The Iron Lady is undeniably one of the capital’s most emblematic monuments. Built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exhibition, it has continued to inspire Parisians and tourists from all over the world for over 130 years! But do you really know all its secrets? Discover 6 things you may not have known about the Eiffel Tower.
1 – Parisians hated it from the start
Hard to believe, isn’t it? But it’s true! When the Eiffel Tower was first conceived in 1889, many Parisians hated it. For some, the project was misunderstood and described as “monstrous” and “ridiculous”. A petition was even launched to try and stop the construction of this “detestable column of bolted sheet metal”. Intellectuals of the time, such as Guy de Maupassant, described it as an“ungainly, giant skeleton […] aborting into the ridiculous, thin profile of a factory chimney“. Some residents of the Champs de Mars were afraid of being disturbed by such a structure, so much so that one of them sued Gustave Eiffel to stop its construction. In the end, it wasn’t until its official opening on May 15, 1889, that it was finally adopted!
2 – It shrinks in winter and moves in summer
Yes, you read that right! When winter’s cold is biting hard, the metal shrinks. It can lose up to 15 centimetres! When it’s hot, the metal expands and can even tilt the tower by several centimetres.
3 – Designed as a huge entrance
The Eiffel Tower was conceived as a monumental and spectacular gateway, to welcome visitors to the World’s Fair for the duration of the event. But in the more than a century of its existence, it has become much more than that in the hearts of the French.
4 – It’s painted in three different colors (and has had bright colors in the past).
Incredible but true, the Iron Lady is painted in three different shades of brown. The lightest color is at the very top, and the darkest is at her feet. Thanks to its different shades, the Eiffel Tower would appear uniform despite atmospheric haze. But the Tower wasn’t always painted this way… It was once painted yellow, then red and finally blue! It has already been repainted some twenty times.
5 – Selling photos of it at night is illegal
The lighting on the Eiffel Tower is protected by copyright. As such, it is strictly illegal to sell photos of the Eiffel Tower at night. You do, however, have the right to take photos of the Tower from any angle and share them on your social networks.
6 – It has an apartment at the top
The Tower may have played a prank on April 1, making us believe that a room could be rented for a night at the very top, but a real apartment did exist. Gustave Eiffel was accustomed to working in the very heart of his work in this studio. This enabled him to make faster progress and experiment with new things. However, due to lack of space, there was no bed. Today, it‘s possible to visit this fully reconstructed office on guided tours.