Bucket List: Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable monuments to human engineering.  It stands on the Champs-de-Mars in Paris, France and is the result of the collaboration between two of the senior engineers working for the prestigious architecture company, Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel.

The World's Fair was to be held in 1889 and the engineers had discussed ideas for a suitable centerpiece to celebrate both the World's Fair and the centennial of the French Revolution.  Eiffel approved one of their designs, which was subsequently selected by the French government as being more practical and detailed than all other proposals at the time.  Construction began in 1887 and lasted two years.

Standing 324 meters (1063 feet) in height, the tower is the tallest structure in Paris and second-tallest free standing structure in France.  It has become the icon of France and one of the most-visited monuments in the world.

The popular British television series Doctor Who filmed a serial that showed the tower (City of Death, Season 17) with the titular character and his companion joking about whether they should take the elevator or fly to get to the top.

Official web site: www.toureiffel.paris