• The construction of the Eiffel Tower began in 1887 and took two years, two months and five days to complete. The flag was hoisted to the top on March 31, 1889 for the Universal Exhibition in celebration of the French Revolution. Gustave Eiffel was the main contractor on the project. It cost 7,800,000 gold francs to build the Tower. At the time it was built, it was the tallest building in the world.

• The total height of the Eiffel Tower, including the flagpole, is 324m (about 1063 feet). There are 1665 steps from the ground to the top. The steps from the second floor to the top are closed to the public. There are three elevators that go up to the first and second floors. Only one or two are available to the public at any given time, often creating long lines to get to the top! The dimensions at the base are 125 m (410 ft) x 125 m (410 ft).

• The Eiffel Tower is completely repainted every seven years. It takes 15 months to repaint it! There are three shades of “Tour Eiffel brown” used to paint the Tower.

• More than 229,000,000 people have visited the Eiffel Tower since it was built. 2006 had a record number of visitors – 6.7 million! It is open every day of the year.

• One of the most spectacular aspects of the Eiffel Tower is much more obvious at night. The first lighting system was installed in 1900. Over the years the lighting of the Tower has changed from gas to electricity, incandescent lamps to neon and now sodium lamps. Beacons were added to the top that can be seen from 80 kilometers away. And most recently, thousands of sparkling lights were added to illuminate the Tower every hour for ten minutes from dusk until 1:00 am. No wonder Paris is called the City of Lights.

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