Eiffel Tower Facts

* The Eiffel Tower, one of Paris's most visited attractions, welcoming almost seven million visitors per year, was completed 126 years ago

* Completed on March 31, 1889, the tower was the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.

* It is 324 meters tall (including antennas) and weighs 10,100 tonnes

*It was the tallest structure in France until the construction of a military transmitter in the town of Saissac in 1973. The Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004, is also taller, at 343 metres.

*It is possible to climb to the top, but there are 1,665 steps. Most people take the lift.

*The lifts travel a combined distance of 103,000 km a year – two and a half times the circumference of the Earth.

*During cold weather the tower shrinks by about six inches.

*The tower sways around six to seven centimeters (2-3 inches) in the wind.

*Gustave Eiffel, the engineer and architect behind the tower, was also involved in a disastrous attempt by the French to build a canal in Panama, and his reputation was badly damaged by the failure of the venture.

 

* Eiffel also designed interior elements of the Statue of Liberty. 

*Gustave Eiffel kept a small apartment of the third floor for entertaining friends. It is now open to the public.

* He died while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony.

*Since its opening almost 250 million people have visited the tower. 

*Today the tower welcomes almost 7 million people a year, making it the most visited paid-for monument in the world.

*The majoirty of visitors (10.4%) are French, following by Italy and Spain (8.1% each), USA (7.9%), Britain (7.4%), Germany (5.8%) and Brazil (5.5%).

*Its construction took two years, two months and five days - 180 years fewer than Paris's other great attraction, Notre Dame.

*The names of 72 engineers, scientists and mathematicians are engraved on the side of the tower, each of whom contributed to its construction.

*The tower comprises 18,000 metallic parts, joined together by 2.5 million rivets. 

*There are 20,000 light bulbs used on the Eiffel Tower to make it sparkle every night.

*Ever wanted to build your own Eiffel Tower? There's a LEGO set for that number 10181 which contains 3,428 bricks

*In 1944, as the Allies approached Paris, Hitler ordered Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower, along with other parts of the city. The general refused. 

*Repainting the tower, which happens every seven years, requires 60 tonnes of paint.

*The tower was the main exhibit at the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), held to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. 

*There are a number of other replicas around the world, including one in Las Vegas and one at the Window of the World theme park in Shenzhen, China. 

*The tower played a part in the Allied victory at the First Battle of the Marne, in 1914. One of its transmitters jammed German radio communications, hindering their advance.