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The Eiffel Tower Is The Most Visited Monument

In fact with 200,000,000 people having visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris France since its construction, it makes this monument the most visited paid monument per year and has become an icon for France and is known around the world for its daring and unusual structure.

This Paris landmark was named after its engineer designer Gustave Eiffel and was constructed between 1887 and 1889, built as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, which was a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution being inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May 1889.

But when the Eiffel Tower was built, it was met with major resistance, as the public felt it was an eyesore, even though the people of Paris today would not wish to be without it, as it is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art!

But at the start, people were shocked at the daring shape and design, questioning Gustave Eiffel wondering if he really was a good engineer, but being that he and his engineers were renowned bridge builders, he came back with comments stating that it was based on mathematical calculations utilising wind resistance.

And including the 24m antenna, the Eiffel Tower is 324m high, weighs in at 7,300 tons and can sway 6 to 7cm in the wind and due to the thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun, depending upon the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift up to 18cm!!

Due to the fact the Gustave Eiffel was only given a permit for the Eiffel Tower to stand for 20 years, as it passed to the city, but because it became valuable as a communications resource, it was allowed to remain in place even after the permit had expired, and because the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it now has to be repainted every 7 years, just to stop this famous monument from rusting!

Taking the steps is not for the feint hearted, as the actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base of the Eiffel Tower, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level, and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level.  And when exiting the lift at the third level, there are another 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform.  Whether you think this a good idea or not, the actual step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give you an indication of your progress and there are a total of 710 steps!!

At least you can always have dinner at the Altitude 95 restaurant to catch your breath before going back down to the bottom, or if you are more energetic than most! then you could go ice skating, which has been held at the Eiffel Tower every winter since 2004!

Even if people hadn't heard of the Eiffel Tower before, if they like James Bond movies, then they were sure to know of it after the 1985 movie A View to a Kill as James Bond chases May Day played by actress Grace Jones at the Eiffel Tower as she parachuted from the tower, plus the video of the movie's theme song also included several scenes of the pop group Duran Duran staged on the tower.

So if you haven't ever had the opportunity to visit the Eiffel Tower, then it is well worth the effort, as the views over Paris as you are ascending is breath taking and a sight you will not forget, but do not forget to take your camera!

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