Information

The Eiffel Tower has been a symbol of Paris since its building in 1889 as part of The Exposition
Universelle held in the city that year.

The tower, recognizable by its particular shape, has turned into a symbol of the city since its
inauguration. It has welcomed around 250 million visitors from all over the world for over two
centuries.

And now it’s waiting for you!

Tour Eiffel Restaurants

The Eiffel Tower has a couple of restaurants located in its first and second levels: · La Bulle Parisienne: a temporary bistró on the first floor, ideal for enjoying any meal from breakfast to dinner, with local products and a great view. It’ll be open until April 2020. · Le Jules Verne: ruled by famous chef Frédéric Anton. There’s also 58 Tour Eiffel, an exclusive brasserie on the second floor, its name is a callback to the distance from its location to the ground: 58 meters. It’s currently closed until next spring due to a major makeover.
Jules Restaurant picture
Elegant restaurant in the Eiffel Tower
Structure of the Eiffel Tower illuminated at night

Tour Eiffel Light Show

The Eiffel Tower light show is one of the main attractions of the Parisian night sky. From 8 pm up until an hour after midnight, the monument glows thanks to a lighting system composed of 20 thousand golden light bulbs that flash for 5 minutes every time the clock marks a new hour.

Tour Eiffel figures

The Iron Lady’s current height is 1063 feet. In the beginning, it was only 10214 feet, but it reached its present height due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957. It has 5 elevators from the esplanade to the second floor. From then on you can take any of 3 duo lifts that will get you from the second floor to the top.
Eiffel Tower with a carousel in the foreground

Gift shop

The Eiffel Tower Gift Shop offers a wide variety of souvenirs related to the monument and Paris. It's a great place to get yourself a piece of memorabilia, and it opens the same days and times as the Tower itself: from 9.30 a.m. to 11.45 p.m. through September to May, and from 9 a.m. to 00.45 during June and August.
Close-up to the illuminated structure of the Eiffel Tower

French resistance saved it from Nazi occupation​

During the German occupation, the tower’s elevator cables were cut and the structure was closed to the public to prevent Nazi soldiers to climb to the top. History tells Hitler ordered Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of the city at the time, to demolish the tower among other parts of Paris, a command which fortunately he refused.

It gets painted every seven years

Every seven years, the tower goes through a maintenance and painting process that lasts approximately 15 months. The structure receives a fresh coat of the “Tour Eiffel Brown” color, applied from dark to light as the tower rises to the top. Approximately 60 tons of paint is used, the equivalent of the weight of 10 elephants.

Curious Facts about Eiffel Tower

Like any historical monument, the rise of the Eiffel Tower at the end of the 19th century was an
event full of stories and curious facts that will make you think twice about what it meant and still means to France. Ever wondered how many steps you have got to take to reach the first level?

That would be 360 steps, just one more than the ones needed to get to the second level! Did
you know that the tower’s lifts are so busy that they travel the circumference of the earth twice
every year?

Upgrade your experience by learning some curiosities about the Eiffel tower.

It was only supposed to last 20 years

The Eiffel Tower was initially built as a monument to commemorate the Centenary of the French Revolution, and the locals were clear that the installation would be dismantled after two decades. The success of the iron tower standing in the middle of the city was so big that it ended up staying for the 130 years (and counting)

It was the tallest monument, building or structure in the world

By the beginning of the 20th century, this was the tallest manmade structure, monument, or building in the world. In 1930 the Chrysler Building in New York took the title away, but it didn’t last long: In 1957, with the addition of the antenna at the top, the Eiffel tower surpassed its competitor height by 67 feet.

It was the tallest monument, building or structure in the world

Considering that it was the tallest monument in the world, and an ambitious work of engineering for its time, the construction of the Eiffel Tower was relatively quick: two months and five days. It seems nothing compared to the 180 years it took building Paris’s other great attraction: Notre Dame.

The elevators travel twice the circumference of the Earth

As a worldwide known symbol of France, the Tower welcomes over 7 million tourists each year that put the elevators to hard work: traveling a combined distance of 103.00 km. That’s two and a half times the circumference of the Earth!

It gets smaller during cold months

The Eiffel tower is made completely out of iron, a metal with properties that vary depending on the temperature. Iron dilates with heat: a 300-meter long iron rod will lengthen up to 3 millimeters when heated. Due to the different climates, the Tower varies 15 centimeters in size over the year.

Gustave Eiffel’s secret apartment

The tower houses a secret apartment. Yes, Gustave Eiffel built it for himself on the third floor of the building and it went unnoticed for more than 100 years. It is now available for visitors, but it can only be seen from the outside.

Eiffel Tower France Flag

Get Eiffel Tower Tickets