The Eiffel Tower in the world

« A vision, an object, a symbol, the Tower is anything that Man wants it to be, and this is infinite. A sight that is looked at and which looks back, a structure that is useless and yet irreplaceable, a familiar world and a heroic symbol, the witness to a century passing by and a monument that is always new, an inimitable and yet incessantly imitated object… » (Translation of Roland Barthes, La tour Eiffel, Ed. Delpirre 1964).

It was the tallest tower in the world at the time of its construction and has been imitated in various places around the world. Overtaken in height by today’s great towers, it nevertheless remains unique.

One of the best known and most imitated monuments in the world

Since the Eiffel Tower was built, people around the world have wanted it for their own. Many monuments have imitated this symbol of Paris and France. Some are inspired by Gustave Eiffel’s work while others are either very similar or replicas.

In 1889, the year of the Tower’s inauguration, the Washington Monument with its height of 169 metres had held the world record for four years. The world would have to wait more than forty years before seeing the Tower dethroned by the Chrysler Building in New York (319 m), which was overtaken in 1949 by the Empire State Building (381 m). Today, towers reaching staggering heights are plentiful, such as the one in Taipei (508 metres) and more recently the Burj Khalifa (828 metres).

Las Vegas, the tallest replica of the Eiffel Tower

The most famous and tallest replica is found in Las Vegas, Nevada. Reaching a height of 541 feet (165 meters), it was built near a luxury hotel-casino complex in 1999. The Eiffel Tower Restaurant and its panoramic terrace offer a superb view of the Bellagio Hotel’s famous fountains.

The Blackpool Tower was built in 1894 and is 518 feet (158 meters) high. Situated along the seafront, its base is obscured by a circus and an aquarium that only reveal its upper structure. Its astonishing architecture gives the impression that the Tower is simply emerging from of the ground!
Tokyo, Japan, is home to one of the most famous Eiffel Tower-inspired constructions in the world. Tokyo Tower was erected in 1958 and rises to 1,093 feet (333 meters), 30 feet (9 meters) taller than its Parisian model! Red and white by day and golden by night, it offers a magnificent view of the Japanese capital.

Two Eiffel Tower replicas were built in China. One in a theme park in Shenzhen in the South-East of the country, and the other in Tianducheng next to Hangzhou. The latter is a 1:3 scale copy of the original and weighs more than 1,000 tonnes. We find other copies in Europe, such as the one in Prague (60 metres tall) at the top of the Petrin Hill. In Slobozia, Romania, there is a copy of around fifty metres in height, just like the one in Parizh, in the South of the Ural Mountains, in Russia. In Lyon (Fourvière), the top part of the Tower has also been reproduced.

How could there be a Paris without its Eiffel Tower? Two replicas in the American cities of Paris, Texas, and Paris, Tennessee, were created in 1995 and 1993. The city in Tennessee erected its simplified Eiffel Tower, which is 60 feet (18.3 meters) high, as a tribute to the French capital. The Texas city added an original touch of local culture to its Tower, crowning it with a red cowboy hat. This 66-foot (20 meter) high tower shines in all colors at nightfall.