Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris and was intended to stand for twenty years. It was designed by the engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier of Gustave Eiffel's company, with the architect Stephen Sauvestre contributing the arches and decoration, and it went up in just over two years on the Champ de Mars. At 300 metres it was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in New York overtook it in 1930. With later antennas it now reaches about 330 metres. Its survival was helped by its usefulness as a radio and telegraph mast, which convinced the authorities to keep it.

The tower is made of puddled iron, assembled from some eighteen thousand parts held together by about two and a half million rivets. Its four curved legs rise from stone bases and join at the first platform, and the lattice becomes thinner as it climbs. It is repainted by hand every few years, in three shades that get lighter toward the top, using tens of tonnes of paint, which helps the tower to look consistent against the sky.

Visitors can go up in stages. The first level lies at about 57 metres and has exhibition spaces, a restaurant and a glass floor that lets you look straight down to the ground. The second level is at about 115 metres and gives the best sense of the layout of Paris, with the Seine and the dome of Les Invalides plainly visible. The summit, at about 276 metres, can be reached by lift, and from there you see the whole of the Paris basin on a clear day. Walkers can climb the stairs to the second level, a climb of roughly 670 steps, and the full count to the top is 1,665. There is also a restaurant, Le Jules Verne, on the second level. Gustave Eiffel's small private apartment near the top has been preserved as a display.

After dark the tower is lit and sparkles for a few minutes at the start of each hour, which is one of the most popular sights in the city. Tickets are timed, so booking online in advance is the surest way to avoid long waits, and visitors with the stairs option should still allow time. You can also enjoy the tower without going up, from the Trocadéro across the river, from the Champ de Mars at its foot or from a boat on the Seine, and many people feel the view of the tower is better than the view from it.

The tower lies in the 7th arrondissement, and it is within reach by metro or on foot from Les Invalides. It suits almost every visitor to the city, from families to architecture fans, and it rewards a slow visit at dusk.