Eiffel Tower, Paris, France Sept 20, 2026

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

No other city is nearly as romanticised as Paris. Yet the French capital"s history has not always been as rosy as the sunset glowing behind the Eiffel Tower. Built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, or the World"s Fair, which marked the centennial of the start of the French Revolution, the tower was originally intended to serve as the fair"s entrance centrepiece. Designed by engineer Gustave Eiffel and his team, the iron landmark rose more than 300 metres above the Champ de Mars and became the tallest structure in the world at the time.

© Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Teddy bears of the sea
Sep 20, 2023Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
Sep 20, 2024Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA
Sep 20, 2025Oktoberfest begins!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 20, 2023Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
May 3, 2026International Leopard Day
Jul 17, 2026Vai, Crete, Greece
Ready for a thrill ride
May 6, 2026Thunderstorm above the plains, Bulgaria
Aug 31, 2024Rocks and sand in the Sahara, Algeria
Mar 9, 2025Kedarkantha, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
Big rocks, big heads
Holiday hues
May 11, 2026Great Barrier Reef from above, Queensland, Australia
A gorge-ous place to drop in
Jan 7, 2024Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Australia
Oct 23, 2023Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
Sep 3, 2024Crystal Lake in the Enchantments, Washington, United States
Dec 17, 2023Bohemian waxwings
Feb 1, 2024Aýna, Albacete, Spain
Take the trail more travelled by
Do pandas enjoy winter?
Jun 27, 2026Boneyard Beach, Hunting Island, South Carolina, United States
Aug 21, 2024Nazca boobies, Wolf Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Check out these ‘sea cows’
Aug 4, 2025Great grey owls in their nest, Finland
Colours of Colorado
A very public display of affection
Connecting the dots
Jun 20, 2026Arched iceberg, western Antarctic Peninsula, Southern Ocean
Feb 13, 2025Lake Tyrrell, Victoria, Australia
When being in a rut is OK
Dec 5, 2025Maya site of Copán
May 30, 2024Everglades National Park, Florida, USA