Home › History Moments › The Eiffel Tower
🏛️ The Eiffel Tower
The most famous tower in the world was only meant to stand for 20 years — Paris loved it so much it stayed.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
📍 Where is it?
📍 Paris, France — see it on the big map →
The Eiffel Tower was built in Paris for the World's Fair of 1889, to celebrate 100 years since the French Revolution. It is made of iron, stands about 330 metres tall, and was the tallest building in the world for 41 years. It took just over two years to build, using more than 18,000 pieces of iron held together by 2.5 million rivets.
Many people in Paris hated it at first. They thought it was ugly and wanted it torn down. It was only meant to stand for 20 years. But the tower proved useful for radio signals, and Parisians slowly fell in love with it.
Today it is the symbol of Paris and of France. About 7 million people visit it every year. At night it sparkles with thousands of lights, and on a clear day you can see for about 70 kilometres from the top.
🤩 Wow fact!
The Eiffel Tower was only meant to stand for 20 years — but Paris loved it so much it never came down.
🧠 Quiz time!
What was the Eiffel Tower built for?