Eiffel Tower

Introduction

Peaking at about 330 meters tall, the Eiffel Tower is easily one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. Weighing around 10,000 tonnes, it has earned the names of the Tall Lady, the Beautiful Lady and the Tall Iron Lady. Standing tall for over 130 years, it took nearly 150-300 builders to construct it and 18,000 pieces were used.

History

Built on July the 1st 1887, it took nearly 21 months to build. Gustave Eiffel took the name of the tower, however Emilie Nougier and Maurice Koechlin were the original designers of the tower. Surprisingly, the Eiffel Tower was built for the world fair, which was being held in Paris at that time, as that year's focus was iron and steel. It quickly became the main attraction of the fair. But the process of building the structure, was truly fascinating. Wooden scaffolding was used to hold up the pillars and small steam cranes were mounted onto the tower itself.

Significance

The Eiffel Tower symbolises France's collective imagination, in movies and graphic arts, but also literature and poetry. Themed lights are also lit up to honour the victims of dramatic events around the world. The tower also acts as a summit broadcast station to over 12 million in habitants of the île de France. Remarkably, the tower was originally used as a laboratory for testing.

Tourism

Over 6 million tourists rush to Paris each year to visit the iconic Eiffel Tower. Currently sitting at the top of the most visited landmarks, it's often recommended to be seen in the morning and at dusk. However, you are only allowed to visit the second floor and the opening and closing times are strict, 9:30 AM to 11:45 PM during winter, and in summer 9:00 AM to 12:45 AM.

Features

4 pillars each form a 38 square meters sideways square. With 5 lifts from the esplanade to the second floor, it currently stands at a whopping 330 meters. Nearly 2,500,000 rivets were used and 18,038 iron parts were used. Surprisingly, the Eiffel Tower was made put of iron, not steel.

Conclusion

Structures like the Eiffel Tower are truly interesting however there are still many natural landmarks that are just as magnificent. In France, there are the Provence Lavender Fields and in Australia, there is the Daintree Rainforest. It's crucial that we preserve all of these wonderful landmarks.

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