Eiffel Tower: Iconic Paris landmark gets a mini-twin

Image source, AFP

Image caption, The mini-version sits in the Eiffel Tower gardens in Paris

There are now two Eiffel Towers in Paris, thanks to an artist who has decided to install a mini one.

Phillipe Maindron built an Eiffel Tower that is around a tenth of the size of the original.

He said he wanted create something "carefree" - and named his baby Tower the Eiffela.

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic landmarks in Europe, and it stands at 330 metres high.

"Eifella"

Image source, AFP

This is what the artist decided to call his mini-tribute to the Eiffel Tower.

Despite being a lot smaller than the original - it's still a decent size - standing at just over 32 metres tall.

Phillipe Maindron said he wanted to pay tribute to the famous landmark, that millions of tourists visit every year.

Many people thought it might have been an April Fools' joke - but the mini-tower is staying up until 10 April.

The Eiffel Tower did have one prank to play on April Fools' Day this year - with a post going out on social media saying that it would be turned into a giant slide.

Sounds like a pretty good idea to us, actually!

The Eiffel Tower's history

Image source, Bettmann

Image caption, This picture is from the very beginning of the Eiffel Tower - do you recognise the base of it?

The famous 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.

Live from the Eiffel Tower

Image source, Ian.CuiYi

Image caption, People come from all over the world to see the tower in person

From 1903, the tower was used as a military radio post, and more recently it's been used to broadcast TV.

The Eiffel Tower was only supposed to be a temporary structure - but it's still standing today.

It's repainted every seven years, and will get a new coat in the next year before the 2024 Paris Olympics.