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It is the most visited monument in the world and that place where you have to go to greet at least once in your life. But we know little about its trajectory, so here is a good handful of curiosities about the mythical Parisian Eiffel Tower, starting with its international day, which is celebrated on March 31.

Your day: March 31

The construction began on January 28, 1887 and was inaugurated on March 31, 1889, which is why the day of the Eiffel Tower is celebrated every year on that date. This was designed by the engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier and later built by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris, as pointed out by the felicesvacaciones.es portal, responsible for this list of curiosities and that has Paris and, by extension, the emblematic tower.

Your original name

The building, located in the VII arrondissement of Paris, France, is a structure made of puddled iron, which has a height of 324 meters. This tower was initially called "iron tower of the 300 meters", but soon became "the tower of Mr. Eiffel", by its creator, and then simply Eiffel Tower.

First visit: the British Royal Family

The first to visit the place were some of the members of the British Royal Family during their stay in Paris in 1889. Even before the inauguration of this famous monument, these were some of the most prestigious people who stepped on the recent iron construction.

The monument, at its inauguration in 1889.

The nickname: the great drilled giraffe

Before its construction was finished, it was highly criticized by intellectuals of the time such as Charles Garnier. He received comments such as grande girafe toute percée (large giraffe all drilled).

Painted 19 times

The monument holds the equivalent of 350 tons of paint, as it has been painted up to 19 times. Since its construction, the tower has been painted once every seven years. In fact, since 2019 it was proposed to strip this painting and thus preserve the security of the monument. The color of the Eiffel Tower is intentionally degraded from darker to lighter to accentuate the vanishing point.

With built-in fireplace

There is a chimney at the foot of the tower, behind the west pillar, it is a brick keep hidden in a park among some bushes. It was built the same year in which the construction of the building began, that is, 1887. It had an industrial function, as it was connected to the engine room located under the south pillar.

In winter it shrinks

During the winter, the building shrinks by four to eight centimeters. When temperatures rise, it returns to its original size and with hot weather the expansion of the metal makes the monument move, reaching a record inclination of 18 centimeters in 1976.

The emblematic Parisian construction from below. SHUTTERSTOCK

Seven million tourists annually

The work receives an average of seven million visits per year (75% of foreigners), thus becoming the most visited paid monument in the world. Since its inauguration, it has received more than 250 million people.

With expiration date

It was not built to last in time, it was destined to remain for 20 years, but thanks to scientific experiments and especially to the first radio transmissions and telecommunications, it has remained until today.

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