FAQ's about Eiffel Tower On this page you will find answers to some of the most popular questions about the Eiffel Tower as well as some less known interesting facts. Why was the Eiffel Tower built? Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. What is the Eiffel Tower’s height and weight? The Eiffel Tower has 2.5 million rivets holding together its 18,038 parts weighing 7,300 tons and measuring 1,050ft in height. When was the Eiffel Tower built? On March 31, 1889, Gustave Eiffel presided over the inauguration of the tower in Paris named after him. It was opened to the public five weeks later. The building of the Eiffel Tower lasted 26 months. Other interesting facts about the Eiffel Tower: Between 1925 and 1934, the Eiffel Tower served as a giant billboard advertising Citroen. (see picture bellow-right) The Eiffel Tower was the highest structure in the world until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930. Every seven years, the tower is coated with 50 tons of paint to protect it from rust. The design of the tower met with huge disapproval from the artistic community in Paris. They relented when it attracted two million visitors in its first year. On a hot day, expansion of metal on the side facing the sun may cause the top of the tower to bend three inches away from the sun. In 1925, a conman twice 'sold' the tower for scrap. In 2002, the Eiffel Tower celebrated receiving its 200 millionth visitor. Gustave Eiffel also designed the interior support structure for the Statue of Liberty. When Hitler invaded France, the French cut the lift cables on the tower to ensure that he had to walk up the stairs if he wanted to reach the top.



Eiffel Tower in Paris

Eiffel Tower