Arriving at the Champ de Mars
You come out of the trees of the Champ de Mars and there it is — a lattice of wrought iron rising from a square base, four legs apart at the ground and drawing together as they climb. It is the tallest structure in Paris, and no other monument better symbolises the city. Locals call it "La dame de fer", the Iron Lady, for the material she is made of. Walk the full length of the park before you go up: the tower changes character with every step, from a piece of engineering to a piece of skyline.
Climb the Three Levels
The tower has three levels for visitors, and how you reach them is part of the day. You can take the stairs or the lift to the first and second levels; the climb from the ground to the first level is over 300 steps, and the climb from the first to the second is over 300 more, making the whole ascent a 600-step climb. A staircase exists to the top level, but it is usually accessible only by lift — glass elevators run from the second floor to the top.
- First level: a transparent floor with an anti-slip treatment, so you look straight down through your own feet. Le 58 Tour Eiffel serves a two- or three-dish picnic menu by day and a sit-down menu in the evening, with city views.
- Second level: a souvenir shop, and Le Jules Verne, run by Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse — a five-course dinner lands at roughly €115 per person excluding wine, with a cheaper set lunch and a formal dress code. Reservations are taken two months in advance.
- Top level: the highest public observation deck in the European Union, at 276 m above the ground. Here you find the small private apartment Gustave Eiffel built for himself, decorated with furniture by Jean Lachaise, where he received guests including Thomas Edison. Unused after his death, it opened to public viewing in 2015.
If you are fit, walk the first two levels and buy an elevator ticket to the top — the queue for the lift from the ground can run for hours even early in the morning, and this is the way to cut it.
What the Ironwork Has Held
The tower was built by Gustave Eiffel's company from 1887 to 1889 as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair, crowning the centennial of the French Revolution. Before it went up, a "Committee of Three Hundred" — one member for every metre of its height, led by the architect Charles Garnier and including figures such as Guy de Maupassant, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet — published a petition in Le Temps on 14 February 1887 protesting against "this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower". Eiffel answered by comparing it to the Egyptian pyramids. Knowing that argument happened makes the thing you are standing under read differently.
Look for the uses beyond the view. During the First World War the French military ran a radio and telegraph centre here to reach troops and battleships and to intercept enemy messages; in 1916 the tower caught a message about the spy Mata Hari. Eiffel kept two small laboratories on the third level for astronomers and meteorologists, and dropped objects on cords from the second level to study air resistance. Two wind turbines installed on the second level in 2015 generate electricity for the tower's shops and restaurants, and a rainwater collection system funnels water to its toilets.
Winter on the First Floor, Lights After Dark
From mid-December to the end of January there is an ice rink on the first floor; tickets run about €5 including skate rental. Whatever the season, stay for nightfall: the tower is illuminated nightly by 20,000 light bulbs. Come in winter for the rink and thinner crowds, or accept that in high season you should be at the site at least 30 minutes before opening time — the Eiffel Tower is one of Paris's choke points, and otherwise you should expect a wait of at least an hour. The tower was designated a monument historique in 1964 and named part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Paris, Banks of the Seine" in 1991.
Make It a Day on the West Side
The tower sits on the Champ de Mars, which gives you a natural day: the park itself, then the wider city. The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées are within reach, and the Seine is at your feet. If you plan to see several sights, the Paris Museum Pass covers more than 70 museums and monuments and lets you jump lengthy queues — a real advantage at a site like this — and can be bought from tourist offices, FNAC branches and the main Métro and RER stations. Buy it a day or more in advance, after mid-day, and do not write your start date until you are certain you will use it that day, since the days covered run consecutively once you do.
Start with the tower's own booking page and pick your season, then build the rest of the trip around it. Decide whether you are walking the first two levels or riding all the way, book Le Jules Verne two months out if that dinner is the point of the visit, and give yourself a winter date if you want to skate above the city. The Iron Lady has been argued over, shot at with petitions, and used to catch spies — she repays a little planning.