The Eiffel Tower is easily one of the world’s most recognizable structures and the heart of the City of Lights. It seems crazy to change such an iconic monument, but the tower, which just celebrated its 130th birthday, will get a new look right in time for the 2024 Olympics. Read on to find out what the beautiful new Eiffel Tower park will look like.
Eiffel Tower Facts
How many people visit the Eiffel Tower every year?
Almost seven million. Around 300 million people have visited it since it was created in 1889.
How tall is the Eiffel Tower?
1,063 feet. When it was built, it was the tallest structure in the world and it remains the tallest in Paris.
How long did it take to build the Eiffel Tower?
Two years, two months and five days.
Who built the Eiffel Tower?
Gustav Eiffel, a French engineer.
The new Eiffel Tower park
The most-visited spot in Paris—the Eiffel Tower and its surrounding parks—is getting a makeover. The new, 100-acre park is to be designed by Gustafson Porter + Bowman, London-based landscape architects, who beat out 42 other candidates in the competition to create it. The new Eiffel Tower park will be Paris’s largest garden and the €72 million project will be funded entirely by Eiffel Tower ticket sales.
The Eiffel Tower is located on the Champ de Mars and the current design of the park is polarizing. While it is certainly beautiful as is (has anyone ever seen an ugly picture of the Eiffel Tower?) everyone who visits knows that it can be too sunny, incredibly dusty, and the massive road that divides the park from the tower itself is not pedestrian-friendly. Gustafson Porter + Bowman plan to change this before the 2024 Olympics in Paris with more trees, fountains, and new car-free areas.
What will the new Eiffel Tower park look like?
The design of the new park will celebrate the Eiffel Tower as the center of one of the most stunning places in Paris. It will be a mile-long green space connecting Place du Trocadero, Palais de Chaillot, Pont d’Iéna, Champ de Mars and École Militaire. The project will also include two new public squares: Place de Varsovie and Place Branly.
The bridge across the Seine that links the Eiffel Tower to the Place du Trocadero, Pont d’Iéna, will become car-free, and the rest of the new park will also become more accessible to those hoping to explore the City of Lights on foot. This is part of a recent push by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to cut back on pollution and ensure that the City of Lights remains a leader in environmental issues.
The area directly under the Eiffel Tower will also be revamped, with more facilities to ease the visit of almost seven million people a year who visit the tower but will be sunken to preserve the image of the park. The first half of the project will be finished in 2023, a year before the Olympics are held in Paris. The second half, covering the area between Champ de Mars and École Militaire will be finished in 2030.
If you want to see the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars as they have been for the past 130 years, join The Tour Guy on our skip the line Eiffel Tower Night Tour before renovations begin at the end of 2020!
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The information provided is free, but we also sell tours in Paris at pretty reasonable prices. We offer an array of Paris tours which feature some of the city’s most famous landmarks including the Eiffel Tower– a must see in Paris!
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