Top 13 Fascinating Facts about the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower attracts around 7 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited landmarks in the world. However, French nationals make up only 13% of the visitors, with the majority being international tourists, particularly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy.

Its impressive height and unique design dominate the Paris skyline, making the Eiffel Tower a major tourist magnet. The fate of the tower is intertwined with that of Paris, the capital of France, and its owner. It has become a focal point for national events, including the grand fireworks display on Bastille Day (July 14), national celebrations, and large-scale sporting events.

Visitors can view the Eiffel Tower from multiple vantage points throughout Paris and its surrounding areas. It has been photographed, painted, filmed, and recreated in various forms of media. It has become an iconic monument, immortalized in the collective imagination, films, graphic art, literature, and poetry, symbolizing France for all who visit.

The elevators at the Eiffel Tower, dating back to 1889, are still in use today. However, by November 2011, only two of the original three elevators for visitors were operational, which impacted the number of visitors to the tower. The modernization of the Eiffel Tower's elevators was initially expected to take two years, but the project exceeded expectations, taking an additional four years to complete. The renovation of the hydraulic system alone cost a staggering 36 million euros.

The elevator upgrade project began in October 2008, and the work on the western elevator was completed in 2014. To ensure the tower's modernity was balanced with its historical integrity, the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) prioritized a solution that would best preserve this heritage. The chosen approach would return the elevators to the original hydraulic principles designed by engineers in 1899, while also integrating a modern, automated system.

This solution is in line with a sustainability policy aimed at reducing carbon emissions. The renovation included an environmentally friendly hydraulic system and improvements that significantly reduce water consumption during cooling. With the same power consumption (300KW), the upgraded elevators will be able to carry 110 passengers (up from 92 currently) at a speed of 2 meters per second.

The Eiffel Tower is the most iconic landmark in Paris, and one of the most recognized in the world. Since the early 20th century, it has inspired the creation of over 30 towers with similar designs across the globe. Some of these replicas are surprisingly close to the original! Replicas of the Eiffel Tower can be found in various locations worldwide, including Las Vegas (USA), China, Romania, Copenhagen (Denmark), Varna (Bulgaria), and Aktau (Kazakhstan).

The oldest replica of the Eiffel Tower is the Blackpool Tower in northern England, built in 1894 and standing at 158 meters. Another attempt to replicate the tower was made in London with the Watkin's Tower, which was never completed. The largest replica (165 meters) and perhaps the most famous one is located in Las Vegas.

However, one of the most surprising replicas is found in the village of Parizh, Russia. It is actually a mobile phone antenna built in 2005, which closely mimics the original. Asia is also home to many Eiffel Tower replicas, with the most famous one in Tokyo, built in 1958. Standing at 333 meters, it is 9 meters taller than its Parisian counterpart.

The French were initially very displeased with the presence of the Eiffel Tower, and some groups of architects and scholars even signed petitions to oppose its construction. They called it a ‘useless’ and ‘monstrous’ structure. However, over time, the Eiffel Tower transformed into a symbol of France, and whenever people think of France, they immediately think of the iconic tower.

Even before its completion, the tower became the center of much controversy. Surrounded by criticism from some of the greatest names in literature and art, the Eiffel Tower stood firm and eventually achieved the success it deserved. Many flyers and articles were published in 1886, and on February 14, 1887, protests were held against the artists.

The protest against Monsieur Eiffel’s tower, published in Le Temps, was sent to the Director of the World’s Fair, Monsieur Alphand. It was signed by notable figures from literature and art such as Charles Gounod, Guy de Maupassant, Alexandre Dumas Jr., François Coppée, Leconte de Lisle, Sully Prudhomme, William Bouguereau, Ernest Meissonier, Victorien Sardou, Charles Garnier, and others, who, in hindsight, were not as kind as history would have liked.

Even with the antenna on top, the Eiffel Tower reaches a height of 324 meters, making it the tallest structure in France today. Out of 107 projects, the design proposed by entrepreneur Gustave Eiffel, along with engineers Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier, and architect Stephen Sauvestre, was chosen.

In June 1884, engineers Emile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin, both from the Eiffel company, conceptualized the idea for a very tall tower. The design resembled a large lattice column with four working trusses separated at the base and joined at the top. At the summit, the sections were interconnected by additional metal beams placed at regular intervals.

The tower project was a bold extension aiming for a height of 300 meters, the equivalent of 1,000 feet. In September 1884, Eiffel registered a patent for 'a new structure allowing for the construction of metal supports and hangers capable of exceeding 300 meters in height.' To make the project more acceptable to the public, Nouguier and Koechlin enlisted architect Stephen Sauvestre to create the tower's aesthetic design.

The various metal parts of the Eiffel Tower are joined by rivets, a precise building technique used during its construction. Initially, the pieces were assembled with bolts in the factory, and these were gradually replaced with rivets, which were heated and installed. As the rivets cooled, they contracted, ensuring a perfect fit. A team of four workers was needed for each rivet: one to heat it, another to hold it in place, a third to form its head, and a fourth to hammer it into place. Only about a third of the 2.5 million rivets used in the tower were installed on-site.

The tower's pillars rest on concrete foundations several meters deep, placed over compressed gravel. Each corner is supported by a unique base, which exerts a pressure of 3 to 4 kilograms per square centimeter. These blocks are connected by walls. On the Seine River side, builders used waterproof metal caissons and pumped compressed air into them to allow construction below water level.

The assembly of the Eiffel Tower was done using wooden scaffolding and small steam cranes attached to the structure. The first phase of construction used twelve temporary wooden scaffolds, each 30 meters tall, along with four larger scaffolds standing 40 meters tall. After the initial stages, hydraulic jacks and sandboxes were replaced by fixed wedges to precisely position the beams. By December 7, 1887, the main beams had been assembled on the first level. These beams were hoisted into place by steam cranes, which moved up the tower along tracks that were also used for the tower’s elevator system.

The iconic symbol of Paris was originally painted yellow. However, between 1953 and 1961, the tower was coated in a reddish-brown color. Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is repainted to prevent rust, requiring around 60 tons of paint each time it gets a new coat.

Made of iron, the Eiffel Tower is protected from oxidation by several layers of paint to ensure its longevity. The tower has been repainted 19 times since its initial construction, with an average repaint cycle of every seven years. Over time, its color has changed, from reddish-brown to earth yellow, then chestnut brown, and finally to its current copper color, with a slight shine added to the upper parts to make the color appear uniform against the Paris sky.

The Eiffel Tower’s paint colors over the years: 1887/88 – "Venetian Red" was applied in the workshop before assembly. 1889 – A thick layer of reddish-brown paint was applied. 1892 – The tower was painted in "earth brown". 1899 – A five-color coat was used, with a matte finish transitioning from orange-yellow at the base to pale yellow at the top. After this repaint, a seven-year cycle for re-coating was established. 1907-1917-1924-1932-1939-1947 – A color called "yellow-brown" was used. The 1917 repaint was delayed due to the war. 1954-1961 – A new color, "reddish-brown", was applied. From 1968 onward, the "Eiffel Tower Brown" was chosen to blend with the Parisian landscape, using three shades with the darkest at the bottom and the lightest at the top.

The Eiffel Tower played a crucial role during World War I, particularly in the Battle of the Marne in 1914. From its summit, commanders were able to send signals to direct the French troops on the front lines. For over 130 years, the Eiffel Tower has been a powerful and unique symbol of Paris and France as a whole. Initially built for the 1889 World’s Fair, it amazed the world with its scale and bold design, symbolizing French ingenuity and industrial prowess.

As a globally recognized monument and a unique tourist attraction, the Eiffel Tower has remained a steadfast part of daily life for Parisians and the surrounding suburbs. Standing at a height of 324 meters, it is visible from all over Paris and beyond, both day and night, until 1 AM thanks to its lighting system. Its sparkling lights and the beam of its beacon reach up to 80 km, covering a full 360 degrees. The Eiffel Tower has witnessed and sometimes been part of key events in French history, both glamorous and tragic.

In its early years, the Eiffel Tower served as an effective laboratory for scientific experiments, notably for wireless telegraphy, which saved it from being demolished after its initially planned 20-year lifespan. The tower is also closely linked to advancements in radio and television technology. The transmission facilities and equipment installed at its summit have broadcast all digital terrestrial TV and radio channels to 12 million residents. Today, the lights of the Eiffel Tower are turned off at night to honor the victims of dramatic events around the world. More than just a symbol, it has become a medium for expression for the city of Paris and for all of France.

The Eiffel Tower was constructed between 1887 and 1889 by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel, who owned a company specializing in building metal structures. Gustave Eiffel is credited with many significant metal works across Europe, including the Porto Viaduct (Portugal), the Garabit Viaduct (France), and the Budapest Railway Station (Hungary).

His company, located in Levallois-Perret, close to Paris, also built the metal framework for another world-famous monument: the Statue of Liberty (New York, USA), designed by Auguste Bartholdi and presented as a gift to the United States to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence in 1886.

The foundations of the Eiffel Tower were completed in just five months, with 21 workers assembling the metal parts of the structure. Considering the rudimentary tools available at the time, this was an extraordinary speed. The assembly of the tower was a marvel of precision, as historians from that era have unanimously agreed. Construction began in January 1887 and was finished by March 31, 1889.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Eiffel Tower became a massive billboard, adorned with signs for the Citroën automobile company on three of its sides. From 1925 to 1936, as twilight descended upon Paris, a quarter of a million colored lights on the tower's clock tower illuminated the 30.48-meter tall (100 feet) vertical letters spelling out the name of the French carmaker, Citroën.

This glowing advertisement could be seen from up to 20 miles (approximately 32 km) away. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh famously used it as a beacon when he landed in Paris after his solo transatlantic flight. The giant billboard remained on the Eiffel Tower until the Citroën company went bankrupt. Interestingly, the reason for their bankruptcy was the astronomical electricity bill generated by the enormous sign!

The original purpose of building the Eiffel Tower was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution (1789 – 1889). It was later constructed to serve as a key attraction at the 1889 Paris World's Fair. The fair spanned the entire Champ de Mars in Paris, with a central focus on massive iron and steel structures, marking the industrial advancements of the era. The Eiffel Tower was initially called the 300-meter Tower but was soon renamed after its creator, Gustave Eiffel. It opened to the public on May 15, 1889, the same day as the World's Fair. While the tower sparked controversy within artistic circles before and during its construction, its bold architectural design quickly captivated visitors, and over 2 million people visited it in its first year.

Before Paris surrendered to Germany during World War II, the French took drastic measures to prevent the enemy from enjoying a panoramic view of the city. In a bid to obstruct the enemy, they had to 'destroy' the Eiffel Tower by disabling its elevator system.

As Eiffel himself covered 80% of the construction costs, he was granted permission to maintain ownership of the tower for 20 years, allowing him to recover his investment before it was handed over to the city of Paris. Initially, there were plans to dismantle it for scrap metal. However, Eiffel continuously fought to prove the tower's strategic value, even adding an antenna at its summit and sponsoring wireless telegraphy experiments starting in 1898.

The Eiffel Tower's value as a tool for wireless communication, particularly for the French military, became evident, prompting the city to extend Eiffel's lease when it expired in 1909. Today, over 100 antennas on the tower continue to broadcast radio and television signals worldwide.

Every five minutes, the Eiffel Tower becomes even more beautiful, glowing with approximately 20,000 lights and 336 projectors that illuminate it during the night. The Trocadero Square is the perfect vantage point for visitors to admire Paris's iconic symbol after dark. Unveiled on December 31, 1985, and conceived by electrical and lighting engineer Pierre Bideau, the tower is covered in a lighting system with 336 projectors fitted with high-pressure sodium lamps, emitting a warm orange glow.

This lighting innovation received global acclaim and marked the beginning of a renaissance for nighttime monuments in Paris, as well as other cities in France and around the world. The light beams, directed from below, shine through the tower’s metal structure, illuminating it from within.

Since 1958, by replacing 1,290 projectors that light the tower from the outside, the lighting has highlighted the tower's intricate metal framework and illuminated areas used by visitors at night, all until the tower is closed to the public. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, ensuring the safety of those enjoying the tower during its nighttime operations has been equally important.