One of the world's most recognisable visitor attractions, the 325m-tall Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, is to undergo a 181m euro (US$267m, £143m) upgrade of its facilities which will take 10 years to complete.
The iconic iron tower, which attracts more than 7 million visitors each year, was built in 1889 and the last significant regeneration took place in the 1980s.
The revamp will be carried out by Société d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), which manages the 120-year-old attraction on behalf of its owner, the city of Paris.
The redevelopment will include a complete refurbishment of the base of the tower, where visitors queue up to the stalls to buy tickets.
According to SETE, it wants to increase secondary spend and will introduce – for the first time – pre-paid, online ticketing to alleviate the huge queues and use the freed-up space to establish larger shops and cafés.
A new champagne bar will be built on the third floor of the tower, while new exhibitions about the history of the tower and the city will also be included in an effort to increase the number of Parisians visiting the site.
The tower will also get a structural revamp and a new coat of paint.
