The Eiffel Tower is a cool location for the sketch, but at first I want to tell you very interesting story about it. I quite sure you never heard this facts about the Eiffel tower.
In honor of the centenary of the French Revolution, it was decided to hold a world exhibition in Paris. As part of the preparations, the authorities announced a competition among architects and engineers. Competitors requested to present a project of structure that can hold an exhibition and demonstrate the engineering and technological power of the country. But it had one tricky requirement, – the structure should be collapsible.
Among the participants was the engineering office of Gustave Eiffel. As an application for the competition, Eiffel sent a project of his worker Maurice Koechlin. Eiffel won the competition and received a lease agreement for 20 years. According to it, after 20 years the tower should to be dismantled. The construction budget was 7.8 million francs, and 300 builders worked on the tower construction 26 months. It made of 18038 parts, that were fixed by two and a half million rivets.
The first ascent to the tower took place on March 31st, 1889. It takes 1710 steps get to the 3rd platform. Elevators will appear only 10 years later. In the first week of the exhibition, 30000 visitors went upstairs. And for the entire exhibition, about 2 million tickets were sold.
In 1903, in order to save the tower from dismantling, Eiffel suggested , that the French army will use the tower as a platform for studying wireless communications. As a result of the experiments, it became possible to receive and transmit a message at a distance of more than 400 km. The lease was extended for another 70 years and the tower was saved from demolition.
Thanks to the telegraph station on the Eiffel Tower, important telegrams from enemy radio stations were captured and spies were exposed. Since 1921, the first music programs and spoken news have been broadcast from the tower. In 1935, with the help of a transmitter from the tower, it began to distribute a television signal. In 2010, the tower was re-equipped to switch to digital TV.
More over, it has spectacular view. I recommend you to visit the Eiffel Tower’s top platform, to enjoy it, especially at sunset or at night! Trust me, it worth 2 hours waiting in the line.
Book your visit here.
How to get to Eiffel Tower?
The quickest way to get to Eiffel tower is by metro, hop off in Bir-Hakeim station (green line), it’s 8 minutes walk from Tower.
Ready? let’s sketch! Here is 3 perfect Eiffel sketching spots:
Champ the mars
Park with trees and paths, you can sit on the grass and sketch the Eiffel tower.
D’Lena bridge
D’Lena bridge is one more perfect location for sketching the Eiffel tower. By the way my sketch below, made on this brigde.
Trocadéro Gardens
Public park with fountains and sculptures and great views to Eiffel Tower.
Enjoy your trip and make great sketches!
