Tower Design - Gustave Eiffel

kjsbdc dhksfbc dscknsdm ckdns. :D

The tower design was selected by a competition in which Gustave Eiffel won. Eiffel was an engineer who had lots of experience constructing high level railway viaducts. In the public eye, the tower had many mixed opinions, celebrated and loathed in equal measure. Throughout its construction, the residents became convinced that it would collapse, and Eiffel had to reassure them many times quite often in person. The author Guy de Maupassant left Paris permanently to avoid looking at its 'metallic carcass' but others who espoused more self-consciously modern views championed the tower: Seurat and Douanier Rousseau were among the first to paint it, in 1889 and 1890 respectively. On a clear day, it is possible to see Chartres Cathedral from the high level viewing platform.

Paris's most recognized landmark has three floors. The first is at 57m, the second at 115m, and the third at 276m. The top of the aerial is 320 m. above the ground. On a clear day, you can see from the top of the platform, the whole of Paris and the distant suburbs.

The 12,000 steel girders that make up the tower are held together by 2,500,000 rivets to produce it's smooth, curving profile. It's functional elegance heralded the dawn of Industrial Art, and has met with much sarcastic comment from more conservative observers ever since it was finished in 1889.

In 1986 the external night-time floodlighting was replaced by a system of illumination from within the tower's superstructure, so that it now looks at its magical best after dark. The tower casts off quite an amazing light show just after dark on most nights.

Visitor Hours

From January 1 to June 18: 9:30 am - 8: