Eiffel Tower

About Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair, designed by the engineer Gustave Eiffel's company to mark the centenary of the French Revolution. It was meant to be temporary, and plenty of Parisians hated it at first, but the iron lattice structure stuck around and became the shorthand image for Paris itself. It stands on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine, and at just over 300 metres it held the title of world's tallest structure for around 40 years, until New York's Chrysler Building overtook it.

The tower has three visitor levels. The first and second floors carry viewing terraces, restaurants, and small exhibits about the tower's history and construction, while the summit gives the widest view over the city and, on a clear day, well past the edges of Paris. You can reach the first two levels by stairs or lift, but the summit is lift-only. Different tickets cover different levels, so it's worth checking what your ticket includes before you go, since a summit ticket costs more and sells out faster than second-floor access.

Most visits run one and a half to three hours depending on how far up you go and how long the security and lift queues are, which can be long in summer and around sunset. Booking a timed-entry ticket in advance saves the worst of the wait, and evening visits are popular because the tower runs a brief sparkling light display on the hour after dark. The Trocadero gardens across the river are the classic spot for photos of the whole structure, and both Champ de Mars and Trocadero sit on the Paris Metro, so getting there is straightforward.