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.

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User Reviews

Crazy Thamizha (3 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 (3 months ago)
Iconic structure. Especially beautiful at night when lit up ☺

Mateusz Skorupski (3 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 (4 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 (4 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.

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Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

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