Hotels near Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid monument in the world, drawing nearly 7 million visitors each year to the banks of the Seine in Paris. Built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair, this iron lattice structure stands 330 meters tall and remains one of the most recognizable silhouettes in architecture.

History and Design

Designed by engineer Gustave Eiffel and his team, the tower was originally intended as a temporary installation and faced considerable criticism from Parisian artists and intellectuals before its completion. Constructed from roughly 18,000 individual iron parts held together by 2.5 million rivets, the structure was a remarkable feat of 19th-century engineering. It was saved from demolition in 1909 when it proved useful as a radio transmission tower.

Visiting the Tower

The Eiffel Tower has three accessible levels. The first and second floors house restaurants, exhibition spaces, and glass-floored viewing areas, while the top floor offers panoramic views across Paris stretching up to 70 kilometers on a clear day. Visitors can reach the upper floors by elevator or, for the first and second levels, by stairs. The tower is illuminated every evening, with a sparkling light show running for five minutes at the top of each hour after dark.

Practical Tips

• Book tickets online in advance to avoid long queues, especially during summer months.
• Visit early morning or late evening for shorter wait times and softer light.
• The nearby Champ de Mars park offers a free, ground-level view of the tower.
• Combine your visit with the Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, or a walk along the Champs-Élysées for a full day of sightseeing.
• The tower is accessible via the Bir-Hakeim or Trocadéro metro stations.