Behind the scenes: under the Eiffel Tower

If the Eiffel Tower makes you think of a direction, we're willing to bet it's up. But for some people, the iconic French landmark can also mean down.

Down, as into a "secret" military bunker that has an entrance just feet from the south pillar, or leg, of the tower, and which then goes underground and which is full of Eiffel Tower history and even legend.

Secret, of course, is a marketing term when it comes to this bunker, since it is open for a small number of weekly public visits. But because it belonged to the French military, it comes with a heady dose of intrigue. It's said even now that there is a tunnel that stretches from the bunker all the way to the French Ecole Militaire — military academy — at the other end of the famous Champ de Mars park. But, we're told, maybe no one outside the army really knows if that's true.

We started our behind-the-scenes tour of the Eiffel Tower below ground since what better way to grab someone's attention at one of the tallest attractions in Europe than to lose altitude.

Whether there's a lengthy hidden tunnel from there, there's more than one surprise to be found: a passageway with a ghost that echoes shouts on command. The ones yelled in the direction of a small gate that disappears into oblivion, at least.

What there really is here is a collection of wonderful photographs of the tower's earliest days, as well as a pictorial recounting some of its most important milestones. This is a tower that was built for the World's Fair of 1889 — in just two years, two months, five days — and which was originally slated for just a 20-year run dominating Paris' skyline.

But the tower's designer and spiritual guide, Gustave Eiffel, had other ideas. He knew that if he could bestow upon his baby some crucial attributes, it might survive. And so the Eiffel Tower became home to some of the earliest radio transmissions, as well as to the most cutting-edge experiments in meteorology, astronomy, and the monitoring of "physical and air resistance phenomena".

And, as you may have guessed, he saved the tower. Today it is home to a nest of antennas, and over time it has been the source of broadcasts like that of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1953.

Hydraulic elevators

Another side of the Eiffel Tower that isn't usually on people's radar is the engine room that runs its original hydraulic elevators. A relic of the tower's nascent days, these are nevertheless still a fully functional part of the everyday operations. And again hidden from the view of the general public, treasures await historical infrastructure geeks: beautiful, archaic systems that are said to be much more efficient than the modern-day electric elevators that share the duty of bringing visitors up from the ground.

The doors to the hydraulic elevators first opened in 1899. According to an official Eiffel Tower accounting, the yellow "chariots":

"mounted on a carriage and kept horizontal by a levelling system are pulled upwards by cables that move in line with two parallel pistons located underground, via a cable drum system — the cables themselves, the ends of which are attached to the passenger compartment carriage — run back and forth eight times over two sets of pulleys, one of which is fixed and the other attached to the moving pistons, thereby ensuring that the [elevator] passenger compartments can travel [420 feet] , ie, eight times the piston travel — of 52 feet.

"The pistons are actuated by a water circuit with a pressure of 40 to 60 bar, which until 1986 generated motion thanks to three large accumulators of some 200 metric tonnes each, which provided both the pressurised water reserve — the energy to drive the motion — and the counterweight function.

"Since modernisation in 1986, high-pressure oil-driven hydraulic motors drive piston carrier motion while two of the three accumulators serve as counterweights."

What this really means is that down here, behind the walls and at the base of the great elevators that take guests to the 377-foot-high second level, there is some beautiful, very old infrastructure. And though it's the electric elevators that take people up to the 905-foot-high third level — with all the antennas bringing the tower's total height to 1063 feet — those are the less reliable. The 100-year-old-plus systems are the ones that break down less.

Going up the tower

Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower is something that's not for everyone. If you go as high as you can go, you're exposed to the elements — though protected by a level of fencing that keeps everyone in — and it's a long, long way down.

When I was a kid, I went to the top and had to hug the wall to keep from freaking out completely. These days, I'm a bit better at taking heights, and I actually enjoyed standing at the edge and looking at the tiny people, cars, buses, houses and so on, far below on the streets of Paris.

But maybe it was just easier because this time around, there's a functioning Champagne bar on the third level. Bottom's up.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is without question one of the most famous landmarks on the planet. It was built over the course of two years, two months and five days for the World's Fair of 1889.

One of Gustave Eiffel's greatest achievements with the tower was the use of hydraulic elevators, an innovation that enabled hundreds of thousands of people to easily ride 380 feet above the ground.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Some might consider the hydraulic elevator system that Gustave Eiffel designed in 1889 to be well ahead of its time. Here's how it works, according to information provided by the organisation that runs the Eiffel Tower:

The elevator "passenger compartments, mounted on a carriage and kept horizontal by a levelling system, are pulled upwards by cables that move in line with two parallel pistons located underground, via a cable drum system — the cables themselves, the ends of which are attached to the passenger compartment carriage — run back and forth eight times over two sets of pulleys, one of which is fixed and the other attached to the moving pistons, thereby ensuring that the [elevator] passenger compartments can travel [420 feet], ie, eight times the piston travel — of 52 feet.

"The pistons are actuated by a water circuit with a pressure of 40 to 60 bar, which until 1986 generated motion thanks to three large accumulators of some 200 metric tonnes each, which provided both the pressurised water reserve — the energy to drive the motion — and the counterweight function.

"Since modernisation in 1986, high-pressure, oil-driven hydraulic motors drive piston carrier motion while two of the three accumulators serve as counterweights."

Here we see two of the hydraulic lifts and one of the accumulators.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

These big red wheels are one of the sets of pulleys mentioned in the previous captions. These are the pulleys attached to the moving pistons.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Just adjacent to the south pillar of the Eiffel Tower, there is a nondescript green cage. This is, in fact, the entrance to a "secret" underground bunker, which was originally designed to belong to the French military. Although today the bunker is open to small guided public groups and contains a collection of Eiffel Tower memorabilia, posters,and pictures, it still connects to military tunnels, and the public is only allowed to go a very short distance inside. It's not known how far or where the tunnels go, but legend has it that they stretch all the way from the Eiffel Tower, under the famous Champ de Mars, and to the Ecole Militaire, the major French military academy.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here, a small public group heads down into the "secret" bunker.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This diagram illustrates the principles of the hydraulic elevator, as explained in the second caption. Today, two of the elevators are still hydraulic, but two are electric and were installed by Gustave Eiffel for the World's Fair of 1900. But the electric elevators have proved to be more fragile and require more maintenance. Two hydraulic elevators remain to this day as a cultural reminder of the origins of the tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a view of the very top of the Eiffel Tower, an antenna that rises above everything else. Visitors can reach the third level of the tower but still must look up at a group of antennas and other telecommunications equipment.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here, we see a wide-angle view of the underside of the Eiffel Tower's second level, as seen from the first level.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here we see one of the tower's hydraulic elevators, just adjacent to one of the famed yellow accumulators that helps drive the system that brings the elevators up and takes them down again.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This chart, on the wall inside the main administration office for the Eiffel Tower, shows the tower's growth during its construction period from 1887 to 1889.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here, we have a view up through one of the legs (pillars) of the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here, you can see one of the spiral staircases that wind up — or down — through the legs (pillars) of the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a view down at the ground underneath the Eiffel Tower from its first level. You can see the characteristic arches of the lower parts of the tower, as well as its iconic shadow.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

In this photograph, taken from the third level of the Eiffel Tower, you can see the very tip of the tower and many of the antennas and mobile phone repeaters that are located at the top.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here and there around the Eiffel Tower are mannequins of workers who helped build or maintain the famous monument.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a bust of Gustave Eiffel, located just adjacent to the tower's administrative offices in the north pillar.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Just in case anyone needed a reminder, this sign, located in a hard-to-see place, reminds people that climbing the Eiffel Tower is not allowed.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a photograph of a historical picture of the Eiffel Tower showing what are called the foundation caissons, essentially waterproof metal cages that made it possible to construct the tower's foundation adjacent to the famous Seine River of Paris.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is another mannequin, this time of a worker hanging upside down while performing a task of some sort.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is an old spiral staircase, different than the exposed staircase that visitors can now use to climb up or down.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is one of the electric elevators, seen here inside one of the pillars of the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

On the third level of the Eiffel Tower, there are markers showing the distances from the tower to famous cities around the world in the direction you're looking. Here, we see the sign showing the distance to New York City, Washington, DC, and (more roughly) to Mexico.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a junction of structure struts, very high up on the Eiffel Tower, with the Seine River visible far below.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

For many of those who have gone up the Eiffel Tower, one memorable sight is that of one of Paris' metros crossing the Seine on the bridge near the tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

For those who don't bring their own to toast with, there is a champagne bar located on the third — highest — level of the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

There is an apartment on the third — highest — level of the tower, and those who look in the windows will see mannequins of Gustave Eiffel (right) and inventor Thomas Edison. The two were friendly, and Edison visited the apartment, which Eiffel kept for entertaining illustrious visitors, on 10 September 1889.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a view of Paris' Palais Chaillot in Trocadero, one of its famous monuments, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here we see a view of the famous Champ de Mars, which connects the Eiffel Tower with the Ecole Militaire, from inside the structure of the tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here we see a view looking straight down one of the elevator tracks of the Eiffel Tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here, we see another mannequin; this one is mounted just below one of the hydraulic elevators and represents an early driver of the elevator.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a view to the top of the famous Eiffel Tower from the second level.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Here we see one of the hydraulic elevators inside the structure of the tower.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

This is a passageway inside the military bunker that is said to have ghosts behind it.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

According to a plaque in the military bunker, "Gustave Eiffel knew that in order to survive, the Eiffel Tower would have to prove its practical worth for science. The tower was scheduled to be dismantled after just 20 years. [So] he ... allowed it to be used for a wide range of scientific experiments, from meteorological and astronomical observations to monitoring physical and air resistance phenomena.

"He secured the future of his tower with the installation of a huge wireless transmission antenna." The tower then became the site of the first radiotelegraph broadcasts of the early 20th century, the plaque says.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

In 1935, the Eiffel Tower transmitter became active, and on 2 June 1953, English Queen Elizabeth II's coronation was broadcast live throughout France from the Eiffel Tower.

Via CNET