Since it was built and opened to the public in 1889, the Eiffel Tower instantly gained an international fame, as it was then the tallest building in the world. Its peculiar iron silhouette instantly traveled across the world in the newspapers. Built for the 1889 Exposition universelle (World's Fair) which took place in Paris, Gustave Eiffel's masterpiece aimed to show to the world the audacity of the French in the industrial and technological domains at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
Being the first tower to reach the height of 1,000 feet - twice as any structure previously erected- the Eiffel Tower remained the highest building in the world during 40 years: until the Empire State Building was erected in New York in 1931!
Since 1889, the Eiffel Tower has always been opened for visits (except during the Word War 2 and the Covid-19 Pandemic): nearly 330 million visitors experienced the magic of the ascent -by elevator, or by the stairs - and discovered t8he magnificent view over Paris. Thanks to its universal power of attraction, it's the most visited monument in the world, with nearly 7M visitors each year.
 
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