back up they told us we couldn't go up the elevator again so we had to go up the steps, that was a hike. The light show started at 6 p.m. And then every hour on the hour after that.

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Historic Site of the week

Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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