Twitter was joined by a 126-year-old “woman” a few days ago, and she was welcomed by the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty with tweets congratulating her. She is no ordinary lady, but is the world’s most-visited monument — the Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower finally joins Twitter
“Parisian since 1889, now I am sparkling on Twitter!” the 1,063 ft-high tower said in her first tweets in both English and French.
The tower was nicknamed La Grande Dame by its creator, Gustave Eiffel. Each year, the tower attracts over 7 million visitors from around the world. The tower already had a Facebook account (with around 1.7 million fans), but until last week, it had been shying away from the micro-blogging site. The Eiffel Tower has three levels for visitors, including restaurants on the first and second. Its about the same height as an 81-story building.
“Some 500 employees are responsible for its daily operations, working in its restaurants, manning its elevators, ensuring its security and directing the eager crowds flocking the tower’s platforms to enjoy panoramic views of the City of Lights,” according to History.com.
Eiffel Tower officials said they opened a Twitter account to provide “news about the Tower, historical facts as well as practical information.” By Monday morning, the Eiffel Tower’s Twitter account has over 19,000 followers. The Eiffel Tower still has to go a long way to catch up with the popularity of its rivals, such as the Louvre, which has around 653,000 followers presently, or the Pompidou Art Center with 566,000 followers.
Welcomed by all
After it joined Twitter, its official Twitter handle @LaTourEiffel quickly got welcome tweets from other world-renowned monuments. “Welcome to Twitter, my sister,” the Statue of Liberty tweeted. This New York-based giant statue was designed by French sculptor by Eiffel. It was shipped to the U.S. in the 19th century, signifying a gift from the people of France.
One of the most beautiful buildings on Earth — the Taj Mahal – also welcomed the Paris tower. Along with the giant Indian mausoleum, New York’s Empire State Building also welcomed the tall Paris tower with a tweet: “Welcome to Twitter, @LaTourEiffel! Bienvenue sur Twitter!”
The Louvre, which is the world’s most-visited museum, also welcomed the tower with a tweet that included a picture of the tower from the museum’s rooftop.
