Today marks 127 years since the Eiffel Tower opened on March 31st 1889.
It’s hard to imagine Paris without its iconic landmark, but we have a map from our Edward Stanford Cartographic Collection dated 1870 which shows just that.
Published nineteen years before the Eiffel Tower opened, our map covers the centre of Paris (indicated in pink) and extends well outside the present day Boulevard Périphérique, the course of which is indicated on the map by the old city walls.
In this close-up, you can see the space at the Chaps de Mars where the Eiffel Tower now takes pride of place.
Reproductions of the Stanford’s map of the environs of Paris are available from £10.00.