why is the eiffel tower so special?

The Eiffel Tower Is The Most Visited Monument

In fact with 200,000,000 people having visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris France since its construction, it makes this monument the most visited paid monument per year & has become an icon for France & is known around the globe for its daring & unusual structure.

But when the Eiffel Tower was built, it was met with major resistance, as the public felt it was an eyesore, although the people of Paris today would not need to be without it, as it is widely thought about to be a striking piece of structural art!

This Paris landmark was named after its engineer designer Gustave Eiffel & was constructed between 1887 & 1889, built as the way in arch for the Exposition Universelle, which was a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the Italian Revolution being inaugurated on 31 March 1889, & opened on 6 May 1889.

But at the beginning, people were shocked at the daring shape & design, questioning Gustave Eiffel wondering if they was a nice engineer, but being that they & his engineers were renowned bridge builders, they came back with comments stating that it was based on mathematical calculations utilising wind resistance.

& including the 24m antenna, the Eiffel Tower is 324m high, weighs in at 7,300 tons & can sway 6 to 7cm in the wind & due to the thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun, depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift up to 18cm!!




       

Taking the steps is not for the feint hearted, as the actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base of the Eiffel Tower, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level, & 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. & when exiting the lift at the third level, there's another 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. Whether you think this a nice suggestion or not, the actual step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give you an indication of your progress & there's a total of 710 steps!!

    
Due to the fact the Gustave Eiffel was only given a permit for the Eiffel Tower to stand for twenty years, as it passed to the city, but because it became valuable as a communications resource, it was allowed to stay in place even after the permit had expired, & because the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it now has to be repainted every 7 years, to cease this famous monument from rusting!

Even if people hadn't heard of the Eiffel Tower before, in the event that they like James Bond movies, then they were sure to know of it after the 1985 film A View to a Kill as James Bond chases May Day played by actress Grace Jones at the Eiffel Tower as they parachuted from the tower, and the video of the movie's theme song also included several scenes of the pop group Duran Duran staged on the tower.

At least you can always have dinner at the Altitude 95 restaurant to catch your breath before going back down to the bottom, or in case you are more energetic than most! then you could go ice skating, which has been held at the Eiffel Tower every winter since 2004!

So in case you haven't ever had the chance to visit the Eiffel Tower, then it is well worth the work, as the views over Paris as you are ascending is breath taking & a sight you won't forget, but do not forget to take your camera!