Eiffel Tower

Paris, France

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:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Avenue Gustave Eiffel 8, Paris, France
See all sites in Paris

Details

Founded: 1889
Category:

More Information

www.history.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.toureiffel.paris
www.aviewoncities.com

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Notre Dame de Paris (4,1 km)
Louvre (3,2 km)
Sacré-Coeur (4,8 km)
Arc de Triomphe (1,7 km)
Grand Palais (1,6 km)
Musée d'Orsay (2,3 km)
Place de la Concorde (2,1 km)
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (2,8 km)
Conciergerie (3,7 km)


Château de Versailles (14,1 km)
Château de Fontainebleau (58,8 km)
Château de Chantilly (39,9 km)
Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes (10,5 km)
Château de Vincennes (10,4 km)
Basilica of St. Denis (9,8 km)
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (44,8 km)
Villa Savoye (20,8 km)
Château de Malmaison (9,5 km)

User Reviews

Crazy Thamizha (19 months 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 (19 months ago)
Iconic structure. Especially beautiful at night when lit up ☺
Mateusz Skorupski (19 months 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 (20 months 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 (20 months 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.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Nigel Swales

Historic Site of the week

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin and the only surviving royal residence in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Originally named Lietzenburg, the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. The inauguration of the palace was celebrated on 11 July 1699, Frederick's 42nd birthday.

Friedrich crowned himself as King Friedrich I in Prussia in 1701 (Friedrich II, known as Frederick the Great, would later achieve the title King of Prussia). Two years previously, he had appointed Johann Friedrich von Eosander (also known as Eosander von Göthe) as the royal architect and sent him to study architectural developments in Italy and France, particularly the Palace of Versailles. On his return in 1702, Eosander began to extend the palace, starting with two side wings to enclose a large courtyard, and the main palace was extended on both sides. Sophie Charlotte died in 1705 and Friedrich named the palace and its estate Charlottenburg in her memory. In the following years, the Orangery was built on the west of the palace and the central area was extended with a large domed tower and a larger vestibule. On top of the dome is a wind vane in the form of a gilded statue representing Fortune designed by Andreas Heidt. The Orangery was originally used to overwinter rare plants. During the summer months, when over 500 orange, citrus and sour orange trees decorated the baroque garden, the Orangery regularly was the gorgeous scene of courtly festivities.

Inside the palace, was a room described as 'the eighth wonder of the world', the Amber Room, a room with its walls surfaced in decorative amber. It was designed by Andreas Schlüter and its construction by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram started in 1701. Friedrich Wilhelm I gave the Amber Room to Tsar Peter the Great as a present in 1716.

When Friedrich I died in 1713, he was succeeded by his son, Friedrich Wilhelm I whose building plans were less ambitious, although he did ensure that the building was properly maintained. Building was resumed after his son Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) came to the throne in 1740. During that year, stables for his personal guard regiment were completed to the south of the Orangery wing and work was started on the east wing. The building of the new wing was supervised by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, the Superintendent of all the Royal Palaces, who largely followed Eosander's design. The decoration of the exterior was relatively simple but the interior furnishings were lavish. The ground floor was intended for Frederick's wife Elisabeth Christine, who, preferring Schönhausen Palace, was only an occasional visitor. The decoration of the upper floor, which included the White Hall, the Banqueting Hall, the Throne Room and the Golden Gallery, was lavish and was designed mainly by Johann August Nahl. In 1747, a second apartment for the king was prepared in the distant eastern part of the wing. During this time, Sanssouci was being built at Potsdam and once this was completed Frederick was only an occasional visitor to Charlottenburg.

In 1786, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm II who transformed five rooms on the ground floor of the east wing into his summer quarters and part of the upper floor into Winter Chambers, although he did not live long enough to use them. His son, Friedrich Wilhelm III came to the throne in 1797 and reigned with his wife, Queen Luise for 43 years. They spent much of this time living in the east wing of Charlottenburg. Their eldest son, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who reigned from 1840 to 1861, lived in the upper storey of the central palace building. After Friedrich Wilhelm IV died, the only other royal resident of the palace was Friedrich III who reigned for 99 days in 1888.

The palace was badly damaged in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1951, the war-damaged Stadtschloss in East Berlin was demolished and, as the damage to Charlottenburg was at least as serious, it was feared that it would also be demolished. However, following the efforts of Margarete Kühn, the Director of the State Palaces and Gardens, it was rebuilt to its former condition, with gigantic modern ceiling paintings by Hann Trier.

The garden was designed in 1697 in baroque style by Simeon Godeau who had been influenced by André Le Nôtre, designer of the gardens at Versailles. Godeau's design consisted of geometric patterns, with avenues and moats, which separated the garden from its natural surroundings. Beyond the formal gardens was the Carp Pond. Towards the end of the 18th century, a less formal, more natural-looking garden design became fashionable. In 1787 the Royal Gardener Georg Steiner redesigned the garden in the English landscape style for Friedrich Wilhelm II, the work being directed by Peter Joseph Lenné. After the Second World War, the centre of the garden was restored to its previous baroque style.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.