La Tour Eiffel
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Click here for worksheet 1 on the Eiffel Tower.
Click here for worksheet 2 on the Eiffel Tower
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The most famous place in Paris is LA TOUR EIFFEL. This is named after the man who designed it, Gustave Eiffel. The 1889 World Expo in Paris was held to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution in 1789. In 1884, it was decided to hold a competition to design an attraction which would bring more visitors to the World Expo. There were hundreds of entries, some of which - like a giant guillotine - were rather unusual. Eiffel's design of the Tower was the winning entry. Click here for a slide show on the 1889 World Expo to find out more about the birth of the Eiffel Tower |
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It took about twenty-six months to construct the Tower. At that time, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world at 321 metres in height. (1051 feet) It weighed 7 000 tonnes and two and half million rivets were used in its construction. To begin with, the Eiffel Tower was not at all popular with the people of Paris. They did not like its shape, they thought it looked ugly. They wanted to pull it down as soon as the World Expo had finished. An early picture of the Eiffel Tower. (Source unknown) |
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However, it proved to be the most popular place in Paris to visit. When World Expo had finished, people from all over the world were still coming to Paris, just to see the Eiffel Tower. So the people of Paris decided that they would keep it. Now it is ranked as the number one tourist attraction in the world. |
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The Eiffel Tower has three levels. You may walk or take a lift to the first level. This lower lift is curved and has two passenger decks. You may only take the lift to the second and top levels. At the top there are TV and telephone transmitters and a weather station. On the other levels, there are shops, restaurants and even a post office. The name of the restaurant is "Altitude 95" - a reminder of the height of the 2e étage or second level. The Eiffel Tower is open till 11pm. each night so it may be visited when most other attractions are closed. At night, the lights of Paris are very beautiful when seen from the top of the Tower. Click here for a slide show on the Eiffel Tower Click here for the slide show in English Click here for the official Eiffel Tower site. Lots of interesting information about your visit! And games to play as well. Clique ici pour la version française. |
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