Second day in Paris. We had a short tour around the city before arriving at the Eiffel Tower at 9.30am. The queue wasn’t that long; we waited around 15 minutes and managed to squeeze into the elevator to get to the second level platform.
Eiffel Tower is one the most visited landmarks in the world; at the time of writing it has been visited by 229,623,812 visitors since its opening in 1889, and the number is ever growing.
The tower is 324 metres high and was once the tallest building in the world. It was built in conjunction to the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889 and was named after Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the main designer of the tower.
Rumours are that the Parisians didn’t like the ‘ugly’ Eiffel initially. The tower was supposed to be torn down in 1909, but the tower’s antenna was heavily used for communication (telegraph) purpose, thus putting off the dismantle plan. Besides, the Eiffel was then gradually becoming a prime tourist attraction, bringing in huge economic value for Paris and France, and in the end earned its rights to stay permanently.
The Eiffel Tower actually looked more splendid at night itself. But on a clear blue day it offers a good bird-eye view of Paris from its platform.
The beautiful Seine River…
Can you spot the Arc de Triomphe below?
The far point at the centre are Montmartre and Basilica of the Sacred Heart…
Shadow of Eiffel and the Trocadéro…
Champ de Mars…
Descending down the Eiffel with its elevator…
Europe travel journal
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