La tour Eiffel
Symbole de Paris, voire de la France
It's impossible to imagine the Parisian skyline without the Eiffel Tower - or to believe that it was once considered an eyesore.
My first visit to Paris was in 1989. Nowadays, there are elaborate light shows and fireworks for any number of events, including the annual Octobre rose illumination in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But I loved my first IRL view of the tower dressed up to celebrate its centennial, with 100 ans spelled out in simple lights.
Today’s issue of Lawless French à fond takes an in-depth look at the Eiffel Tower - its original purpose, lots of facts and figures, and how to visit, whether actually or virtually.
Table of Contents
Listening
La construction de la tour Eiffel 🏗️
Video about Gustave Eiffel's vision and how he made it happen.
La tour Eiffel
Go back in time to discover the origins of this perfect symbol of Paris.
Tour Eiffel
Behind the scenes with an Eiffel Tower employee.
À quoi sert la tour Eiffel ❓
Animated answer to this question from a kid, from the always delightful 1 jour, 1 question.
Comment la science a sauvé la tour Eiffel
How Gustave Eiffel saved his tower from its planned destruction.
Reading
Le monument
Histoire, chiffres clés, illuminations, peintures : découvrez tous les secrets du monument le plus iconique du monde. (Site officiel de la tour Eiffel)
La Dame de fer : le surnom de la tour Eiffel
This article from the official site is particularly interesting - it discusses a variety of names that were temporarily attached to the Eiffel Tower before its official name and most common nickname were established.
Writing
On the first floor of the Eiffel Tower
Practice your French translation skills with this A2-level writing exercise.
Quiz Time
Do you know about the Eiffel Tower? (10 questions, ProProfs Quizzes)
Eiffel Tower (10 questions, QuipoQuiz)
Eiffel Tower (18 questions, Quiz Trivia Games)
Eiffel Tower Quiz (12 questions, Mon Grand-Est)
How well do you know the Eiffel Tower? (podcast + 10 questions, The Earful Tower)
Lessons
Travel French ✈️
From buying plane tickets to making hotel reservations, find all the vocab and phrases you need to get to and around Paris.
8 Symbols of France
Learn about the flag, national anthem, and other icons of la République française.
Lesson Plans
If you're a teacher, take a look at these Eiffel-themed exercises from LessonPlanet (10-day free trial).
International Festival: France 🎆
Cross-curriculum social studies lesson for K-2nd grade, featuring the book Madeline, French word association, landmark identification, and charades.
Where in the World Is Mrs. Waffenschmidt? 🔎
6th-8th graders use deductive reasoning to figure out where she is and also to name a famous author from that country.
La tour Eiffel - A History ✍️
Worksheet to spark a discussion or an essay for 9th - 11th graders.
Visiter
Convinced that you need to (re)visit the Eiffel Tower? Check out these options to plan the perfect visit.
Visite virtuelle
If a real-life visit isn't in the cards, enjoy this 360° virtual visit.
💗 Announcement
Thanks for reading Lawless French à fond - see you in two 3️ weeks!
While I truly love creating these deep dives for you and have dozens of ideas for future topics, each issue Lawless French à fond takes a great deal of time to put together. So I've decided to cut back from every other week to every three weeks.
Want to support my work? Buy me a coffee:
📧 Partagez !
If you enjoyed this issue, please