The Eiffel Tower, the call of the 300-meter tour, is an iron structure configured Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, the choice of its final appearance by the architect Stephen Sauvestre and the construction of the French architect Alexandre Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris.

History

Two senior engineers working for the architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel designed the Tower, which was then approved by Eiffel and proposed as the center piece for the world fair held in France's capital, the Exposition Universelle in 1889. Once approved, 250 builders were hired to build the monument, which took over two years to finish.

Initially, the Eiffel Tower was subject of controversy. The artists of the period thought the monument to be monstrous, and given its low profitability it was suggested on several occasions that they should demolish it.

During World War I, enemy messages were intercepted thanks to the tower radiotelegraphy center.

Currently, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited monument in the world with over 7 million visitors a year. This is partly due to the popularity of Paris as a tourist destination.   

illumination

Since its creation, the entire structure has been brilliantly illuminated in the Eiffel Tower, either by gas lights (when it was opened) or by high pressure sodium or neon lights. 

Since 1888, before its completion, every July 14 fireworks are shot from the second floor of the tower, being one of the places preferred by Parisians to celebrate the national day of France. In 1889, when its first illumination took place, it consisted of 10,000 gas lights, but for the universal exhibition of 1900, held in Paris, the gas lights were replaced by electric lights.

Restaurants

When it was inaugurated in 1889, the tower already had on the first floor three restaurants with 500 seats each (French, Russian and Flemish) and an Anglo-French bar. Until 1900, they were illuminated with gas lights. After the end of the Exhibition of 1889, the flamenco restaurant became a theater of 250 locations.

On the occasion of the 1937 Exhibition, the four were demolished, only two of them being reconstructed. At the beginning of the 1980s, the first floor of the tower was remodeled again, inaugurating two haute cuisine restaurants: La Belle France and Le Parisien, which in 1996 were transformed into the Altitude 95 restaurant (with a decoration inspired by the era of airships). In 2008 it was remodeled again, becoming the current 52 Tour Eiffel 58 restaurant.

For its part, the restaurant Le Jules Verne was opened in 1983 under the direction of chef Alain Reix. After a period of inactivity, it reopened its doors in December 2007 under the direction of Alain Ducasse.

Since the origins of the tower, restaurants have served both as a tourist attraction and one of the economic supports for its exploitation. At present, it has five gastronomic businesses.

Visiting the Eiffel Tower

If it's your first time in Paris, going up the Eiffel Tower is a must. Visitors can choose to go up using the Tower lift or the stairs. However, before making your mind up on how you want to visit the monument, it is important to keep in mind that there are 1,665 steps to the top.

If you decide to take the stairs, you can only visit the second floor. Although the stairs admission ticket is cheaper, the difference is not worthwhile and we recommend taking the elevator.

The best moment to enjoy the breath-taking views of Paris is early in the morning to avoid the lines or at dusk, when visitors will see Paris lit up.

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