Culture
The Eiffel Tower is 130 years old
Who has not heard of the Eiffel Tower, also known as the Iron Lady (Dame de fer), the building the most visited in the world!
Especially beautiful at night, at sunsets, during its nightly illuminations and for the New Year & 14th of July celebrations, the tower has brought much interest. There have been many painting exhibits, concerts on and under it on the Champ de Mars and books published about it. The actor Pierce Brosnan, famous for his James Bond movies, even had the chance of a private visit in 2007.
This year the Eiffel Tower is 130 years old. There is a free exhibit under the tower until November 24th.
The Eiffel Tower in numbers:
- It took 2 years 2 months and 5 days to build from July 1887.
- It was inaugurated for the Universal Exhibit in Paris on the 31st of March 1889.
- When finished in 1889 and till the death of its builder, Gustave Eiffel, in 1923, it was still the tallest building in the world with 312 meters.
- There are 1665 steps to go up the Eiffel tower if you don’t take the lift.
- The tower has 4 pillars.
- The Eiffel Tower weighs 10,100 tons.
- 7 Million people visit the tower each year.
- 300 Million visitors since 1889
Desc: View of Exposition Universelle (Universal Exhibition), Paris, France, 1889, engraving ¥ Credit: [ The Art Archive / MusŽe Carnavalet Paris / Dagli Orti ] ¥ Ref: AA371361
- Every 7 years, it is freshly painted. From March 2009 to September 2010, the tower paint job cost about 4 Million Euros.
- 20,000 lights are needed for the illuminations
The Eiffel Tower is the French landmark. It is nice to revisit every once and a while, so remember if you have not been there yet, stop by even if it is to only admire it from the ground. It is quite something!
