The Eiffel Tower: From Public Outcry to Symbol of France

At last, our final stop and the highlight: the Eiffel Tower. The moment it comes into view, you probably won't hear a word I say, but let's cover the basics anyway. The tower, an essential part of any picture of Paris, takes its name from the architect who built it, Gustave Eiffel. Imagine having a tower named after you that is loved around the world. It would be more than great; it would feel like a dream.

But it wasn't loved from the start. When it was going up, it drew every kind of criticism. It began with "If that thing collapses, everyone will die," and artists protested that they couldn't stand "a skeletal building like that in Paris." It was called a skinny pyramid, an eyesore, and worse, yet it was completed anyway. The famous French writer Guy de Maupassant disliked the tower so much that he reportedly ate at the tower often. When asked why, he supposedly answered, "Because it's the only place where I can't see it." It sounds like he secretly liked it but was too proud to say so, a case of what people today call being in denial about being a fan.

The tower was originally meant to stand for 20 years and then be taken down. It was built in 1889, so it was due to come down in 1909, and if it had, we would never have seen it. You may have noticed that 1889 is that year again, the "89" you've heard over and over on this tour. It was the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, and a World's Fair was held to mark it. France wanted to show something at the fair to wash away the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which Napoleon III had lost, and to display its national strength. It was built less for beauty than as a show of engineering muscle, to say, "Look, we can build this high with this span." So the plan was to show off and then tear it down after 20 years. But it turned out to suit Paris far better than expected, and it was beautiful in its own right, so it has become a symbol not just of Paris but of all of France.

With the Eiffel Tower, seeing and feeling it matters more than any explanation. Now enjoy it at your own pace and soak up the romance of Paris. After dark, the tower sparkles for five minutes at the top of every hour. At 1:05 a.m. the golden lights switch off and only the white lights flicker one last time before going dark, which is known as the "White Eiffel." Many people wait up until 1 a.m. to see it, and it's well worth watching. On weekdays, though, public transport stops around 1 a.m., so I recommend planning for Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when it runs later. It gets cold late at night, so don't forget a coat.