How often does the Eiffel Tower have lightning?

According to Meteo France, the average house is struck by lightning once in every 800 years, whereas the Eiffel Tower is struck by lightning 10 times per year. As the tower is such a pronounced object it effectively acts as a giant lightning rod and is often struck by lightning.



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The Eiffel Tower's Illuminations. Every evening, the Eiffel Tower is adorned with its golden covering and sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on the hour, while its beacon shines over Paris.

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For safety reasons, especially concerns arising from inclement weather or heavy visitor traffic, admission and hours of operation at the Eiffel Tower may be temporarily restricted. Wind, heavy storms or particularly heavy traffic may prompt the staff to limit access to the second level.

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However, right from its construction, Gustave Eiffel had planned for everything! He installed 4 lightning rods at the top, like copper brooms directed to the sky. Like in our buildings, these lightning conductors are connected to insulated cables that go down to the ground to ensure the dispersion of electricity.

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The Tower lights and beacon are lit up every evening from dusk until 11.45pm. As soon as it gets dark, the Eiffel Tower's golden lighting switches on automatically within less than 10 minutes, thanks to light-sensitive twilight sensors.

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The Eiffel Tower sparkles at the beginning of each hour for five minutes on the hour from dusk until 1 am. The last show of the night is a bit different from all the others and goes faster with a little dance display of lights.

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The Eiffel Tower can be seen sparkling every night for five minutes each hour, at the precise start of the hour. The current lighting system has been in place since 1985, though the tower has been lit up in various fashions since its 1889 debut for the International Exposition, when gaslights were used.

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When that happens, the lattice structure of the Tower plays a protective role and acts like a Faraday cage, a sort of metal enclosure that directs the energy of lightning to the ground, only through the outside of the building.

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Nope. The Eiffel tower gets a average of 5 lightning strikes a year, but nobody that was on Eiffel tower when that happened has every Bern injured because of that. Parisian thunderstorms love the Eiffel Tower and yet it's safe for visitors and the tower's structure.

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It is totally safe and of you take the Champs de Mars, a bit romantic.

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Avoid plumbing: Metal plumbing and the water inside are both very good conductors of electricity. Therefore, do not wash your hands or dishes, take a shower or bath, do laundry, etc. during a thunderstorm.

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Except during summer, when the Tower closes at 00:45 : the Tower lights and beacon are switched off at 1.00am, except for the sparkling lights remaining during a few minutes. A truly magical moment not to be missed!

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Every evening, the Eiffel Tower is adorned with its golden covering and sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on the hour, while its beacon shines over Paris.

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This beacon resonates the image of Gustave Eiffel's Tower itself as a universal and symbolic landmark. The sparkling lights are superimposed over the golden lighting, they bring the monument to life for 5 minutes every hour on the hour once the Tower has been lit up.

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In fact, the Tower has been repainted for over 130 years, about once every 7 years. So if it is repainted, the Eiffel Tower can last... forever.

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Any individual can take photos and share them on social networks. But the situation is different for professionals. The Eiffel Tower's lighting and sparkling lights are protected by copyright, so professional use of images of the Eiffel Tower at night requires prior authorization and may be subject to a fee.

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On the other hand, high winds can cause it to wobble or vibrate somewhat, without damaging the structure. Because the engineers at Eiffel's company had 20 years experience designing metal viaducts, the Tower was truly (with its curved shapes and edges) designed to minimize wind resistance!

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It is advisable to plan a visiting time of at least 1 1/2 hours for visit to the 1st and 2nd floors and 2 1/2 hours for a visit to the top. Your visiting time will also depend of your choice of way to ascent from the ground to the second floor : by lift or stairs.

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