Attracting almost 7 million visitors from all over the world every single year and regarded as one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the incredible Eiffel Tower is an attraction certainly not to be missed whilst staying in one of our Paris holiday apartments. Proudly standing at over 300 metres tall, the iron clad giant is steeped in fascinating history and also boasts some truly breath-taking views out over the spectacular city of Paris. Find one of our Eiffel Tower Area Apartments in Paris – Tour Eiffel.
Positioned upon the left bank of the magnificent River Seine, Paris’ impressive Eiffel Tower is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and is a symbol which is recognised across the globe. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, a trained engineer who owned a company which specialised in metal structural work, the tower was built for the 1889 Universal Exposition – held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Construction took just over two years to complete and resulted in the world’s tallest structure at that time. 18,000 metallic parts, which are joined together by 2,500,000 rivets, make up the 324 metre tall, 10,000 tonne Eiffel Tower.
Throughout its history, the tower has been used for several other purposes in addition to its main role, including a radio transmitter and a television broadcasting site. Shortly after its completion, a printing press was installed onto the Eiffel Tower’s second floor, allowing daily newspapers to be printed for visitors. The structure, which offers a daily display of colourful illuminations, has also featured a huge digital clock, an amazing thermometer and even counted down the days, hours and minutes to the year 2000. Apart from closing down during the two World Wars, the tower has been open to the public since it was built and welcomes visitors 365 days a year.
My first ever trip to Paris was only a very short one, therefore I knew that I had to choose just a small selection of the array of delights that the city had to offer – of course I chose the Eiffel Tower, after all it is usually the first attraction that comes to mind whenever Paris is mentioned. I decided that would be the first sight of the day to explore so I made my way from my apartment to the nearest metro station and headed to the Champ de Mars/Tour Eiffel stop. As I emerged up onto ground level, nothing could prepare me for the pure magnitude of the Eiffel Tower. Coming from the North West of England, my expectations were based upon my local landmark Blackpool Tower – I knew the Eiffel Tower would of course be much larger but I was amazed that it was actually twice the size. For a few minutes I stood in amazement, admiring the superb architecture and design of such a remarkable structure.
I quickly joined the queue and was soon making my way up the iron staircase to the tower’s first level, where some simply stunning views awaited me. I spent the best part of an hour picking out well-known landmarks, such as the Louvre and Notre Dame, from the picturesque landscape and taking a fabulous collection of photographs to share with my family and friends. From here, I was able to access the second level, where the views extended even further afield and allowed me to marvel at even more landmarks in the distance, including the striking Sacre Coeur Cathedral and the Arc de Triomphe. Aside from the fabulous restaurants, the souvenir shop and the fascinating information centres, all that was left for me to explore was the very top of the Eiffel Tower, however with my slight fear of heights and already 115 metres above the ground, the extra 160 metres was just a little bit too much. Instead I made my way into the buffet restaurant and enjoyed a much needed snack.
I would highly recommend a visit to the Eiffel Tower for anyone visiting Paris and would advise people to buy their tickets online to avoid queuing at the ticket office. More information, including opening times, ticket prices and special event timetables, can be found at the Eiffel Tower’s official website – www.tour-eiffel.fr.
2006-2021 © ApartmentsInParis.com. Privacy Statement | Terms and Conditions