Landmarks- The Eiffel Tower

In my mind, the Eiffel Tower is the indisputable mother of all landmarks. There is nothing more iconic to Paris, or indeed France, than this 1,050 feet (320 metres) tall structure of iron. It has been in an endless amount of movies and TV shows and Hollywood has made it seem as if every window in the city has a view of the tower!

You cant blame them though, it is just so beautiful...




I found it so interesting to learn that the Eiffel Tower was only meant to be a temporary structure; to be built for the 1889 Worlds Fair, stand for 20 years and then be torn down- Paris without the Eiffel Tower seems so unimaginable today!

The Eiffel Tower, under construction in July, 1888

Luckily though, the tower proved too valuable to be destroyed. It had become a huge tourist attraction (it was the tallest structure in the world up until 1930, when the Chrysler Building in NYC was completed) and was also found to be an effective radio transmitter, a job that it still has to this day.

The history behind the tower is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's also the reason why a trip to (and up) it is a must on my travel 'to do' list.

Rachel xoxo

2 comments:

  1. And that everyone in Paris thought the tower was really ugly when it was built! Just shows how wrong you can be aha. I took this photo from the middle of the Eiffel Tower a few years back and it's still one of my favourites: http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/LauraFoxGill/touristsparislauragill-1.jpg

    I think the most interesting thing about Paris is Paris Syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome) where tourists freak out because Paris isn't as perfect as they thought it would be. I think it's still beautiful as it is though!

    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes! I remember hearing a story about a man who would eat lunch at the tower's restaurant everyday because it was the only place he didn't have to look at it, haha! I'm so glad times have changed, I think it's beautiful too!

      I really love that picture, such a great angle!

      Delete