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Designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, nicknamed the 'magician of iron' is one of the best known monuments worldwide. Everyone knows about it, but very few know the facts about the Eiffel Tower.

- Erection of the Eiffel Tower began on January 26, 1887 and was completed on March 31, 1889. The Eiffel Tower took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days from start to finish. It was created to celebrate the anniversary of the French Revolution which coincided with the 1889 Worlds Fair.

- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was the main architect, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier were the main engineers, Stephen Sauvestre was the main architect, and Jean Compagnon handled the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel also created the internal frame of the Statue of Liberty in the year 1885.

- The Eiffel Tower stands 324 meters tall and is made out of 9441 tons of wrought iron (puddle iron) of the highest quality.

- A total of 18038 pieces of wrought iron were joined together to create the Eiffel Tower. The iron used to make the Eiffel tower was made at the factories of Mr. Dupont and Mr. Fould.

- Approximately 60 tons of paint is required to paint the Eiffel Tower, which is painted every 7 years in 3 shades of brown (darkest shade at the bottom), using brushes.

- The base of the Eiffel Tower covers a square area of 100 meters.

- During gusty winds, the Eiffel Tower sways up to 15cm at the top.

- The names of 72 prominent French scientists and famous personalities are affixed on the sides of Eiffel Tower just beneath the first platform, 18 names per side.

- There was only one death during the construction period of the Eiffel Tower, that too outside working hours and not work related.

- The Eiffel Tower has a total of 1710 steps to the topmost third level small platform, 674 steps to the second level, and 347 steps to the first level, all counted from the ground.

- The Eiffel Tower is open to the public every day of the year.

- Persons on wheelchairs can visit the Eiffel Tower up to the second level using the elevator.

- You can use the steps only till the second platform (the third platform is accessible only via elevators).

- The Eiffel Tower has got restaurants on the first and second platforms. The restaurant on the first platform is Altitude 95 and faces the river Seine. The restaurant on the second platform is named Jules Verne.

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