eiffel tower

EIFFEL TOWER

Bairdstravel took the Metro to Bir -Hakelm. Short walk to the tower.

Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris.

More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m — 1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).

The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure including non-metal components is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind.

As demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic meter. The tower has a mass less than the mass of the air contained in a cylinder of the same dimensions, that is 324 meters high and 88.3 meters in radius. The weight of the tower is 10,100 tonnes compared to 10,265 tonnes of air.

The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to access the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. From the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether they have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. . The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.

2008 Individual rates

	From March 15, 2008 to April 3, 2009
Elevator	Full rate	Reduced rate
	(Adults/Children +12)	(Children 3-11 )
Top	12,00 €	6,70 €
2^nd floor	7,80 €	4,30 €
1^st floor	4,80 €	2,50 €
Stairs	+ 25 years old	- 25 years old
1^st & 2^nd floors	4,00 €	3,10 €

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The Eiffel Tower was the inspiration for the Blackpool Tower in Blackpool, England. After visiting the Great Paris Exhibition in 1889, the towns mayor John Bickerstaffe commissioned the building of the tower, which has a very similar design and was completed 1894. The main differences are that the Blackpool Tower is approximately half the height of the Eiffel Tower and is not freestanding, the base being contained within buildings which house the Tower Circus. Both the Eiffel Tower and Blackpool Tower feature on the list of the World Federation of Great Towers.

Other Eiffel-inspired towers, in order of decreasing height:

In front of the Paris Las Vegas hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, near Las Vegas, Nevada — 165 m (541 ft) (scale
Kings Island Amusement Park, Mason, Ohio — ~101 m (~332 ft, scale 1:3)
Kings Dominion Amusement Park, Doswell, Virginia — ~101 m (332 ft, scale 1:3)
Shenzhen, China — ~100 m (~328 ft, scale 1:3) Slobozia, Romania — 54 m (177 ft)
In Parizh, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Built by South Ural Cell Telephone company as a cellphone tower — 50 m (164 ft)
In Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark. Wooden replica — 50 m (164 ft)
Fayetteville, North Carolina — The Bordeaux Tower is about 45 m (148 ft) (150 ft) featuring an elevator that takes people to the top for a small view.
Walt Disney World's EPCOT theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (at the France Pavilion in World Showcase) — 23 (76 ft, scale 1:10)
Paris, Texas — 20 m (66 ft) (65 ft)
Eiffel Tower (Paris, Tennessee) in Paris, Tennessee — about 60 feet (18 m) tall.
As a Meccano model, housed at the Technology Museum of Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia) — 11 m (36 ft)
On the roof of the catering company Rungis Express in Meckenheim and Satteldorf, Germany — (height unknown)

Centerpiece of the Falconcity of Wonders — a planned new development project in Dubai. UAE, featuring seven modern wonders of the world (planned).
Inwald Miniature Park, Inwald, Poland
Mini-Europe, Brussels, a 12.96 m model (a proportion of 1:25 to the original).
Model on the roof of the Rue De Paris cafe in Brisbane, Australia — (roughly 12 m (39 ft) tall)
Montmartre, Saskatchewan - 8.5 metres tall.
Model in the First World Plaza shopping mall in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
In Austin, Texas there is a 7.5 m (25 ft) tall replica at the Dreyfus Antique Shop.
An 18 m model in Filiatra, Messinia, Greece, at the entrance of the village
Paris, Michigan; approximately 3 m (10 ft) (10 ft) tall and in a park
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sahil Trade Center, at "Parfums de France" shop. Approximately 3 m (10 ft) tall.
Golden Sands sea resort in Varna, Bulgaria — A tower with a ratio of 1:10 to the original is built in the town as a tourist attraction.
Aktau, Kazakhstan — model at the front of the office of Oil Construction Company
Satteldorf near Crailsheim, Germany. On the top of a company building
In 2007 the Lego company released a 1:300 scale model of the Eiffel tower as a set. It contains 3428 pieces and stands 108 cm (42.5 in) tall and 50 cm (19.7 in) wide and deep.

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