The Eiffel Tower, a symbol of Paris and

France, has enjoyed a level of success that

no one could have possibly imagined when
it was built in 1889. It attracts some 7 million
visitors every year and over the decades
has become one of the country's most
important monuments.
An icon of Paris and an icon of France, the Eiffel Tower, or Iron Lady as it
is affectionately known, rises 324 meters above the city of light. A
vertiginous emblem of the Industrial Revolution right in the heart of Paris
and cornerstone of the Universal Exhibition of 1889, the Eiffel Tower just
keeps getting younger, scarcely betraying its true age. Bathed in a golden
light at nightfall (since 1985), the tower sparkles for five minutes at the start
of every hour. Once again, this feature was intended to be a temporary one
to mark the transition to the year 2000 but it remains in place to this day.
With its gracious and vertiginous fragile silhouette, the Eiffel Tower was
only ever intended as an ephemeral landmark when it was built by Gustave
Eiffel, in 1889.

A tourist favorite for the past 120 years

Its ultimate destiny has turned out to be quite different: it was never
dismantled, saved by its immense public success at the Universal
Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900, as well as Eiffel's scientific experiments.
Initially dedicated solely to radio transmission (the first radio transmissions
in 1898 and first public radio broadcast in 1925) followed by
telecommunications (up to and including digital terrestrial television), the
tower really took off as a tourist attraction during the 1950s, becoming the
most visited attraction in France behind the gardens of the Chteau de
Versailles. Since then, visitor numbers have been rising steadily. Today, of
the 7 million people that visit the monument annually, 75% come from
abroad and consider the Eiffel Tower to be an absolute must on their
itinerary. It has to be said the Iron Lady has pride of place in any report on
Paris. It has provided an inspiring backdrop to numerous films, starting with
Abel Gance's La Fin du Monde (The End of the World), in 1930.
Disproportionate, it has everything required to embody Paris, France and
the Parisian imagination.

An out-of-the ordinary monument, boasting restaurants and

attractions
Gustave Eiffel's construction is an imposing feature. Rising 303 metres into
the sky (excluding antennae), it weighs in excess of 10,000 tonnes and is
made up of 18,000 individual metal sections assembled using 2,500,000
rivets. It has been repainted around twenty times and was even lightened
by 1,340 tonnes during the major make-over carried out in 1985. To reach
the first two levels, people must take the lifts or use the steps 704 steps
to the second level. The ascent offers an atypical tour of the heart of the
Tower's metal structure, with unique views over the capital.
From the second level, visitors can admire the whole of Paris and its
symbolic monuments, including Notre-Dame, the Louvre and its
Pyramid, the Arc de Triomphe and even, in the distance, the Chteau de
Versailles. Each level offers visitors a broad range of visual, cultural and
taste experiences: l'Epope tour Eiffel or Tales of the Eiffel Tower,
and Cineiffel on the first level offering original images of the tower, the
Jules Verne restaurant on the second level and the vertiginous champagne
bar at the top The tower is open until 11 p.m. allowing visitors to admire
the City of Light in all its glory, a festival of bright and colourful lights
against the backdrop of a starry night.

120 years of spectacular kick-offs and final flourishes

With the Champ-de-Mars, the magnificent Parisian park laid out at its feet,
and, on the other side of the river Seine, the esplanade du Trocadro
offering a glorious view of the Tower, the Iron Lady has long since been a
theatre of spectacular lighting effects and outstanding events: Bastille Day
fireworks on July the 14th, firework display for the year 2000, Blue Tower to
coincide with the French Presidency of the EU and a multi-coloured display
to mark its 120th anniversary, various facilities (ice rink, garden, etc.). From
the outset, it has inspired artists, painters (Bonnard, Vuillard, Dufy, Chagall,
etc.), singers and writers. The cubist painter Robert Delaunay (1885-1941)
dedicated many of his works to the tower. During the Belle Epoque, the
cabaret artist Mistinguett expressed her amazement at its continued
existence. In the 1970s, the singer Jacques Dutronc was concerned it
might have cold feet. Rather than just a brief moment in time, the Tower
has become the soul of the City of Light, dominating the Seine and the
Paris skyline. A useless and irreplaceable building, a familiar world and
heroic symbol, the witness to a century and a permanently new monument,
an inimitable and endlessly reproduced object, said Roland Barthes (La
tour Eiffel, published by Delpirre in 1964).

MILITARY COMMAND CENTER

Eiffel provided special access to the tower for military purposes. One room on each floor
was so designated, and the Minister of the General Commission was provided 300 free
admissions per month. There was also allowance for the government to use the tower in
times of war. Eiffel himself approached the military suggesting radio signaling
equipment be installed atop the tower. But he was also careful to arrange compensation:
time taken for military use required extension of the contract of concession by one year
for every three months of use.

ON TIME/ON BUDGET/ENDURING SUCCESS

The Eiffel Tower is not just a monument to aerodynamics and aesthetics, it is a model of
organization and management. Completed in just two years, two months and five days,
the project finished ahead of schedule. Slated to open on May 6, 1889, the Eiffel Tower
was ready on March 30 of that year. It was an instant financial success. Eiffel was an
astute entrepreneur, and fixed fees accordingly. Construction costs were easily recouped
by admissions receipts earned from visitors who flocked to the wonder.
The tower was to be taken down in 20 years; this temporary time-frame led to the
lattice-design that was both strong but light and easy to disassemble. But between the
towers usefulness as a radio signaling site and its popularity with the French people,
Eiffels monument was never taken down. The tower continues to draw visitors:
proposals of marriage, birthdays, and all manner of celebrations are memorialized atop
the tower. By 2002, over 200 million people had made the pilgrimage to Paris iconic
monument.