Visitors to the largest paying monument in the world, the Eiffel Tower, benefit from a new tour, courtesy of their iPhone and imagineear, available now in French or English at €2.99.
2.5 million rivets; 60 tonnes of paint covering a quarter of a million square metres. The sheer scale of the Eiffel Tower is impressive even today. The temporary structure thrown up for the Parisian World Fair in 1889 has witnessed much drama from its position at the centre of Parisian life, standing impassive above two world wars before settling into its role as tourist attraction and telecoms tower. It has sparked controversy, and lent its profile to foolhardy exploits. In April 1984, a British couple parachuted off the Tower together, landing without a hitch – but equally without permission – in the Champ-de-Mars garden below.
The official iPhone app tells, in compelling audio-visual detail, of the driving passion of Gustav Eiffel, the resistance from the arts communities in Paris to the intruder in their midst, and its eventual acceptance not just as an iconic structure but as the very symbol of Paris, backdrop to feats of folly and prowess alike. As well as a themed tour of 30 audio-visual stops, an offline 360 degree day and night panorama with a 20x zoom, highlights in English and French over 60 sites visible from the Tower.
Eleonore Heijboer, imagineear's Creative Director, commented on the scale of the project: "Familiar to all of us, instantly recognisable, copied incessantly, we think we know the Eiffel Tower. Yet the story we uncovered is so much vaster, so multi-faceted, so intriguing. It has been a privilege to work on such a monument. Andrew Nugée, Chief Executive, added: "The Eiffel Tower project was another successful collaboration with Paris-based app developer, smArtapps, with whom we look forward to developing more projects in France and elsewhere."
The app can be downloaded here.
