So this is more of a r/tooafraidtoask thing but I was hoping to get a more specific answer here.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is basically the symbol of France. It's crazy famous and can be found on anything that has even a small connection to Paris or France.

But at the end of the day, isn't it "just a big tower made of metal"? Is there anything that I'm missing here? What makes this thing so special?

Does the Eiffel tower have any historic significance in regard to science, politics, architecture etc.? Or is it just so big that it became an important part of the skyline?

Hope this doesn't sound too stupid.