Hasta La Ideas

Google has partnered with the Eiffel Tower to offer spectacular panoramic views from the top of the iconic Parisian landmark using its Sreet View technology

The Eiffel Tower, affectionately known in Paris as the ‘Dame de Fer’ (Iron Lady), has some pretty impressive vital statistics. She is 124 years old, 324m tall and is the most visited paid-entry monument in the world having received more than 250 million visitors.

For those who can’t make the trip, the Google Cultural Institute and the Eiffel Tower Operating Company have joined forces to create three online exhibitions which blend historical material with Google’s techno-magic.

The exhibitions chart the Eiffel Tower from conception to inauguration, with rare archival material including a recording of Gustave Eiffel by Thomas Edison.

And Google used its Street View technology to create high definition 360° panoramic views of Paris from the top. The Google team used the Street View Trolley specially designed for museum and monuments to capture the imagery required. It’s compact, weighs only 60 kilos and can be operated easily by one person, but it still had to be heaved unceremoniously up some of the narrower stairways to the second and third floor viewing platforms.

<object width=”560″ height=”315″><param name=”movie” value=”//www.youtube.com/v/fsNvRhLWuBE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”//www.youtube.com/v/fsNvRhLWuBE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”560″ height=”315″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>

The views of Paris were filmed over two days from 6 am to 9am before the Tower opened to the public.

The partnership with Google allows the Eiffel Tower to continue developing the digital strategy it initiated in 2007, with the creation of a website, two smartphone apps, online ticketing and social network sites. Currently, the Eiffel Tower has over 1 million Facebook fans.

See the site here