Locally nicknamed “La dame de fer” (French for “Iron Lady”), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair and was initially criticised by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.

⇒ Also сheck оut мore info: Planning a smooth visit • Explore • Prices & Times

The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel, map) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars (map) in Paris. It is named after the engineer *Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level’s upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. ⇒ LES RESTAURANTS DE LA TOUR EIFFEL

Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

A petition called “Artists against the Eiffel Tower” was sent to the Minister of Works and Commissioner for the Exposition, Adolphe Alphand, and it was published by Le Temps on 14 February 1887:

We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection … of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower … To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the Dome of les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal. 

Some of the protesters changed their minds when the tower was built; others remained unconvinced. The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889. Guy de Maupassant supposedly ate lunch in the tower’s restaurant every day because it was the one place in Paris where the tower was not visible.

Access map – Find out how to come here.

The nearest Paris Métro station is Bir-Hakeim (map) and the nearest RER station is Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel (map).

RATP ::: Metro timetables • Bus timetables • Tramway timetables • RER timetables

⇒ Also сheck оut мore info: Public transport (parisinfo.com) • Getting to France (uk.france.fr)

BUS: sobus.travel — sells bus tickets for all the bus companies. The Noctilien (Map of Noctilien) is a night bus service that operates in Paris and the Paris region from 12.30am to 5.30am.

TRAIN: For regional trains, schedules can be found at ter.sncf.com. For long distances, use the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, or High-speed train) on which reservations are obligatory. TGV • Thello • Ouigo. + RailEurope • Eurostar • Thalys • izy (Paris-Brussels) • TGV Lyria (Switzerland) • DB (Germany) • RENFE (Barcelona)

AIRPORT: parisaeroport.fr – Paris airport information. aeroport.fr – list of airports in France.

• Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport by public transport
• Paris-Orly airport by public transport
• Beauvais Airport / Paris ↔ Airport Shuttle

FERRY: Batobus – Eiffel Tower ⇒ Musée d’Orsay ⇒ St Germain des Près ⇒ Notre-Dame Cathedral ⇒ Jardin des Plantes ⇒ Hôtel de Ville ⇒ Louvre ⇒ Champs-Elysées ⇒ Beaugrenelle. + Getting to Paris by boat /  More Info about Passenger Boats

A world famous silhouette, an exceptional 360° panoramic view of Paris, different spaces available (forecourt, floors, areas not open to the public, etc.), the Eiffel Tower is available for all kind of audiovisual projects : feature films, advertising spots, television series and programmes, documentaries and reports.

⇒ video source: La tour Eiffel / youtube.com /

How do you obtain a VISA for a stay in France – and what are the customs procedures? + Customs and Visas (france.fr)

The practical travel and tourist information pages on Paris, French regions, driving in France, and a whole lot more.

France-Voyage.com is a leading guide to Tourism in France. It provides holidaymakers with all the practical and cultural information.