Gustave Eiffel(1832-1923) built the tower in 1889 and it was intended to be a temporary structure for the World’s Fair. At the time, architects and artisans screamed bloody murder over it’s construction, arguing it would damage the view and reputation of Paris. At a cost of 8 million francs to build, The Eiffel Tower was never taken down.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from the top of L'Arc De Triumph

The Eiffel Tower from our room at Hôtel Littré

Not only can the tower sway under high winds, but during the day it can actually tilt as much as 12 centimeters at the summit from the expansion of the iron by the heat of the sun.

During the Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War, the Germans unfurled a banner down the tower proclaiming victory on all fronts. An American from Greenpeace did something similar in 1979, but the banner read “Save the Seals”. Some might argue he was as ultimately successful as the Germans.

You are standing on one of the corners of the second level. The lineups were so long, the ticket office wouldn’t sell tickets to the third level until you made it to the second and judged for yourself whether or not you wanted to wait even longer. The Eiffel Tower has three levels, the first is quite low to the ground and is home to a restaurant. You can slip a 1 euro coin into the binoculars to get a close up view of the action on the ground below.

The Paris QTVR Portfolio:

• La Tour Eiffel, Paris
• Napoleon’s Apartments, the Louvre, Paris
• The Catacombs, Paris
• Gare Du Nord, Paris, France
• Saint Eustache, Paris
• Notre Dame Cathedral by Night
• Musee De La Poupee, Paris, France
• Paris at Night

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Thepanel is located in an office just off to the side of the security desk. The three switches indicate barometric pressure (rising, falling, steady), and the four others indicate weather conditions. The wiring for this panel runs all the way up to the electrical room just beneath the beacon itself.

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Theweather beacon is so close, you can hear the clattering of the lights going on and off with the relays. Colin, our tour guide, pointed out that for some odd reason the rows of lights aren’t even.

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Youcan see several “fingers” that protrude into the centre cylinder of the mechanism. Those are the floors. The fingers make contact with points along the cylinder and tell the elevator to slow down and ultimately stop. In the old days, doors would open mid-floor because one of the fingers became damaged and didn’t fire the signal properly.

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Whata day to visit. This day just happened to be one of the half dozen “smog alert” days reported in Toronto, and it was stinkin’ hot, but the cool breeze from this height was a relief. The weather beacon is so close, you can hear the clattering of the lights going on and off with the relays. Colin, our tour guide, pointed out that for some odd reason the rows of lights aren’t even. Check it out for yourself.