If you are curious to discover the most incredible Eiffel Tower facts for kids, you are in the right place. Keep reading and tell me if I was right!

The Effeil tower is a symbol of Paris and of the country, that’s why millions of people come here every year to visit it. Among them, there are many curious kids. That’s why I’ve written this article. And that’s why I organize a tour tailored to their needs: the Tapsy Tour of Paris, designed to allow kids discover the history and curiosities of the capital of France while having fun!

THE TOP 11 EIFFEL TOWER FACTS FOR KIDS

1. SOME GIANT NUMBERS

The Eiffel Tower weighs around 10000 tonnes, it hosts 7,000,000 visitors per year, you need 20,000 lightbulbs to enlighten it at night and it has 1,665 steps to take you to the top of it.

2. ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE

When the Eiffel Tower was first designed it was meant to be only the entrance arch for the 1889 Paris Exposition, not a permanent feature of the Parisian skyline!

3. IT GROWS IN HEIGHT

As it is completely made of iron, during the hot summers in Europe, the Eiffel Tower grows in height up to 15 centimetres (about 6 inches).

4. ENDLESS REPLICAS IN THE WORLD

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most reproduced monuments in the world. In fact, from the Tokyo Tower in Japan, to the one in the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, about 30 copies around the world have been counted so far.

5. THE EIFFEL TOWER IS MARRIED

I know you were thinking about it. But, sorry, the Eiffel Tower is already taken. In fact, in 2008 a woman married it and even changed her name to “Erika La Tour Eiffel”.

6. THE EIFFEL TOWER WAS SOLD

Taking the advantage of the hypothetical dilapidation of the Eiffel Tower in 1925, the con artist Victor Lustig managed to sell the Eiffel Tower to a scrap metal dealer.

7. THE EIFFEL TOWER WAS TO BE DISMANTLED IN 1909

Built in occasion of the World’s Fair in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was meant to be taken down 20 years later, in 1909. It was then allowed to remain standing only because it started providing a radio antenna for the city of Paris.

8. THE EIFFEL TOWER WAS DEFINED USELESS AND MONSTROUS

Incredible but true, when the Eiffel Tower was build, not everyone liked it. Instead, it was largely criticized, even by many prominent people like the novelist Guy de Maupassant, who described it as “useless and monstrous”.

9. EVERYONE HAS A NICKNAME

Ever the Eiffel Tower has a nickname, and it shares it with Margaret Thatcher: “The Iron Lady” (La Dame de Fer in French), owning it to its structure entirely made of iron.

10. ITS PHOTOS AT NIGHT ARE PROHIBITED

Absolutely true! If you get to see the Eiffel Tower enlightened by night, be sure you don’t share, sell, or publish its pictures, as it it’s forbidden. In fact, the enlightened tower is protected by a copyright, therefore you need a special permission to use its photos.

11. ITS LIFTS TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD

The lifts of the Eiffel Tower are so used, that it has been calculated that they cover a combined distance of 103,000 km a year, which is about two and a half times the circumference of the Earth.

Are you curious to discover more curiosities about the Eiffel Tower with your kids? Join the Tapsy Tour of Paris and get prepared for a great family travel adventure!

Tapsy