Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

© Susanne Kremer/eStock Phot

Eiffel Tower

Locally, it’s called ‘La dame de fer’, which translates to English as 'The Iron Lady'. To the rest of the world, it's the Eiffel Tower. The Parisian landmark is one of the most recognisable structures on the planet and the most visited monument with an entrance fee. The Eiffel Tower took 500 workers two years, two months and five days to complete when it was built from 1887 to 1889 as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair. It is 324 metres tall to the tip, an amazing achievement for a time when structures of this size were unheard of.

Depending on the temperature, the Eiffel Tower can actually shrink by about 15 centimetres. On a windy day, if you look closely, maybe you’ll notice the natural swaying movement near the top. That wind also gets collected by turbines on the second level which convert it into electricity for the tower’s shops and restaurants. There’s also a rainwater collection system that's used for the toilet tanks. The Eiffel Tower is painted roughly every seven years. Originally it was dark red, then yellow, but has been ‘Eiffel Tower Brown’ since 1968.