The Eiffel Tower is 'rusting', leaked documents say
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The Eiffel Tower has been standing fully built for 133 years.
It's hard to imagine Paris without it.
However, new reports suggest that the famous French tower is facing a big threat because it needs a serious make-over.
The documents which were reported in the French magazine Marianne, say the tower is a 'very bad way' had has been for quite some time.
It is being said it needs a full repair and fast!
Olympic repaint
You can see some of the rust on the tower here
The tower is due to have an 拢50 million paint job ahead of the 2024 Olympics which are taking place in the French capital city, Paris.
Work has been delayed on the tower since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, according to the reports that lick of paint won't be enough.
The people the magazine spoke to claim there is a more serious rust problem on the tower that simply repainting it won't solve.
Tower trivia
Here's the tower not fully built! It took two years, two months and five days to complete
The tower started construction in 1887 and was completed in March 1889.
It stands currently at about 330 metres and, before antennas were added to the top, it stood at about 312 metres high!
It took a team of between 150-300 people to build it.
The Eiffel Tower is made up of 18,038 iron parts, 2,500,000 rivets and four pillars to make up the 410 square-foot monument - basically it is huge!
It was only supposed to stand for 20 years
The Eiffel Tower was only supposed to be a temporary structure.
It was created to celebrate 100 years since the French revolution.
Gustave Eiffel who was the main man behind the project fought for the structure to stay for scientific experiments.
In particular, the tower was, and still is, used to transmit radio signals.
From 1903 the tower was used as a military radio post and in more recent times it has been used to broadcast television.
It's still standing today and is repainted every seven years.
It's a very popular tourist destination
Seven million people visit the tower every year.
Around 75 percent of those people are from other countries who have travelled to see it.
According to the French tourism authorities, it's the most visited paid-for attraction in the world.
It says that since its opening in 1889, almost 300 million people have been to visit.
Every night the tower is illuminated by 20,000 light bulbs!
When the wind is particularly strong the tower sways
The Eiffel Tower's nickname is the Iron Lady
There are 1,665 steps from the bottom to the top of the tower
However, visitors are only allowed to use the stairs on the first and second levels and must use the lift to continue higher
There are five lifts to get to the top and once you're at the top you can see Gustave Eiffel's mock-ups of the tower and a 360-degree view of Paris!
Have you ever been to the Eiffel Tower or do you want to go? Let us know in comments.
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