Paris

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Eiffel Tower

Champ de Mars, 7th

No building better symbolises Paris than the 300-metre Tour Eiffel, and it’s the capital’s most visited attraction: good going for a structure that was intended to stand for just a few months. The radical cast-iron tower was built – for the 1889 World Fair and the centenary of the 1789 Revolution – by engineer Gustave Eiffel. Construction took more than two years and used some 18,000 pieces of metal and 2,500,000 rivets. It stands on four massive concrete piles, and was the tallest structure in the world until New York’s Empire State Building went up in the 1930s. Vintage lifts ply their way up and down, or you can walk as far as the second level. On the third level, there’s Eiffel’s cosy salon and a viewing platform. Views can reach over 65km on a good day. At night, on the hour, 20,000 flashbulbs attached to the tower create a stunning sequined robe effect.

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