The Eiffel Tower rises above the French capital.
Known as the "Iron Lady", it stands 324-meters tall.
It's the tallest structure in Paris, offering great views of the city and the River Seine.
On the way to the top there are three platforms.
Those who fancy the exercise can take the stairs to the second platform.
If you're heading to the top, be prepared to climb the 1165 steps.
Of course, you can always take the elevator.
That's where you'll often find Karim Chaibi.
He's been working at the Eiffel Tower for 15 years.
He operates the elevator and talks to the visitors in almost every language imaginable.
Chaibi says there's no place he'd rather work.
"You can get away from everyday worries with a view like this.
You see the city in a very interesting, architectural way.
And somehow you're a bit of a tourist and feel as if you're on holiday."
The stop for the first platform is nearly 60 meters up.
Visitors are drawn out to the sun deck here and the exhibition that takes them around
the platform's perimeter.
It tells the story of the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower wasn't always as popular as it is today.
When engineer Gustave Eiffel had it built for the 1889 World's Fair, artists and intellectuals
considered it common and lowly.
Author Léon Bloy ironically described it as a truly tragic streetlamp.
That was a broadside at Eiffel's industrial building methods, which contrasted sharply
with the historical beauty of the city.
The initial plan was to tear the tower down after two decades.
Architect Bertrand Lemoine explains why it's still standing today.
"Eiffel at some point got the idea that the tower could be used as a place for a radio
antenna.
The French army was really interested and began to do experiments and transmit.
That made the tower strategically important.
That's why they kept it."
Impressive views can be had from all over the tower – especially from the second and
the third platforms.
You can see many other Parisian sights from here – including the Louvre – and the
dome of Les Invalides.
"The view changes all the time.
It's never the same.
What's really impressive is how the sky and the tower influence each other.
Here you're out in the elements, the wind, rain and sun.
You're never just IN Paris, but ABOVE it, between the sky and the earth."
That's made the Eiffel Tower one of the world's best-loved landmarks, with up to 30 thousand
visitors a day.
You need to pay to get in – tickets cost as much as 17 euros.
"It's unbelievable – a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I'm from Mexico and I'm really impressed.
It's wonderful."
"Knowing about the history and that it´s more modern in addition to Paris's cityscape
it's kind of interesting to think about how that fits in with all of the older buildings."
"Everybody come here and can feel happy and realize a dream and feel good."
A souvenir snapshot is de rigueur!
Euromaxx viewers have sent us their favorite Eiffel Tower photographs.
"The tower is so famous that people come here just to be photographed with it.
So they can say, 'I was here.
I was at the Eiffel Tower.'
It's not just a monument; it's a symbol of Paris."
And after dark, every hour on the hour, the tower is awash with flashing lights.
Otherwise, the famous landmark simply glows elegantly above the City of Light.