world trade center vs tour eiffel

The Never-Ending Race to Build the World’s Tallest Structure

From ancient Egypt to present-day Dubai, a close look at some of the buildings that held the height record

Sonja Anderson

Daily Correspondent

Ever since humans began building, they’ve been building up. Throughout the millennia, our constructions have reached higher and higher into the sky, spurred by various motivations: religion, democracy, nationalism, commerce and design, to name a few.

Ancient Egyptians built enormous pyramids to protect the mummified bodies of their pharaohs. Christians used Gothic engineering innovations like flying buttresses and vaulted arches to build cathedrals that stretched toward their heaven. Industrious Americans built the World Trade Center to bring international business to New York; when that center was struck down, they built an even taller replacement—a symbol of resilience.

Around the globe, many human-made structures have enjoyed, for a time, the distinction of the tallest building in the world. From over 4,500 years ago to the present, here is a timeline detailing the record holders, from Giza to Dubai.

The Great Pyramid 

Giza, Egypt

Circa 2550 b.c. to a.d. 1311; 1548-1569; 1573-1625, height: 455 feet (481.4 feet pre-erosion).

The Great Pyramid—also known as Khufu , after the Egyptian pharaoh it was built to entomb—is the largest of Giza’s pyramids . We know it as a sand-colored behemoth, but in its heyday, the pyramid was a shimmering white, due to an original limestone casing that eroded over time. Khufu enjoyed three reigns as the world’s tallest building, as rivals rose and collapsed during the medieval period and the Renaissance. During its unmatched first stint at the top, totaling almost four millennia, the only competitor that came close in height was the Lighthouse of Alexandria , which stood about 350 feet tall before it fell.

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln, England

Height: 525 feet*.

This early Gothic spectacle took three centuries to build. After its central spire was raised, the cathedral ruled the skies from its hilltop perch in Lincolnshire. Watching over the church’s famous choir, complete with carvings of angels, is the locally-beloved “ Lincoln Imp ,” a horned grotesque carved into the top of a nearby pillar. The story goes that the imp, sent by the devil to cause mischief, was turned to stone by an avenging angel, never to leave the church.

With the construction of the Lincoln Cathedral, the title of “world’s tallest building” entered an era of competing Christian churches. In 1548, after Lincoln’s spire fell in a nasty storm, St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany, took the title, at 495 feet tall. Then, St. Mary’s spire collapsed, allowing a French church a turn in the top spot.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg

Strasbourg, France

Height: 465.9 feet.

Of the cathedrals that took the height record after Lincoln, Strasbourg held the title the longest. Victor Hugo called it a “delicate marvel,” while Goethe likened it to a “sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God.” Through its long history, the cathedral has been damaged in multiple wars . Projectiles set its nave ablaze during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870; during World War I, two of its bells were removed for their metal; and during the Nazi occupation of World War II, Hitler’s army stole its stained-glass windows. In 1945, those windows were rediscovered in a German salt mine by the U.S. Army’s Monuments Men , a group of deployed art preservationists.

Washington Monument

Washington, D.C.

Height: 555.4 feet.

Putting an end to the long string of tallest buildings dedicated to God, the Washington Monument was erected to honor the United States’ first president. Because of funding difficulties that halted construction, the obelisk was built in two phases—and with three different marbles . The stones weathered differently, and visitors can still see the gentle contrast in their colors. Miraculously, no mortar was used in the construction of the monument. It stands supported only by the weight of its stones and the friction between them.

Looking up at the Washington Monument, you can see a color change. Begun in 1848 with Maryland marble, construction paused in 1854 at the 152 foot level. When building resumed in 1880, a slightly different shade of Maryland marble was used to complete the impressive obelisk. pic.twitter.com/X3xiQpU45p — National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) August 13, 2021

Eiffel Tower

Height: 1,024 feet*

Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel debuted his latticed design at the 1889 World’s Fair, originally calling it simply the “ 300-Meter Tower .” But its height is not exactly fixed: As its iron expands or contracts with changes in temperature, the tower grows a few inches each summer and shrinks in the winter. It has been painted 19 times, mostly by hand, to protect and preserve the metal’s integrity. The Eiffel wore coats of reddish brown, yellow and chestnut before donning its now-signature “Eiffel Tower brown” in 1968.

Chrysler Building

New York City

Height: 1,046 feet.

Automotive machinist and magnate Walter P. Chrysler had this Art Deco marvel’s destiny in mind from the beginning. He commissioned architect William Van Alen to design the world’s tallest building, and the Chrysler Building indeed occupied the top spot for more than a year. Decorated with gargoyles and chrome-nickel steel , the tower also hosted a Chrysler automobile showroom in the 1930s.

Empire State Building

Height: 1,250 feet*

The Chrysler Building didn’t enjoy the top spot for long. By the time it debuted, ground had already been broken on the Empire State Building, which would surpass its Midtown neighbor after just 13 months of construction. The tower’s Art Deco lobby is a designated historic landmark, but most visitors come for the view from the top. Designated the nation’s top tourism attraction , the tower attracts four million visitors—and around 25 lightning strikes—every year.

World Trade Center

Height: 1,368 feet (the North Tower)

The World Trade Center’s two towers had a few names: One and Two; North and South; and, informally, David and Nelson, for the Rockefeller brothers who championed the behemoth development. Following in the industrious footsteps of their grandfather, John D. Rockefeller , David lobbied the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build a World Trade Center , which would encourage international business in lower Manhattan and symbolize the United States’ leadership of global commerce. The Port Authority took up the project, while Nelson, as governor of New York, signed the law that enabled its construction. By completion, the Twin Towers had dwarfed the Empire State Building by 100 feet.

Willis Tower

Height: 1,450 feet

With the completion of the Willis Tower, the Windy City ended New York’s long reign as the world’s height capital. Built for department store giant Sears, Roebuck and Company , the building was originally known as the Sears Tower. On a fair-weather day, one can see four states from its famous skydeck: Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and, of course, Illinois.

Petronas Towers

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Height: 1,483 feet.

Built to headquarter the Malaysian oil company Petronas , these twin towers are connected by a two-story-tall bridge at their 41st and 42nd floors. Stabilizing the buildings is a foundation stretching 400 feet below ground. The shape of each tower’s footprint is inspired by an eight-pointed star , a traditional Malaysian Islamic shape.

Taipei, Taiwan

Height: 1,667 feet.

The Taipei Financial Center debuted with a bang on New Year's Eve in 2004, conducting the first of its now-famous annual fireworks shows. To some, the tower’s design recalls a pagoda —a traditional East Asian tiered tower—but its architect actually based the building’s appearance on a bamboo stalk . Now known as Taipei 101, the tower boasts an indoor and outdoor observatory, a mall, and high-end restaurants.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chris Do—Personal Branding Guide (@thechrisdo)

Burj Khalifa

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2010-present, height: 2,717 feet.

This “ megatall ” skyscraper—a classification for buildings over 1,968 feet tall—was raised in just six years, with construction costing $1.5 billion. As the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa also holds records for the ​​highest observation deck, longest elevator shaft and more. The gleaming tower is 200 stories tall, but only 160 are habitable. The top 29 percent of its stature is “vanity height,” Interesting Engineering writes: floors filled with structural support, built to increase the height of the building. The giant’s accessible floors host a five-star hotel, offices, restaurants and residences designed by Giorgio Armani .

*Refers to the height at the time of construction.

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Sonja Anderson | READ MORE

Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in New York City.

15 Monumental Facts About the Eiffel Tower

O n March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public. Here are some things you might not know about the beloved French monument.

1. The tower was built as an entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution , Paris hosted the 1889 World’s Fair ( Exposition Universelle ). Hoping to be considered for the high-profile project, artists from around the nation sent in plans for a structure to mark the entrance to the fair on the Champ de Mars, a public park in the center of Paris.

2. It was designed and built by the firm Eiffel et Compagnie.

The commission was given to the consulting and construction firm owned by Gustave Eiffel, a civil engineer specializing in metal structures. Eiffel also worked in the early 1880s on the Garabit Viaduct , a bridge in France’s mountainous Massif Central region that was, at the time, the highest bridge in the world. His other projects included the railway station in Pest, Hungary; the dome over the Nice Observatory in Nice, France; and the interior scaffolding of the Statue of Liberty .

3. Gustave Eiffel rejected the initial design.

The tower’s main designer was one of Eiffel’s employees , senior engineer Maurice Koechlin. Engineer Emile Nouguier and the head of the company’s architectural department, Stephen Sauvestre, were also consulted . After viewing Koechlin’s initial sketches—which Eiffel felt were too minimalist—the architect instructed Koechlin to include more details and flourishes in his redesign. Eiffel approved the final design in 1884.

4. The project required a lot of metal (and elbow grease).

Three hundred steel workers spent two years, two months, and five days, from 1887 to 1889, constructing the tower. They used more than 18,000 individual metallic parts, 2.5 million rivets, and 40 tons of paint.

5. Its original height was 985 feet.

Upon its completion in March 1889, the tower measured 300 meters (985 feet) high. Surprisingly, this measurement isn’t static: Cold weather can shrink the tower by up to six inches.

6. It was the tallest structure in the world until 1930.

For 41 years, the Eiffel Tower stood higher than any building or structure in the world—until it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building in New York, which topped out at 1046 feet. Just a year later the Empire State Building became the tallest in the world at 1454 feet, including the spire. In 1957 an antenna was added that increased the Eiffel Tower’s height by 67 feet, making it 6 feet taller than the Chrysler Building.

7. A 300-member committee protested the tower.

Led by authors Guy de Maupassant and Alexandre Dumas, Jr., along with hundreds of other artists and intellectuals, a petition opposing the project was signed and sent to the Parisian government. They called the Eiffel Tower “useless and monstrous,” but their protests went unheeded.

8. The tower was an immediate hit with the public.

Despite the petition, the 1889 World’s Fair was deemed a great success , thanks largely to the tower’s imposing presence. Nearly 2 million people visited the Eiffel Tower during the fair and spent $1.4 million on tickets, making the 1889 fair one of the few to actually turn a profit.

9. It was supposed to stand for roughly 20 years.

The Eiffel Tower was never intended to stand over the Champ de Mars permanently, and was scheduled to be dismantled in 1909 —that is, until someone realized that its apex was the perfect place for a telegraphy antenna. During the First World War, at the Battle of the Marne in 1914, the wireless telegraph transmitter helped jam German communications.

10. The Eiffel Tower can withstand strong winds.

Eiffel, a renowned expert on aerodynamics, and his team designed the tower to withstand even the strongest winds and never sway more than 4.5 inches.

11. The tower has three levels.

The 7 million people who visit the Eiffel Tower every year can climb to three different sections of the tower at three different heights. The first level is 189 feet high and includes an observation area, souvenir shops, history and art displays, an outdoor pavilion, the Madame Brasserie, and a transparent floor. The second floor, at 379 feet, includes another observation area, shops, and the Michelin-starred Jules Verne restaurant. The top level offers amazing views at 905 feet high and a champagne bar, historical recreation of Eiffel’s office, and panoramic maps to identify Paris landmarks below.

12. A daredevil was arrested for cycling down the Eiffel Tower’s steps.

The tower has drawn its share of stunts over the years. In just one example, Pierre Labric, a cyclist, journalist, parachutist, and World War I veteran, rode a bicycle down its stairs in 1923.

13. The tower gets a fresh coat of paint every seven years.

About 60 tons of paint are needed to freshen the monument, which is owned by the City of Paris and operated by a public utility called the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel ( SETE ). More than 500 people work for the SETE, as tour guides, security, postal workers, and employees in the tower’s restaurants, shops, and boutiques.

14. The tower was closed during the Nazi occupation.

The monument was closed to the public during the occupation from 1940 to 1944. French resistance fighters cut the cables for the Eiffel Tower’s elevators so Nazi officers and soldiers had to climb the stairs to reach its apex. Hitler actually ordered the military governor of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz, to destroy the tower along with the rest of the city; fortunately, his order wasn’t carried out.

15. The iconic structure is beloved by filmmakers.

James Bond (Roger Moore) chased an assassin through the tower in A View to a Kill (1985); Burgess Meredith starred as a nefarious knife-sharpener in 1949’s murder-mystery The Man on the Eiffel Tower ; and a scene from the British comedy The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), which featured future Oscar winners Alec Guinness and Audrey Hepburn, was filmed at Eiffel’s masterpiece. Hundreds of other movies have used the tower as a prop or a backdrop.

Discover More Facts About Famous Buildings:

A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2024.

This article was originally published on mentalfloss.com as 15 Monumental Facts About the Eiffel Tower .

The CN Tower, once the world's tallest, soon won't even make the top 10

Blame Dubai, China and the fact that Canada will probably never build something that tall ever again

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It reigned for more than 34 years and in the end, only the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the Great Pyramid of Giza can lay claim to having spent more time as the “world’s tallest.”

But now, only 14 years after it was turfed from the top spot, the pending completion of new super-skyscrapers in Asia and the Middle East means that Toronto’s CN Tower will not even rank among the top 10 of the world’s tallest freestanding structures.

The CN Tower, once the world's tallest, soon won't even make the top 10 Back to video

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The Merdeka 118 is rising over Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a planned final height of 635 metres upon completion in 2022. Meanwhile, overlooking Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city stands the incomplete shell of the eponymous Jeddah Tower which, if restarted, will eventually stretch to one kilometre in height.

With the completion of both structures, Toronto’s iconic tower would be bumped to the 11 th spot on rankings of the world’s tallest freestanding structures. The Lotte World Tower, a South Korean skyscraper with a mere 2.65 metres over the CN Tower, will move to 10 th place.

Since losing its Guinness-recognized “world’s tallest” ranking to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2007, The CN Tower’s prestige has been progressively chipped away by the single greatest tall-building boom in human history. In 1975, the year of the CN Tower’s opening, the world saw the completion of only four skyscrapers taller than 200 metres. By 2017, that number had skyrocketed to 144 .

Booming Asian economies have been leading the skyscraper charge. Of the world’s 20 tallest freestanding structures, 14 are now located in Asia. This explosion of new towers has been helped along by significant advances in high-rise construction , most notably in the area of climate control. Beyond the simple mechanics of building a stable and wind-resistant steel structure taller than 600 metres, mega-skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai could not have been practically heated or cooled with the technology available at the time of early skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building.

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Given current trends, even the mega-skyscrapers of the early 21 st century will start to seem puny in only a few decades. Researchers Jonathan Auerbach and Phyllis Wan have carefully tracked the growth of skyscrapers in relation to the densification of the world’s cities, and in 2018 they released a paper predicting that by 2050, the world’s skylines would count at least 41,000 skyscrapers taller than 150 metres. “The tallest among these will be around fifty percent higher than those today,” they wrote.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely Canada that will ever again be able to come close to being the “world’s tallest.” Across the board, North America’s showing in the tall buildings category has plummeted in recent decades, with New York City’s One World Trade Centre often serving as the only U.S. entry in tall building rankings.

The CN Tower’s capture of the “world’s tallest freestanding structure” title in 1975 was kind of an accident to begin with; contractors had been trying to solve a persistent regional problem with television reception, and in planning it soon emerged that the tower’s unique slipform mold construction could be raised to a record-breaking 553 metres for relatively little money.

With the CN Tower carrying a final price tag of $63 million, that works out to about $250 million in 2021 dollars. For context, the 604-meter Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China, was completed in 2010 at a cost of nearly $600 million. Notably, where record-breaking skyscrapers are often plagued by financial difficulties, the CN Tower was paid off in 15 years.

There is one list, however, where the CN Tower will not be losing face in the coming years. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, recognized as the international arbiter for “world’s tallest building,” has consistently refused to include the CN Tower in its rankings at all. The Canadian tower does not qualify as a “building” because “ at least 50 per cent of its height must be occupiable .”

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World Trade Center

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 18, 2024 | Original: December 3, 2009

The iconic twin towers of downtown Manhattan’s World Trade Center were a triumph of human imagination and will. Completed in 1973, the towers stood at 110 stories each, accommodating 50,000 workers and 200,000 daily visitors in 10 million square feet of space. They were the hub of the bustling Financial District, a top tourist attraction and a symbol of New York City’s–and America’s–steadfast devotion to progress and the future. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center became the target of a massive terrorist attack that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The disaster also radically altered the skyline of New York City, destroying the twin columns of glass and steel that over the years had come to embody the city itself.

World Trade Center: A Dream Is Born

The 1939 New York World’s Fair included an exhibit called the World Trade Center that was dedicated to the concept of “world peace through trade.” Seven years later, one of the exhibit’s organizers, Winthrop W. Aldrich, headed a new state agency with the proposed goal of creating a permanent trade exposition based in New York. Market research indicated that the city would benefit more by modernizing its ports, however, and the plan was soon scrapped.

Did you know? More than 10,000 workers were involved in building the World Trade Center complex.

Aldrich’s nephew, David Rockefeller, didn’t forget the idea. The grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller , David decided to revive the World Trade Center concept as the core of a revitalized lower Manhattan. In May 1959, Rockefeller formed the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, which planned a $250 million complex near the Fulton Fish Market on the East River, including a single 70-story office tower and several smaller buildings.

The Port Authority Signs On

For the resources and power to make the project work, Rockefeller turned to the Port of New York Authority. The Port Authority had been chartered in 1921 by New York and New Jersey to build and operate all transportation terminals and facilities within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty . 

By 1960, after constructing the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge, the Port Authority was rapidly expanding its influence, with 5,000 employees and more than $1 billion in freight and transportation structures all presided over by its powerful director, Austin J. Tobin.

The Port Authority had just agreed to take over and renovate New Jersey ’s Hudson and Manhattan commuter railroad, the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) train, built in 1908. The PATH terminal was on the west side of Lower Manhattan, and Tobin’s team decided to move the prospective trade center location from east to west, combining the two projects. 

A region bounded by Vesey, Church, Liberty and West Streets–known as “Radio Row” for its many consumer electronics shops–would have to be razed for the trade center to be built. After a bitter legal battle with representatives of the Radio Row merchants, the Port Authority won the right to continue its plan.

Sights Set on Record-Breaking Height

By this time, the Port Authority had decided that the trade center should replace the 1,250-foot-high Empire State Building, built in 1931, as the world’s tallest building. To fulfill the Port Authority’s requirement, architect Minoru Yamasaki designed two towers of 110 stories each. 

Instead of the traditional stacked glass-and-steel box construction of many New York skyscrapers, Yamasaki worked with structural engineers to come up with a revolutionary design: two hollow tubes, supported by closely spaced steel columns encased in aluminum. Floor trusses connected this exterior steel lattice to the central steel core of the building. In this way, the “skin” of the building would be strong enough that internal columns wouldn’t be necessary to hold it together.

Construction began in February 1967, after the Port Authority faced down criticism about the towers’ safety and viability from many powerful figures, including real estate tycoon (and Empire State Building owner) Lawrence Wien. Wien even ran an ad in the New York Times in May 1968 predicting that a commercial airliner was likely to fly into the towers. 

Plans had already been made to guard against such an accident–which had happened in July 1945 with a smaller plane at the Empire State–and the towers were designed to be safe in a collision with a fully loaded 707 plane (the largest existing plane at the time). It was assumed such a plane would have to be lost in fog for such an event to occur; a terrorist attack was never envisioned.

Feats of Engineering at the World Trade Center

Because the ground in lower Manhattan was largely landfill, engineers would have to dig down 70 feet to reach bedrock. Excavating machines dug a three-foot-wide trench down to the bedrock, and as dirt and rock were removed, they were replaced by slurry: a mixture of water and bentonite, a type of clay that expands when wet to plug any hole along the side of the trench. Workers then lowered a 22-ton, seven-story-high steel cage into the trench and filled it with concrete by using a long pipe. As the concrete flowed in, it displaced the bentonite slurry. 

By making more than 150 of these slurry trench segments, workers enclosed an area two blocks wide and four blocks long. Called the “bathtub,” it was used to seal the basements of the towers and keep water from the Hudson River out of the foundation.

All in all, one million cubic yards of landfill had to be removed. The Port Authority used this landfill to create the $90 million worth of land that would become Battery Park City. To piece the steel frame of the building together, engineers brought in Australian-made “kangaroo” cranes, self-powered cranes powered by diesel motors that could hoist themselves up as the building grew higher. 

At the end of construction, these cranes had to be disassembled and brought down by elevator. When the towers were finished, each one would have 97 passenger elevators, capable of carrying loads of up to 10,000 pounds at speeds of up to 1,600 feet per minute. In all, the towers were assembled from more than 200,000 pieces of steel manufactured around the country, 3,000 miles of electrical wiring, 425,000 cubic yards of concrete, 40,000 doors, 43,600 windows and six acres of marble.

World Trade Center: A Dream Come True

The last piece of steel was put in place on the north tower (One World Trade Center) on December 23, 1970; the south tower (Two World Trade Center) was topped off in July of the next year. Construction went on until April 1973, when the five-acre outdoor plaza, dominated by a 25-foot-tall bronze sculpture by Fritz Koenig, was completed. At the official ribbon cutting ceremony on April 4, Governor Nelson Rockefeller (David’s brother) proclaimed triumphantly, “It’s not too often that we see a dream come true. Today, we have.”

At 1,360 feet, the World Trade Center towers were the tallest buildings in the world for less than a year; they were soon surpassed by Chicago’s Sears Tower. Still, the towers held an incomparable mystique. They inspired incredible stunts, beginning in August 1974, when Philippe Petit walked a high wire between the two towers .

In May 1977, George Willig earned himself the nickname of “the Human Fly” by hoisting himself to the top of the south tower using homemade climbing devices. The Port Authority loved these stunts because they endeared the towers to the public and made them seem like giant toys. They worked at turning the towers into an attraction, adding the Windows on the World restaurant, which opened on the 107th floor of the north tower in April 1976 and was an immediate hit. 

By 1983, World Trade Center revenues had jumped to $204 million, and space was in high demand. Smaller importers-exporters were now being pushed out by rising rents, making way for major businesses.

1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center

The first major test of the trade center’s structural integrity came on February 26, 1993, when a bomb with the destructive power equal to 2,200 pounds of TNT exploded in the parking garage of the second floor basement of the north tower. The blast killed six people, injured more than 1,000 others and caused an estimated $600 million in damage. Six Islamic extremists were tried and convicted in connection with the plot.

The towers reopened 20 days after the bombing with new security measures in place, including restrictions to parking lot access and electronic identification badges for building tenants. Over the next eight years, the Port Authority spent a total of $700 million on renovations, with safety upgrades like battery-powered stairway lights and a separate emergency command center in each building. Mayor  Rudy Giuliani  set up a high-tech emergency operations command center, dubbed “the Bunker,” at 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story office building adjoining the towers.

7 Facts About the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing

The attack by a group of Islamic fundamentalists announced the growing threat of terrorism on US soil.

The World Trade Center, by the Numbers

From the foundation to the elevators, everything about the Twin Towers was supersized.

The World Trade Center’s Construction: 8 Surprising Facts

To build the twin towers, architects and engineers employed innovative—and sometimes unproven—techniques and technology.

The World Trade Center on September 11th

In July 2001, just two months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Port Authority agreed to lease the twin towers to Larry Silverstein, a New York City developer. Silverstein agreed to pay the equivalent of $3.2 billion over the next 99 years. At the time, over 99 percent of the 10.4 million square feet controlled by the Port Authority was occupied.

The impact of the two planes that hit the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, was more devastating than any of the building’s designers and engineers had ever imagined. The first plane ripped a hole in the north tower from the 94th to the 98th floors, causing massive structural damage and igniting some 3,000 of the 10,000 gallons of jet fuel the plane was carrying. The second plane hit the south tower at an even faster speed, striking the corner and gashing the building from the 84th to the 78th floors.

The heroic efforts of the city’s fire and police departments and other emergency services helped 25,000 people escape from the site on 9/11 before the unthinkable occurred. The damage done at each point of impact forced the physical weight of the towers to be redistributed, and the undamaged part below the hole had to support the floors above. At the same time, the fires raging in both buildings weakened the steel trusses holding up each floor. With damage to a greater number of floors lower down on the building, the south tower gave way first, crumbling to the ground at 9:59 a.m., only 56 minutes after being hit. The north tower collapsed less than a half hour later, at 10:28 a.m.

Debris from the falling towers ignited fires in the remaining buildings of the trade center complex, including 7 World Trade, which burned for most of the day before collapsing at 5:20 p.m. Overwhelmed by horror, shock and grief, New Yorkers and people around the world trained their eyes on “ Ground Zero ,” where the fall of a treasured icon of American industry and ingenuity had left a gaping hole in the sky.

One World Trade Center

That hole in the sky would eventually be filled by One World Trade Center , or “The Freedom Tower,” which rises even higher than the Twin Towers it was built to honor. At a symbolic 1,776 feet tall, One World Trade is the tallest building in the United States and Western Hemisphere, overtaking Sears Tower in Chicago. Built on the original 6 World Trade Center, it was originally designed by architect Daniel Libeskind to be an asymmetrical tower inspired by the Statue of Liberty . 

In 2004, architect David Childs, known for designing both the Burj Khalifa and the Willis Tower, took over. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 2004, but the building did not open until November 3, 2014 . Architecture critic Kurt Andersen wrote, “The fact that it’s taken more than a decade to finish, I think —the gradualism—makes that sense of emblematic rebirth more acute and irresistible.”

One World Trade is 104 stories tall and has three million square feet of office space topped off by One World Observatory, an observation deck, bar, and restaurant open to the public. It spans from floors 100-102 and offers visitors panoramic views of New York City.

Rebuilding the World Trade Center

A new tower at 7 World Trade Center opened in 2006. The $2 billion 4 World Trade Center followed in 2013. The World Trade Center Oculus, a glass and steel transit concourse and shopping center designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, opened to the public in 2016, while the 1,155 foot tall 3 World Trade Center opened in 2018. Silverstein’s 2 World Trade Center and 5 World Trade Center remain incomplete.

The rebuilt 16-acre World Trade Center site also includes the National 9/11 Memorial designed by Michael Arad. His design, “Reflecting Absence,” includes two reflecting pools in the footprints of the former Twin Towers surrounded by bronze panels with the names of all 2,983 victims of the 1993 and 2001 World Trade Center attacks. 

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Eiffel Tower

Top choice in Paris

Lonely Planet's Ultimate Guide

Explore insider tips, fascinating history and surprising secrets to make the most of your experience.

There are different ways to experience the Eiffel Tower, from a daytime trip or an evening ascent amid twinkling lights, to a meal in one of its restaurants. And even though some seven million people come annually, few would dispute that each visit is unique – and something that simply has to be done when in Paris.

Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, the Tour Eiffel was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). It took 300 workers, 2.5 million rivets and two years of nonstop labor to assemble. Upon completion, the tower became the tallest human-made structure in the world (324m) – a record held until the 1930 completion of New York's Chrysler Building. A symbol of the modern age, it faced opposition from Paris’ artistic and literary elite, and the ‘metal asparagus’, as some snidely called it, was originally slated to be torn down in 1909. It was spared only because it proved an ideal platform for the transmitting antennas needed for the newfangled science of radiotelegraphy.

Sporting six different colors throughout its lifetime, the tower has been painted red and bronze since 1968. Work is underway to strip the previous 19 coats and apply the yellow-brown shade originally conceived by Gustave Eiffel, giving it a new golden hue in time for the 2024 Olympics.

First floor: cafe and souvenir shop

Of the tower's three floors, the 1st (57m) has the most space but least impressive views. The glass-enclosed Pavillon Ferrié houses an immersion film along with a small cafe and souvenir shop, while the outer walkway features a discovery circuit to help visitors learn more about the tower’s ingenious design. Check out the sections of glass flooring that provide a dizzying view of the ant-like people walking on the ground far below. This level also hosts the restaurant  58 Tour Eiffel . The 1st floor's commercial areas are powered by two sleek wind turbines within the tower.

Second floor: Le Jules Verne restaurant

Views from the 2nd floor (115m) are the best – impressively high but still close enough to see the city below. Telescopes and panoramic maps pinpoint locations in Paris and beyond. Story windows give an overview of the lifts’ mechanics, and the vision well allows you to gaze through glass panels to the ground. Also up here are toilets, a souvenir shop, a macaron bar, and Michelin-starred restaurant  Le Jules Verne .

Top floor: Champagne bar and 'secret apartment'

Views from the wind-buffeted top floor (276m) stretch up to 60km on a clear day, though at this height the panoramas are more sweeping than detailed. Celebrate your ascent with a glass of bubbly (€13 to €22) from the Champagne bar (open 10.15am to 10.15pm). Afterwards peep into Gustave Eiffel’s restored top-level office, otherwise known as the 'secret apartment', where lifelike wax models of Eiffel and his daughter Claire greet Thomas Edison. 

Tours, tickets and other practicalities

Visitors must pass through security at the bullet-proof glass barriers surrounding the tower's base. The two entrances to the glass enclosure are on avenue Gustave Eiffel; the two exits are on quai Branly.

Ascend as far as the 2nd floor (either on foot or by lift), from where there's a separate lift to the top floor (closed during heavy winds). Pushchairs must be folded in lifts and bags or backpacks larger than aeroplane-cabin size aren't allowed. Note that the top floor and stairs aren't accessible to people with limited mobility.

Pre-purchasing tickets online gives you an allocated time slot and means you only have to queue for security. Print your ticket or show it on your phone. If you can’t reserve your tickets ahead of time, expect lengthy waits for tickets in high season.

Stair tickets can't be reserved online. Buy them at the south pillar, where the staircase can also be accessed: the climb consists of 360 steps to the 1st floor and another 360 steps to the 2nd floor.

If you have reservations for either restaurant, you're granted direct post-security access to the lifts.

For the best view of the light show, head across the Seine to the Jardins du Trocadéro.

How to get there

The nearest Metro stop is Bir Hakeim, while the nearest train station is Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel (RER C).

Champ de Mars, 5 av Anatole France, 7e

Get In Touch

08 92 70 12 39

https://​www​.toureiffel​.paris​/

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Learn the history of 9/11 where it happened.

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