It stands in the centre of Paris as a beacon for eight million tourists each year and a symbol of national pride.

And now the Eiffel Tower has been named as the most valuable monument in Europe — worth an estimated £344 billion to France’s economy.

The 1,050-ft attraction is worth about five times its nearest rival, Rome’s Colosseum. And six times more valuable than Britain’s Tower of London monument. u00a0 u00a0 u00a0