The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair.

Standing at 330 meters (1,083 ft) tall, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York City in 1930. It is still the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world, with approximately 7 million visitors annually.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 meters (906 ft) above the ground – the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a stairway to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

The tower was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is made of puddled iron (wrought iron), a material that was state-of-the-art at the time of construction.

The Eiffel Tower was built in just over two years, from January 28, 1887, to March 31, 1889. The tower was constructed using 7,300 tons of iron and 2.5 million rivets. It was designed to sway slightly in the wind, but the sun affects the tower more, causing the side facing the sun to expand and bend the tower up to 18 cm (7 inches) away from the sun.

Originally intended as a temporary exhibit, the Eiffel Tower was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its utility as a radio transmission tower. Today, it serves as a symbol of Paris and of France and is an integral part of the city's skyline. 