A new thrilling glass floor at the first level of the Iron Lady
Since yesterday (Monday October 6th), the Eiffel Tower – Paris’ most visited tourist site – unveiled its renovated First Floor allowing visitors to look down through a solid glass floor.
To increase the frisson of walking on air still further, the glass safety barriers have been inclined outwards. Previously the first floor was the least visited part of the tower and this new floor should attract more people.
The €30-million ($37.5-million) refit - which took two years - includes shops, restaurants and a museum.
The city of Paris, charged architects Moatti-Riviere with creating a space that would show off Gustave Eiffel's impressive ironwork and make it fully accessible for disabled visitors.
The new buildings will also produce part of their own energy using windmills and solar panels, and the toilets will be run partly on rainwater.
The "Iron Lady" attracts around seven million visitors a year, of which 85% are foreign travelers. If we look at nationalities, most visitors come from France (12,5%) followed by Americans (8,5%), Britons (7%), Italians (6,7%) and Germans (6%).
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The renovation of the first floor may be now complete but work on the whole tower built for the World's Fair of 1889 never ends. The structure has to be repainted every seven years, a job that requires 60 tons of paint.
If you would like to see a short movie explanation about this renovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eB9dWjDfUU#t=17
