Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, Paris

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The Eiffel tower, Paris

 

Paris’ most popular and recognizable icon, and the world’s most visited paid monument, is the Eiffel tower. The iron tower was built from 1887 to 1889 on the Champ de Mars, adjacent to the Seine River. Soaring at a height of 324 meters, which is roughly equivalent to 81 floors in a typical building, the tower is the tallest structure in all of Paris.

When construction was completed in 1889, the tower earned the title of the world’s tallest tower. It was able to hold on to this title until the Chrysler Building in New York was built in 1930. The 10,000 ton

tower was engineered by Gustave Eiffel. The co architects for the project were Maurice Koechlin, Stephen Sauvestre and Emile Nouguier

Eiffel initially planned to construct the tower in Barcelona, Spain. However, the Consistory of Barcelona rejected his proposal thinking that the tower was too expensive to build and that it did not fit into the

city’s existing design. After being met with disappointment, Eiffel submitted his designs to the Universal Exhibition in Paris. It was approved and the tower was inaugurated on March 31, 1889. It opened to the public on May 6 of the same year. Currently, the Eiffel Tower is the fifth tallest structure in France.