The Iron Lady of Paris

The Eiffel Tower is a lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Gustave Eiffel built it from 1887 to 1889.

Locals call the wrought iron structure La dame de fer. The square base measures 125 metres on each side.

A committee of 300 protested the design. It included writers, painters, sculptors and architects.

Workers joined 18,038 pieces using 2.5 million rivets. Two and a half million rivets, zero improvisation.

The climb from ground level to the second level takes over 600 steps. The top level is usually accessible only by lift.

Gustave Eiffel invited Thomas Edison to his private apartment.

The highest public observation deck in the European Union sits 276 metres above the ground on the third level.

The tower received 5,889,000 visitors in 2022. Some critics eventually changed their minds about the iron lady.