Page 198 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

196  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

u Eiffel Tower

Originally built to impress visitors to the 1889 Universal
Exhibition, the Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) was meant to be
a temporary addition to the Paris skyline. Built by the
engineer Gustave Eiffel, it was fiercely decried by 19th-
century aesthetes. The author Guy de Maupassant
lunched there to avoid seeing it. The world’s tallest
structure until 1931, when New York’s Empire State
Building was completed, the tower is now the symbol
of Paris and attracts 7 million visitors a year. The glass-
floored first level houses a modern visitors’ centre and an
interactive museum chronicling the history of the tower.

Lift Engine
Room Ironwork Pattern
Eiffel emphasized According to Eiffel, the complex
safety over speed pattern of wrought-iron girders
when choosing came from the need to stabilize the
the lifts for tower in strong winds. But Eiffel’s
the tower. design quickly won admirers for
its pleasing symmetry.

The Daring and the Deluded
The tower has inspired many crazy stunts.
It has been climbed by mountaineers,
cycled down by a journalist, and used
by trapeze artists and as a launch
pad by parachutists. In 1912,
an Austrian tailor, Franz
Reichelt, attempted to fly from
the parapet with only a modified
cape for wings. He plunged to his . Hydraulic Lift Mechanism
death in front of a large crowd. Still in working order, this part of the
According to the autopsy, he died of original 1900 mechanism was automated
a heart attack before even touching in 1986.
the ground. Birdman Reichelt

KEY Champ-de-Mars
The gardens of this
1 The third level, 276 m (905 ft) former parade ground
above the ground, can hold 400 stretch from the base
people at a time. A champagne bar of the tower to the
and Gustave Eiffel’s offices are here. Ecole Militaire.
2 Le Jules Verne Restaurant is one
of the best in Paris, offering superb
food and panoramic views (see p303).
3 The second level, at 115 m (376
ft), is separated from the first level by
359 steps, or a few minutes in the lift.
4 The first level, at 57 m (187 ft)
high, with its high-tech visitors’
centre and dizzying glass floor
panels, can be reached by lift or
by climbing 345 steps.

196-197_EW_Paris.indd 196 03/04/17 10:56 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2)
Date 3rd September 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm