Monstrous, artistic, or steampunk before the word was even imagined. Of all the singular skyscraping structures created for fairs or fantasy, Gustave Eiffel’s tower is the most timeless. With base pillars oriented towards the four points of a compass – 18,000 parts, 2.5 million rivets, and 10,100 tons of open-lattice wrought iron stretch 1,069 vertical feet (320.75 meters or roughly 81 stories) into the air. Admire it from afar, stand underneath and look up, or take the elevator to the top. But you can only really know the Eiffel Tower intimately by daring to climb 704 of her 1665 steps.