What is the height of the eiffel tower. Eiffel Tower - the steel heart of the French capital

The Eiffel Tower has merged into the urban landscape of Paris for hundreds of years and has become its symbol. But it is also not only the property of all of France, but also a monument to the great technical achievements of the late 19th century.

Who built the Eiffel Tower?

Since the second half of the 19th century, progress has urged many countries of the world to build high-rise structures. Many of the projects failed at the concept stage, but there were those engineers who firmly believed in the success of their ideas. Gustave Eiffel belonged to the latter.

Gustave Eiffel

By the centenary of the industrial revolution in 1886, Paris opens a competition for the creation of new outstanding achievements of our time. According to its plan, this event was to become one of the most outstanding events of its time. In the course of this idea, the Palace of Machines made of metal and glass, destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, and the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, 1000 feet high, were born.

Work on the Eiffel Tower project began in 1884. By the way, Eiffel was not a beginner in his field, before that he brilliantly managed to find solutions in the field of building railway bridges. For the design competition, he submitted about 5000 sheets of drawings of the details of the tower in the original scale. The project was approved, but this was only the beginning of hard work. Before the Eiffel forever perpetuates his name in history, there were still 3 years left.

Construction of the Eiffel Tower

Many famous residents did not accept the construction of the tower in the middle of the city. Writers, artists, sculptors, architects protested against this construction, which, in their opinion, violates the original beauty of Paris.

But, nevertheless, the work continued. A huge 5-meter pit was dug, in which four 10-meter blocks were installed under each leg of the tower. Additionally, each of the 16 legs of the tower was supplied with hydraulic jacks to obtain an ideal horizontal level. Without this plan, the construction of the tower could have dragged on forever.

July 1888

250 workers were able to erect the tallest tower of their time in the world in just 26 months. Here it is only worth once again envying the Eiffel's capabilities in the field of accurate calculations and organization of work. The height of the Eiffel Tower is 320 meters, the total weight is about 7500 tons.

The tower is divided into three tiers - 60 meters, 140 meters and 275 meters. Four elevators inside the legs of the tower take visitors up to the second. The fifth elevator goes to the third level. There is a restaurant on the first floor, a newspaper office on the second, and Eiffel's office on the third.

Despite early criticism, the tower organically blended into the views of the city and quickly became a symbol of Paris. Only during the exhibition, about two million people visited here, some of whom immediately climbed to the very top on foot.

With the end of the exhibition, the tower was decided to be demolished. Salvation for her was new technology - radio. Antennas were quickly installed on the tallest structure. In subsequent years, television and radar service antennas were installed on it. There is also a weather station and broadcasting of city services.

Until the construction of the Empire State Building in 1931, the tower remained the tallest building in the world. It is hard to imagine the city of Paris without this glorious image.

The most grandiose, famous, outrageous building in Paris, of course, is the Eiffel Tower. From its appearance in 1889 as an arch for the Universal Exhibition dedicated to the storming of the Bastille, and to this day, it has been in the spotlight. She was also recognized as an important link in the French economy and a valuable asset to Europe.

Although the engineer Gustave Eiffel suggested dismantling the tower after the twenty-year period of its construction, as we can see, it continues to rise majestically on the Champ de Mars to this day.

Book a table at a restaurant on the Eiffel Tower

The most interesting thing is that the idea of ​​​​the design does not belong to Eiffel, but to Maurice Koechlen, his colleague in the engineering bureau. It was in the old drawings of Maurice that the leading engineer found the sketch of the tower that interested him.

Together with other employees, Eiffel finalizes the idea, draws up a joint patent, sends drawings to the competition, and wins. Subsequently, he redeems the rights of possession, and becomes their sole owner.

The surprising fact is that while working on the construction scheme, the research of Hermann von Mayer, a Swiss professor of paleontology of the 19th century, was taken as the basis. He studied the structure of the femur, namely its head in the place of bending and connection with the joint at an angle.

He concluded that thanks to the many small processes of a strict geometric shape with which it is covered, the weight of the body is distributed evenly, preventing fractures.

It was these studies by Mayer that, 20 years later, inspired the designers of the famous tower to give it such a stable shape. Even with a powerful wind, the top deviates only by 12 cm, and if it is hot in the sun, by 18 cm due to the expansion of the metal.

Work on the image

The original appearance of the steel lady was only a model of the technical progress of its time, and looked too conservative. To win the competition, it was necessary to ennoble the structure with decorative elements, to make it more refined.

Gustave suggested decorating the tower piers with stone, making the arches a link between the piers and the ground floor, and turning them into the main entrance to the exhibition. The levels also had to be transformed and become functional thanks to the glazed halls, and the top - to acquire a rounded shape along with other embellishments.

When the scheme acquired all these innovations, the jury approved Eiffel's plan, and he received the green light for construction. Feeling a surge of enthusiasm after the first victory, he exclaimed that France would now be the only owner in the world of a 300-meter flagpole.

To be or not to be - Bohemian opinion

The enthusiasm, however, was not shared by the creative elite, considering the future building to be insulting to the eye. Letters repeatedly came to the city hall demanding that such a monstrous structure not be allowed to be erected, arguing that the Eiffel Tower in Paris would be a huge mistake, a repulsive stain hanging over the city, and not being combined with other architecture.

About three hundred painters, architects, musicians and writers protested, sending it to the city authorities, where they urged the commission to change their minds in colorful terms: “For 20 years we will be forced to look at the disgusting shadow of the hated column of iron and screws, stretching over the city like blot".

The petition was signed by Charles Gounod, Dumas son, and the famous novelist Guy de Maupassant. However, subsequently Maupassant repeatedly visited the restaurant, which is now called Jules Verne. When the novelist was asked why he came there, if he dislikes the Eiffel Tower so much, he said that there was no more place in Paris where this damn thing could not be seen.

However, not everyone was so ardent her opponents. She made a completely different impression on Thomas Edison, and in the guest book he wrote a welcoming word to its creator.

Particulars of construction: figures and facts

It all started in 1887 on January 28, and the last day to complete the construction was December 31, 1889. For such a colossal project, it was a record short time, given that the height of the Eiffel Tower was 300 meters.

There was no technology capable of lifting parts weighing up to 3 tons to this height, and therefore Eiffel had to additionally invent special mobile cranes. Also, in order to speed up the work, most of the elements were made in advance, and holes were drilled in them, into which connecting rivets were installed.

Eiffel demonstrated unparalleled precision in drafting. There were 1700 general and 3629 detailed ones, and their accuracy was 0.1 mm (3D printers print with such clarity today). It is comparable to a piece of jewelry or magic worthy of admiration, especially in this age of high technology.

Inner world

Once in Paris, it is difficult to avoid the temptation to look at the city of love from the height of the most famous Parisian. On the initial two platforms, which are located on the tops of 57.63 and 115.73 m; you can visit restaurants, have a glass of sparkling wine or order lunch.

On the third level, located at 276.13 m, visitors will find a bar, an astronomical and meteorological observatory. The tower is crowned with a lighthouse with a dome, the light of which reaches 10 km.

Rise to the 3rd level

There are 1792 steps to the top, but you are unlikely to want to make such a serious ascent, especially since back in 1899 two Fives-Lill elevators were built for this, and passengers, having risen to a mark of 175 m, moved to another cabin .

The first machines ran on hydraulic pumps, but since their use was impossible in winter, Otis brand electric motors replaced them in 1983, and the hydraulics are shown as an exhibit to tourists.

Gustave Eiffel's apartment

At the very top there is another room - an apartment that was built specifically for the Eiffel. Although the square is quite spacious, it is furnished simply, but with the taste of a man of the XIX century. It has separate rooms, furniture, carpets, and even a piano - a must-have item for the elite of that time.

When the apartment became known in the city, there were people who wanted to buy it or at least spend the night there, offering solid sums, but Eiffel always refused such offers.

While in Paris, the engineer often arranged meetings with rich and famous people in his favorite retreat. Edison also visited it, and for ten hours a couple of inventors under cognac and cigars found many fascinating topics for discussion, including the phonograph, a fresh invention of the famous American.

In captivity, but with a proudly raised head

Eiffel Tower, 1940 - the lift mechanism suddenly fails. This trouble happened just before the arrival of Adolf Hitler. Since the war was on, there was nowhere to get new parts for it, and the Fuhrer could only trample at the feet of the obstinate Parisian. On this occasion, the poets did not miss the opportunity to say: "Hitler conquered France, but he could not conquer the Eiffel Tower."

Hitler planned to transmit radio signals from the lighthouse to his military units and broadcast agitation in Paris, but he was especially excited by the idea that the flag flying on the spire of the top would be perfectly visible in all corners of the city.

At the end of the summer of 1944, Hitler, annoyed that he could not climb to the top, gave the order to Colonel General Dietrich von Choltitz to destroy the unsubdued pride along with the rest of the sights of Paris.

However, the order was never carried out, and when the invaders left the city, the elevators that had stopped for several years started working again after a couple of hours, and the news was transmitted by radio from the tower.

The height of the Eiffel Tower!

For 40 years, the Eiffel Tower had no competitors in terms of height in the whole world, and only in 1930 lost the palm to the Chrysler Building in New York. Today, its height reaches 324 m due to the antenna installed in 2010.

In reality and in the photo, the tower looks like a slender, sophisticated, charming beauty. Like a true Frenchwoman, she likes to radically change her image from time to time, and has already managed to try on several outfits. She was dyed in different colors that ranged from yellow to reddish brown.

Now, specially for her, they have developed and patented a unique tone “brown-eiffel”, which is closest to the bronze shade. Every 7 years it is repainted to protect the metal from corrosion, and old parts are replaced with new ones made of a lighter but stronger alloy.

night beauty

The Iron Lady also loves to shine, and at the time of her own premiere in 1889, she sparkled with ten thousand gas lamps, a pair of searchlights and a lighthouse, the rays of which had the color of three shades of the national flag. Just a year later, electric lights sparkled on it, and in 1925 it became the most grandiose advertising platform for Andre Citroen.

The advertisement was called: “Tower on fire”, and thanks to 125 new light bulbs, the silhouette first lit up on it, then it was replaced by star rain, which smoothly turned into the flight of comets and zodiac symbols, then came the year of birth of the tower, the current year, and finally the surname appeared Citroen. Advertising worked until 1934.

The Parisian fashionista received her golden dress on the last day of 1985, and in 2003 silvery lights were added to this noble brilliance. This required €4.6 million, 20,000 light bulbs, 40 km of wires, 30 people and several months of work. Another memorable outfit the tower wore from the beginning of July to the end of December 2008, which looked like the flag of Europe - a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background.

The brainchild of Gustave Eiffel remains a wonderful wonder of the world today. A copy of the Eiffel Tower stands in many cities: in Copenhagen, Las Vegas, Varna, in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and Aktau in Kazakhstan.

In the first 12 months of its existence, it fully paid off the costs of construction thanks to the visitors, and remains the most popular, visited attraction. Every year, millions of people come to visit her, and by 2002 this number exceeded 200 million.

observation deck

City of dreams and champagne bubbles

In order to spend as much time in the company of the Eiffel Tower as possible, tickets for the tour and the restaurant can be booked in advance. Several buffets, a bar and a couple of cozy restaurants will allow you to enjoy delicious food, drinks and views of Paris.

On the ground floor, you can visit the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant, eat a sandwich, fries, croissant, drink juice or coffee, paying only 18 € for lunch. In the evening, there are several main dishes and desserts to choose from, but the price rises to 82 € per person.
At the same level, there are regular buffets, where a glass of juice and a slice of pizza will not exceed 7-8 €.

But, if you are not going to skimp on the pleasures of being in the most romantic place on earth, then visit the luxurious restaurant "Le Jules Verne" (Le Jules Verne) on the second level. Lunch here will cost at least 85 € per person, and dinner with lobsters - at least 200 €.

View from the tower at night

Eiffel Tower on the map

However, you can enjoy it without visiting such expensive establishments. Climbing up to the third level, in the Champagne Bar, grab a glass of champagne, take a bird's eye view of Paris, and feel the exclusivity of this moment.

Video

The exact address: Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris

Working hours: From 9:30 to 23:00, in summer from 9:00 to 00:00

Tickets

Entrance to the lift (up to the 2nd floor): adults - 11 €, 12-14 years old - 8.5 €, children and disabled people - 4 €.

To the top: adults - 17 €, 12-14 years old - 14.5 €, children and disabled people - 8 €.

Stairs to 2nd floor: adults - 7 €, 12-14 years old - 5 €, children and disabled people - 3 €.

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Eiffel Tower Photo Gallery!

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The most recognizable landmark of Paris, a symbol of France, named after its creator Gustave Eiffel. It is a place of real pilgrimage for tourists. The designer himself called it simply - a 300-meter tower.

Eiffel Tower (Paris) - a symbol of France

In 2006, the tower was visited by 6,719,200 people, and in its entire history - over 250 million people, which makes the tower the most visited attraction in the world. Eiffel Tower (Paris) It was conceived as a temporary structure - it served as the entrance arch to the Paris World Exhibition of 1889. From the demolition planned 20 years after the exhibition, the tower was saved by radio antennas installed at the very top - this was the era of the introduction of radio.

Where is the Eiffel Tower

If we talk about where is the eiffel tower specifically, it stands on the Champ de Mars opposite the Jena bridge over the Seine river.

The question of how to get to the Eiffel Tower is also very simple: you need to focus on the Bir-Hakeim station on line 6 of the Paris Metro. Another option is the Trocadero station on line 9. Bus routes to the Eiffel Tower are 42, 69, 72, 82 and 87.


If you wish, you can see in real time what is happening around the main attraction of Paris and see others. The webcams of the Eiffel Tower and Paris are not as popular and developed as in New York, so they offer only a limited view of the tower.

Eiffel tower height

Eiffel tower height in the spire is 324 meters (2000). For more than 40 years, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world, almost 2 times higher than the tallest buildings in the world of that time - the pyramids of Cheops (137 m), (156 m) and Ulm Cathedral (161 m), - until in 1930 its not surpassed by the Chrysler Building in New York.

Throughout its history, the tower has repeatedly changed the color of its painting - from yellow to red-brown. In recent decades, the Eiffel Tower has been invariably painted in "brown-eiffel" - an officially patented color, close to the natural shade of bronze, which is barely visible in night photos of the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower in Paris: history

Eiffel Tower in Paris was created specifically for the World Exhibition of 1889, which was organized by the authorities on the centenary of the French Revolution. The famous engineer Gustave Eiffel submitted his project of a 300-meter iron tower to the Paris administration, which he actually did not work on. On September 18, 1884, Gustav Eiffel receives a patent for the project jointly with his employees, and subsequently redeems the exclusive right from them.

On May 1, 1886, a pan-French competition of architectural and engineering projects for the future World Exhibition was opened, in which 107 applicants took part. Various extravagant ideas were under consideration, among them, for example, a giant guillotine, which was supposed to be reminiscent of the French Revolution of 1789. The Eiffel project becomes one of the 4th winners and then the engineer makes final changes to it, finding a compromise between the original purely engineering design scheme and the decorative version.

In the end, the committee stops at the Eiffel plan, although the very idea of ​​​​the tower did not belong to him, but to two of his employees: Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nougier. It was possible to assemble such a complex structure as a tower within two years only because Eiffel applied special construction methods. This explains the decision of the exhibition committee in favor of this project.

In order for the tower to better meet the aesthetic tastes of the demanding Parisian public, the architect Stefan Sauvestre proposed sheathing the basement supports of the tower with stone, linking its supports and the ground floor platform with the help of majestic arches, which would simultaneously become the main entrance to the exhibition, placing spacious glazed halls, give the top of the tower a rounded shape and use a variety of decorative elements to decorate it.

In January 1887, the Eiffel, the state and the municipality of Paris signed an agreement, according to which Eiffel was granted for personal use the operating lease of the tower for a period of 25 years, and also provided for the payment of a cash subsidy in the amount of 1.5 million gold francs, which amounted to 25% of all expenses for tower construction. On December 31, 1888, in order to raise the missing funds, a joint-stock company was created with an authorized fund of 5 million francs. Half of this amount is funds deposited by three banks, the second half is Eiffel's own personal funds.

The final construction budget amounted to 7.8 million francs. The tower paid off during the period of the exhibition, and its subsequent operation turned out to be a very profitable business.

Construction of the Eiffel Tower

Construction work for more than two years - from January 28, 1887 to March 31, 1889 - was carried out by 300 workers. Record-breaking construction times were facilitated by extremely high quality drawings with exact dimensions of more than 12,000 metal parts, for the assembly of which 2.5 million rivets were used. To finish construction of the eiffel tower at the appointed time, Eiffel used, for the most part, prefabricated parts. At first, tall cranes were used. When the structure outgrew them in height, mobile cranes specially designed by Eiffel were used. They moved along the rails laid for future elevators. The first elevators on the tower were powered by hydraulic pumps. Up to our time, two historic Fives-Lill elevators, installed in 1899 in the eastern and western supports of the tower, have been used. Since 1983, their operation has been provided by an electric motor, and the hydraulic pumps have been preserved and are available for inspection.

The second and third floors of the tower were connected by a vertical elevator created by the engineer Edu (Eiffel's classmate at the Central Higher Technical School) and consisting of two mutually equalizing cabins. Halfway to the site, at a height of 175 m from the ground, passengers had to transfer to another elevator. Water tanks installed on the floors provided the necessary hydraulic pressure. In 1983, this lift, which could not operate in the winter, was replaced by an electric Otis lift. It consisted of four cabins and provided direct communication between the two floors. The construction of the Eiffel Tower required special attention to the safety issues of continuous work. This became Eiffel's greatest concern. During the construction work, there was not a single death, which was a significant achievement for that time.

The work progressed slowly but steadily. She caused the Parisians, who saw the tower growing into the sky, surprise and admiration. On March 31, 1889, less than 26 months after the start of digging pits, Eiffel was able to invite several more or less physically strong officials to the first ascent of 1,710 steps.

Eiffel Tower (France): public reaction and subsequent history

The construction was a stunning and immediate success. During the six months of the exhibition, more than 2 million visitors came to see the Iron Lady. By the end of the year, three-quarters of all construction costs had been recovered.

In October 1898, Eugene Ducrete conducted the first telegraph session between the Eiffel Tower and the Pantheon. In 1903, General Ferrier, a pioneer in the field of wireless telegraphy, applied it to his experiments. It so happened that the tower was left at first for military purposes.

Since 1906, a radio station has been permanently placed on the tower. January 1, 1910 Eiffel extends the lease of the tower for a period of seventy years. In 1921, the first direct radio transmission from the Eiffel Tower took place. Broadcast broadcast was broadcast, which became possible due to the installation of special antennas on the tower. Since 1922, a radio program began to appear regularly, which was called the Eiffel Tower. In 1925, the first attempts were made to relay a television signal from the tower. The transmission of regular television programs began in 1935. Since 1957, a television tower has been located on the tower, increasing the height of the steel structure to 320.75 m. In addition to it, several dozen linear and parabolic antennas have been installed on the tower. They provide rebroadcasting of various radio and TV programs.

During the German occupation of 1940, the French damaged the elevator drive right before the arrival of Adolf Hitler, so the Fuhrer never climbed it. In August 1944, as the Allies were closing in on Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Koltitz, the military governor of Paris, to destroy the tower along with the rest of the city's landmarks. But Von Koltitz disobeyed the order. Surprisingly, a few hours after the liberation of Paris, the elevator drive started working again.

Eiffel Tower: interesting facts

• The weight of the metal structure is 7,300 tons (gross weight is 10,100 tons). Today, three towers could be erected from this metal at once. The foundation is made of concrete blocks. The fluctuations of the tower during storms do not exceed 15 cm.
• The lower floor is a pyramid (129.2 m each side at the base), formed by 4 columns, connected at a height of 57.63 m by an arched vault; on the vault is the first platform of the Eiffel Tower. The platform is a square (65 m across).
• On this platform rises the second pyramid-tower, also formed by 4 columns, connected by a vault, on which are located (at a height of 115.73 m) the second platform (a square 30 m in diameter).
• Four columns rising on the second platform, pyramidally approaching and gradually intertwining, form a colossal pyramidal column (190 m), bearing the third platform (at a height of 276.13 m), also square (16.5 m in diameter); a lighthouse with a dome rises on it, above which there is a platform (1.4 m in diameter) at a height of 300 m.
• Stairs (1792 steps) and elevators lead to the tower.

Restaurant halls were erected on the first platform; on the second platform were tanks with engine oil for a hydraulic lifting machine (elevator) and a restaurant in a glass gallery. The third platform housed the astronomical and meteorological observatories and the physics office. The light of the lighthouse was visible at a distance of 10 km.

The erected tower shook with the bold decision of its form. Eiffel was severely criticized for the project and simultaneously accused of trying to create something artistic and non-artistic.

Together with his engineers - specialists in bridge construction, Eiffel was engaged in calculations of the force of the wind, knowing full well that if they were building the tallest building in the world, they must first of all make sure that it was resistant to wind loads.

The original contract with Eiffel was to dismantle the tower 20 years after it was built. As you might guess, it was never implemented, and the history of the Eiffel Tower continued.

Under the first balcony, on all four sides of the parapet are engraved the names of 72 outstanding French scientists and engineers, as well as those who made a special contribution to the creation of Gustave Eiffel. These inscriptions appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and were restored in 1986-1987 by the Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel company, hired by the city hall to operate the Eiffel Tower. The tower itself is the property of the city of Paris.

Eiffel Tower lighting

The Eiffel Tower was first illuminated on its opening day in 1889. Then it consisted of 10,000 gas lamps, two searchlights and a lighthouse mounted on top, the light of which was painted in blue, white and red - the colors of the national flag of France. In 1900, electric lamps appeared on the structures of the Iron Lady. And the current golden lighting was first turned on on December 31, 1985, and can be seen in many photos of the Eiffel Tower taken in recent years. In 1925, André Citroën placed an advertisement on the tower, which he called "The Eiffel Tower on fire." About 125,000 light bulbs were installed on the tower. One after another, ten images flashed on the tower: the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, starry rain, the flight of comets, the signs of the Zodiac, the year the tower was built, the current year, and finally the name Citroen. This promotion lasted until 1934 and the tower was the tallest advertising space in the world.

In the summer of 2003, the tower was "dressed" in a new lighting robe. In a few months, a team of thirty-man steeplejacks entangled the tower structures with 40 kilometers of wires and installed 20,000 light bulbs made to order by a French company. The new illumination, which cost 4.6 million euros, was reminiscent of the one that was first switched on on the tower on the night of the New Year 2000, when the tower, usually illuminated by golden yellow lanterns, in a matter of seconds dressed in a fabulous glow winking with silvery lights.

From July 1 to December 31, 2008, when France held the presidency of the EU, blue lighting with stars (reminiscent of the flag of Europe) worked on the tower.

Consists of four levels: lower (ground), 1st floor (57 meters), 2nd floor (115 meters) and 3rd floor (276 meters). Each of them is remarkable in its own way.

On the lower level there are ticket offices where you can buy tickets for the Eiffel Tower, an information stand where you can grab useful brochures and booklets, as well as 4 souvenir shops - one in each column of the tower. In addition, there is a post office in the southern column, so you can send a postcard to your family and friends right from the foot of the famous building. Also, before the start of the conquest of the Eiffel Tower, there is an option to have a bite to eat in the buffet located right there. From the lower level, you can get to the offices, where old hydraulic machines are installed, which in the past raised elevators to the top of the tower. You can admire them only as part of excursion groups.

The 1st floor, which, if desired, can be reached on foot, will delight tourists with another souvenir shop and the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant. However, in addition to this, there is a preserved fragment of a spiral staircase that once led from the second floor to the third, and at the same time to the Eiffel office. You can learn a lot about the tower by going to the Cineiffel Center, where an animation dedicated to the history of the building is shown. Children will certainly be interested in getting to know Gus - the drawn mascot of the Eiffel Tower and the character of a special children's guide book. Also on the 1st floor you can admire posters, photographs, all kinds of illustrations from different times dedicated to the Iron Lady.

On the 2nd floor, the first thing that attracts attention is the general panorama of Paris, which opens from a 115-meter height. Here you can replenish your stocks of souvenirs, find out a lot about the history of the tower at special stands, and at the same time order a delicious lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant.

The 3rd floor is the main goal of many tourists, in fact, the top of the Eiffel Tower, located at an altitude of 276 meters, where elevators with transparent windows lead, so that already on the way there a stunning view of the French capital opens up. At the top, you can treat yourself to a glass of champagne at the Champange bar. Climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is an experience of a lifetime.

If you want to experience it, then it's time to book an excursion to the Eiffel Tower:

Eiffel Tower Restaurants

Having lunch or just having a glass of wine in one of the restaurants located on the Eiffel Tower while admiring the view of Paris is a dream of many, so once you get to the top, you should not deny yourself the pleasure of visiting a restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. In total, the tower has two excellent restaurants, a bar and several buffets.

Recently opened on the 1st level of the Eiffel Tower, the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant offers its visitors both light lunches and classic dinners, which can be enjoyed in a cozy and friendly atmosphere of the restaurant, looking at Paris from a 57-meter height. It's not very chic, but a very pleasant place. To book a two-course lunch and an elevator ticket, please follow the link below.

"Jules Verne"

The restaurant on the 2nd floor of the tower, named after the famous writer, is an excellent example of modern and sophisticated French cuisine. A variety of delicacies and unique dishes, combined with a designer interior and impeccable furnishings - all this turns an ordinary lunch at Jules Vernet into a real feast of taste.

"Champagne bar", located at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and a glass of sparkling drink drunk in it is a kind of logical conclusion to the ascent to the main attraction of Paris. You can choose pink or white champagne, which cost between 10-15 euros per glass.

Eiffel Tower Tickets

As mentioned above, ticket offices are located on the lowest level of the tower. The cost of an adult ticket to the top of the tower is 13.40 euros, to the 2nd floor - 8.20 euros. Other tickets can be found on this page in a separate section. In addition, tickets for the Eiffel Tower can be purchased online at the attraction's website. In this case, an electronic ticket is sent to the e-mail, which you need to print out and take with you on the day of the visit. Tickets can be purchased at least a day before the visit. You can book tickets for the Eiffel Tower on the website, where all instructions are also indicated.

general information

Initially conceived as a temporary building, the Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of France and an object of admiration. However, the history of the creation and construction of an impressive structure was dramatic. For many Parisians, the tower evoked only negative emotions - the townspeople believed that such a tall structure would not fit into the appearance of their beloved capital or even collapse. But over time, the French appreciated the Eiffel Tower and fell in love with it. Today, thousands of people are photographed against the backdrop of the famous landmark, all lovers strive for it to spend unforgettable moments. Every girl who has a date at the Eiffel Tower hopes that it is there, taking all of Paris as witnesses, that her beloved will propose to her.

History of the Eiffel Tower

1886 Three years later, the World Industrial Exhibition EXPO will begin its work in Paris. The exhibition organizers announced a competition for a temporary architectural structure that would serve as an entrance to the exhibition and personify the technical revolution of its time, the beginning of grandiose transformations in the life of mankind. The proposed building had to meet the following requirements - to generate income and be easily dismantled. More than 100 contestants took part in the creative competition, which started in May 1886. Some designs were quite bizarre - for example, a huge guillotine, reminiscent of the revolution, or a tower built entirely of stone. Among the participants of the competition was the engineer and designer Gustave Eiffel, who proposed a project of a 300-meter metal structure that was completely unusual for that time. He got the very idea of ​​the tower from the drawings of his company's employees Maurice Koehlen and Emile Nougier.

It was proposed to make the structure from ductile iron, which at that time was the most progressive and economical building material. The Eiffel project was one of the four winners. Thanks to some changes made by the engineer to the decoration of the tower, the organizers of the competition gave preference to his "Iron Lady".

Stefan Sauvestre was involved in the development of the artistic appearance of the Eiffel Tower. To give the cast-iron construction more sophistication, the architect suggested adding arches between the ground floor piers. They symbolized the entrance to the exhibition and made the building more elegant. In addition, Sauvestre planned to place spacious glazed halls on different floors of the building, and slightly round the top of the tower.

The construction of the tower required 7.8 million francs, but the state allocated only one and a half million to the Eiffel. The engineer agreed to contribute the missing amount from his own funds, but in return demanded that the tower be leased to him for 25 years. At the beginning of 1887, the French authorities, the Paris City Hall and the Eiffel entered into an agreement and construction began.

All 18,000 structural parts were manufactured at Gustave's own factory in Levallois, near the French capital. Thanks to carefully verified drawings, work on the installation of the tower progressed very quickly. The mass of individual elements of the structure did not exceed 3 tons, which greatly facilitated its assembly. At first, high cranes were used to lift parts. Then, when the tower became taller than them, Eiffel used small mobile cranes specially designed by him, moving along elevator rails. Two years, two months and five days later, with the efforts of three hundred workers, the construction of the structure was completed.

The Eiffel Tower instantly attracted thousands of curious people - in the first six months of the exposition alone, more than two million people came to admire the new attraction. The appearance of a new huge silhouette against the backdrop of Paris caused fierce controversy in French society. Many representatives of the creative intelligentsia were categorically against the appearance of a tower equal in height to an 80-story building - they feared that the iron structure would destroy the style of the city and suppress its architecture. Critics of Eiffel's work called the tower "the highest lamppost", "bell tower grill", "iron monster" and other unflattering and sometimes offensive epithets.

But, despite the protests and dissatisfaction of a certain part of the French citizens, the Eiffel Tower almost completely paid off in the first year of operation, and the further operation of the structure brought substantial dividends to its creator.

By the end of the lease, it became clear that the dismantling of the tower could be avoided - by that time it was actively used for telephone and telegraph communications, as well as for radio stations. Gustave was able to convince the government and the generals of the country that in the event of war, the Eiffel Tower would be indispensable as a radio transmitter. In early 1910, the lease of the tower by its creator was extended for 70 years. During the German occupation in 1940, French patriots broke all the lifting mechanisms to cut off Hitler's path to the top of the tower. Due to non-working elevators, the aggressors were unable to set their flag on the iron Frenchwoman. The Germans even called their specialists from Germany to repair the elevators, but they could not get them to work.

With the development of television, the Eiffel Tower is becoming in demand as a place to place antennas, of which there are currently several dozen on it.

The designer, who at first used his building for profit, subsequently transferred the rights to it to the state, and today the tower is the property of the French people.

Eiffel could not imagine that his creation would become a tourist magnet along with other "Wonders of the World". The engineer simply called it the "300-meter tower", not assuming that it would glorify and perpetuate his name. Today, the openwork metal structure towering over the French capital is recognized as the most photographed and visited attraction in the world.

Replicas of the Eiffel Tower can be found in more than 30 cities: Tokyo, Berlin, Las Vegas, Prague, Hangzhou, London, Sydney, Alma-Ata, Moscow and others.

Description

The base of the Eiffel Tower is a pyramid formed by four pillars. At a height of about 60 meters, the supports are connected by an arch, on which there is a square platform of the first floor with sides of 65 meters. From this lower platform, the next four supports rise, forming another arch at a height of 116 meters. Here is the platform of the second floor, - the square is half the size of the first. Supports, shot up from the second platform, gradually connecting, form a giant column 190 meters high. On this colossal rod, at a height of 276 meters from the ground, there is a third floor - a square platform with sides of 16.5 meters. On the third platform there is a lighthouse crowned with a dome, above which, at a height of three hundred meters, there is a small one and a half meter platform. The height of the Eiffel Tower today is 324 meters thanks to the television antenna installed on it. In addition to television and radio equipment, the facility has cell towers, as well as a unique weather station that records data on atmospheric pollution and background radiation.

At the foot of the Eiffel Tower there are ticket offices and an information desk with free booklets and brochures. There is a souvenir shop in each pillar of the structure, and a post office in the southern column. There is also a snack bar on the ground level. There is also an entrance to the premises where you can see the obsolete hydraulic lifting mechanisms. But access here is open only to organized excursion groups.

On the ground floor, visitors are greeted by the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant, another souvenir shop and the Cineiffel Center, where films about the construction of the Eiffel Tower are shown. Little visitors will be happy to meet Gus, the mascot of the tower and the hero of the guide book. In addition, on the first level there is a fragment of an old spiral staircase leading to the next floors, as well as to the office of Eiffel himself.

Visitors approaching the tower from the north side are greeted by a gilded bust of its creator with a simple inscription: “Eiffel. 1832-1923".

The second level is an observation deck. On this floor is the Jules Verne restaurant and another gift shop. Many interesting details about the construction of the tower can be gleaned from the information boards located on this level. In winter, a small skating rink is poured on the second floor.

The main goal of the overwhelming number of visitors is the third level. Elevators ascend to it, through the windows of which you can admire Paris. On the top floor, those who wish can celebrate their ascent to the tower with champagne at the Champange Bar. A glass of pink or white sparkling drink costs 10-15 €. On the site of the third floor can be simultaneously 800 people. Previously, on the upper platform were the observatory and the office of Eiffel himself.

You can climb to the top of the structure by elevator or stairs, consisting of 1792 steps. The Eiffel Tower is served by 3 elevators, but they never operate at the same time due to safety reasons and due to the constant maintenance of the structure.

During its existence, the tower was both yellow and red-brown. Today, the bronze color of the structure is officially patented and is called "brown-eiffel". Cosmetic repairs of the Eiffel Tower are carried out every 7 years, this process takes a year and a half. Before fresh paint is applied, the old layer is removed with high pressure steam. Then the whole structure is carefully inspected, unusable parts are replaced with new ones. After that, the tower is covered with two layers of paint, which requires 57 tons for this procedure. But the color of the tower is not uniform everywhere, it is painted in different tones of bronze - from dark at the base of the structure to lighter at the very top. This method of painting is used to make the building look harmonious against the sky. Interestingly, even today the paint is applied with brushes.

In the 80s of the last century, the tower was reconstructed - some of the parts were replaced with stronger and lighter ones.

Eiffel designed his brainchild in such a way that he is not afraid of storms - during the strongest wind, the tower deviates from its axis by a maximum of 12 centimeters. The iron structure is much more susceptible to the sun - the iron elements expand so much from heating that the upper part of the tower sometimes deviates sideways up to 20 centimeters.

Visitors first saw the tower illuminated in 1889, on the opening day of the World Industrial Exhibition. The construction was illuminated by 10,000 gas lamps, two large searchlights and a lighthouse, whose blue, white and red beams symbolized the national colors of the country. In 1900, the tower was equipped with electric light bulbs. In 1925, the owner of the Citroen company placed a grandiose advertisement on the structure - with the help of 125,000 light bulbs, images of the tower, zodiac constellations and products of the famous French automobile concern appeared on it. This light show lasted 9 years.

In the 21st century, the lighting of the Eiffel Tower has been modernized several times. In 2008, when France held the presidency of the EU, the structure was lit up in blue, representing the flag of Europe. Today, the lighting of the tower is golden. It turns on for 10 minutes, at the beginning of every hour, in the dark.

In 2015, the tower's electric light bulbs were replaced with LEDs to save energy and cost. In addition, thermal panels, two windmills and a rainwater collection system were placed on the structure.

Views from the Eiffel Tower

• The Eiffel Tower is the emblem of Paris and a high-altitude antenna.
• At the same time, 10,000 people can be on the tower.
• The project was made by the architect Stephan Sauvestre, but the engineer Gustave Eiffel (1823-1923), better known to the public, built the tower. Other works by Eiffel: Ponte de Dona Maria Pia, viaduct de Garabi, iron frame for New York's Statue of Liberty.
• Since its inception, the tower has been visited by about 250 million people.
• The mass of the metal part of the structure is 7,300 tons, and the weight of the entire tower is 10,100 tons.
• In 1925, the rogue Victor Lustig managed to sell the iron structure for scrap, and he was able to pull off this trick twice!
• In good weather, from the top of the tower, Paris and its surroundings can be viewed within a radius of up to 70 kilometers. It is believed that the optimal time to visit the Eiffel Tower, providing the best visibility, is an hour before sunset.
• The tower also holds a sad record - about 400 people committed suicide by throwing themselves down from its upper platform. In 2009, the terrace was fenced with protective barriers and now this place is very popular with romantic couples kissing in front of all of Paris.

Tower address: Champ de Mars (Champion of Mars). Metro stations: Bir Hakeim (line 6), Trocadero (line 9).

Bus numbers to the tower: 42, 69, 72, 82 and 87.

Operating mode. From June 15 to September 1 - opening at 09.00. The elevator to the 2nd floor stops working at midnight; the rise to the 3rd floor (top) is carried out until 23.00; stairs to the 2nd floor close at 00.00; the entire tower is available until 00.45.

From September 2 to June 14, the Eiffel Tower receives visitors from 09.30. The elevator to the 2nd floor is open until 23.00; an elevator takes guests to the top until 22.30; the stairs to the 2nd floor are open until 18.00; the entire tower is open until 23.45.

During spring and Easter holidays, access to the tower is open until midnight.

Sometimes the ascent to the top of the tower is temporarily suspended - due to dangerous weather conditions or too many visitors on it.

Prices for entrance tickets. Until September 1: elevator to the 2nd floor - 9 € (for adults), 7 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 4.5 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old). Lift to the top - 15.50 € (for adults), 13.50 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 11 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old). Stairs to the 2nd floor - 5 € (for adults), 4 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 3.50 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old).

After September 1: elevator to the 2nd floor - 11 € (for adults), 8.50 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 4 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old). Lift to the top - 17 € (for adults), 14.50 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 10 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old). Stairs to the 2nd floor - 7 € (for adults), 5 € (for visitors from 12 to 24 years old), 3 € (for children from 4 to 11 years old).

Visitors with disabilities can go up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower using an elevator.

In order to quickly get to the first and second platforms of the tower, it is better to use the stairs on the south side, since the elevators almost always have long queues.

If you want to get to the top of the "Iron Lady" without a queue, then you should buy electronic tickets in advance on the official website of the tower - www.tour-eiffel.fr. The ticket must be printed and paid for with a credit card. You need to approach the tower 10-15 minutes before the time indicated on the ticket, bypassing the queue. Those who are late for more than half an hour are not allowed to go sightseeing, tickets in this case will be canceled. You need to worry about pre-purchasing tickets as early as possible, since their sale for a specific day starts 3 months in advance at 08.30 Paris time, and there are a lot of people who want to get to the tower without a queue.

In the Jules Verne restaurant, you need to book a table several months in advance, the average check for lunch at an altitude of 175 meters is 300 €.

The Eiffel Tower is located in Paris on the Champ de Mars. Soaring up to 324 meters, it, along with the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, has become a symbol of France. Today it is already impossible to imagine the capital of the country without this grandiose structure, but it was once conceived as a temporary building.

The history of the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

On the eve of the centenary of the French Revolution in 1889, the World Exhibition was to be held in Paris. The city administration invited the leading engineers of France to design a building that will become both the venue for the exhibition and a clear proof of the level of technological development of the country.

Among the 107 sketches submitted for the competition, the version proposed by the architect Gustave Eiffel received the greatest support. At the end of January 1887, after making changes to the original project, the workers began the construction of the tower, consisting of 18,038 metal parts. It took more than 2.5 million steel rivets to assemble this structure. According to an agreement concluded between the French government, the municipality of Paris and the Eiffel, the latter was granted the right to lease the tower for 25 years, after which it must be dismantled.

Thanks to precise technical calculations and carefully executed drawings, all the parts intended for the assembly of the structure were made in advance. The mobile lifts developed by Gustave Eiffel made it possible to carry out the installation, even when the structure exceeded the height of the construction cranes that existed at that time.

Due to the fact that the weight of the beams did not exceed 3 tons, and besides, unprecedented control over the performance of work was carried out, during their implementation there was not a single fatal accident. Despite all the technical difficulties associated with the construction of a structure of this magnitude, on the last day of March 1889, the construction of the Eiffel Tower was completed. To climb to the first tier, in addition to the steps, elevators were used, lifted with the help of hydraulic pumps. The upper floors can only be reached by elevators.

On the opening day of the exhibition Eiffel Tower in Paris shone with lights. Ten thousand gas lanterns, two searchlights and a lighthouse painted in the colors of the national flag, installed at its very top, made an unforgettable impression on visitors to the exhibition and residents of the city.

It is noteworthy that not all Parisians and citizens of France were enthusiastic about the construction of the Eiffel Tower. The creative intelligentsia, including Maupassant, Dumas son and Gounod, reacted very negatively to her appearance. But over time, the Eiffel Tower has become an integral part of the Parisian landscape. Shortly after its opening, it began to be used as a radio broadcasting tower, and with the advent of the television era, it was also used to relay television programs.

Over the years of the Iron Lady's existence, many different stories are associated with it. It is known that during a thunderstorm in 1902, lightning struck the Eiffel Tower for the first time. During the occupation of France by the Nazi troops, the elevator suddenly stopped working. It is noteworthy that after their expulsion from Paris, the elevator turned on a few hours later. An interesting fact: the scammers managed to “allegedly sell” the tower for scrap several times.

The weight of the metal structures used in the construction is 7,300 tons, and the total eiffel tower weight is over 10,000 tons. But every 7 years, the creation of Eiffel, as a result of updating the paint on the structures, becomes heavier by an average of 50 tons. But, despite its serious mass, the "Iron Lady" exerts pressure on the soil the same as a person sitting on a chair.

After the installation of a television transmitting antenna at the top of the "iron beauty", the initial 300-meter height increased by 24 meters. At present eiffel tower height is 324 meters. For comparison, the height in New York, together with the pedestal, is 93 meters. The Ostankino tower is higher and reaches a height of 540.1 meters.

Eiffel tower color changed throughout history. Since 1889, the tower has been repainted several times. She was yellow and red-brown. In recent years, a special patented color called "eiffel brown" has been used.

Eiffel Tower - description, construction and photographs.

In its form, the Eiffel Tower in Paris resembles two truncated tetrahedral pyramids of different sizes, stacked on top of each other and forming tiers-floors. The columns of the second tier, as they rise up, approach and intertwine, raising the third tier to the sky with an observation deck and a lighthouse. The only way to get to the top of the tower is with electric elevators. An interesting fact: the cabins of two elevators that take visitors to the first tier have been preserved in their original form, only the drive has changed. Rising from the second tier to the third, you can admire the panorama of Paris through the transparent glass of the cabins of the new lifts.

Since 1900, the Eiffel Tower in Paris has been illuminated with electric lamps. From that moment on, the “metal beauty” changed her light “outfits” several times. For nine years, starting in 1925, A. Citroen advertised his name. Eiffel's creation acquired a golden glow on the last day of 1985. On New Year's Eve, at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the tower sparkled with twinkling silvery lights. At the very beginning of the 2000s, new lighting was installed, consisting of more than 20,000 specially made light bulbs. For half a year, when France presided over the European Parliament, the lights shone, depicting the EU flag. Today, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited attractions in Paris, with more than 236 million people visiting it over the years.

To get to the tower, you need to purchase a ticket, the price of which depends on which tier the tourist wants to visit. You can do this at the ticket offices located in the supports on the first floor or in advance through the Internet cash desks so as not to stand in long queues. Here, on the ground tier, you can buy souvenirs in one of the 4 shops located in the supports.

On the first floor of the tower, a restaurant and a souvenir shop are provided for visitors. In the Cineiffel Center, you can watch an animated film that tells about the history of the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Here you can also see photographs and various printed materials dedicated to the tower. Starting from the second tier, you can admire the panorama of Paris, which opens from a height of 115 meters. Many visitors order lunch at the luxurious Jules Verne restaurant. The view from the Eiffel Tower is impressive. Having risen to the observation deck of the last floor, located at an altitude of 276 meters, tourists, drinking champagne, enjoy the view of Paris that opens from here and gain impressions that will remain with them forever.