Eiffel Tower
A 330-metre wrought-iron tower rising from the Champ de Mars on the Left Bank of the Seine, in Paris's 7th arrondissement. Gustave Eiffel and his team built it as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair — held to mark the centenary of the French Revolution — completing it in just over two years. For the next four decades it held the title of the world's tallest structure, until New York's Chrysler Building surpassed it in 1930. Today it welcomes more than six million visitors a year and has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Paris, Banks of the Seine" since 1991. The tower rises in layers, and each floor conceals corners that most visitors walk straight past — worth slowing down to look at closely.
France · 26 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
The 72 Names on the Eiffel Tower
Stand on the first floor and look up at the outer fascia: running around all four sides is a band of large gilded letters — 72 surnames, no first names. They aren't decorative moulding. They are the names of 18th- and 19th-century French scientists, engineers and industrialists, 18 per face, exactly 18 × 4. Each letter is gold leaf in relief, 60 cm tall, one name filling the gap between two I-beams. Most visitors assume it's ornamental ironwork. It is, in fact, a roll of honour that Eiffel deliberately inscribed into the building.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Golden Roll of 72 Scientists
Walk around the first floor's outer face and look up at the tower's body: 72 names are inscribed there in gilded letters. They are French scientists and scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries — all French nationals who were alive at some point between 1789 and 1889. Most visitors look outward at the panorama of Paris; few notice this gilded roster just beside them, and fewer still stop to read who is listed. It is not a decorative frieze. It is a scientific roll of honour built into the tower's outer wall.
Gustave Eiffel's Office
At the very top of the third floor, 276 metres up, a small glass-enclosed room was Gustave Eiffel's private space at the summit. About 100 square metres in area, it originally contained a sitting room with a table, sofa and piano, three small offices, a kitchen and a bathroom — but no bedroom. He never slept here; it functioned more as a reception room and working laboratory for distinguished guests. The most celebrated visitor was Thomas Edison: a wax tableau recreates Eiffel and his daughter Claire welcoming the American inventor. Today, because the space is so small, the room is not open to visitors — you can only look in through the glass, or scan a QR code in the first-floor elevator corridor to access a 360° immersive experience.
Sources: toureiffel.paris · toureiffel.paris · toureiffel.paris
Gustave Eiffel
At the base of the tower's north pillar stands a gilded bronze bust, its stone plinth inscribed simply "Eiffel / 1832–1923." It is the work of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, 123 cm tall, set on a plinth designed by architects Auguste Perret and André Granet. The location was chosen deliberately: the esplanade des Ouvriers-de-la-Tour-Eiffel (Square of the Eiffel Tower Workers), whose name honours the more than two hundred men who built it. Most people pass by without noticing the small figure at their feet.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Third Floor Observation Deck
The third floor is the tower's highest public platform, at 276 metres, with only the antenna above it. The level is split into two sections: one open-air, one with a covered roof. Walking the full circuit gives you a 360-degree panorama of Paris. Orientation markers, a 1:50 scale model of the 1889 original summit, and a champagne bar — where you can drink a glass of white or rosé champagne at 276 metres — make this the tower's definitive final act for most visitors. The reconstruction of Eiffel's office is also on this floor, visible through glass. The third floor can only be reached by lift from the second; there is no staircase access.
Sources: toureiffel.paris · fr.wikipedia.org
Pavillon Eiffel
The Pavillon Eiffel is an enclosed glass pavilion on the first floor on the Trocadéro side… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org · toureiffel.paris
Pavillon Ferrié
The south-west pavilion on the first floor is named for the soldier who saved the tower: G… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: toureiffel.paris · toureiffel.paris · toureiffel.paris
Second Floor Observation Deck
The second floor sits 115 metres above ground, with a floor area of about 1,650 square met… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org · toureiffel.paris
The Foundation
At the base of the tower, as you look up through the criss-crossed ironwork, the ground be… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
From Foundation to Bearing
Hidden between the four pillar feet and the ground is a system of foundation engineering t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Piers
Each of the four pillar feet is anchored in a square masonry pier, 25 metres per side and… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Arches
Four curved arches span the gaps between the four pillar feet at a height of 39 metres, ea… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
First Floor
The first floor — 57 metres above ground, roughly 4,220 square metres — can hold around 2… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Second Floor
The second floor is 115 metres above ground, with a floor area of around 1,650 square metr… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Third Floor
The third floor sits at 276 metres, with a floor area of only 350 square metres and a maxi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Construction Site
The tower contains 2.5 million rivets in total, but only 1,050,846 of them — roughly 42% —… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Assembly
The ironwork assembly (montage) began on 1 July 1887. The workers who did it were known as… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Strike
In September 1888, with the second floor complete, workers suddenly went on strike. They h… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Lifts
Once the tower was built, getting visitors to the third floor became a puzzle. The Backman… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Tower's Puddled Iron
The tower is made of puddled iron (fer puddlé) — a refined wrought iron from which excess… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
The Paint
Before assembly, the ironwork received a coat of "Venice red" (rouge Venise) primer. When… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Completion
In March 1889 the tower was finished on schedule, with no construction workers killed duri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Meteorology and Aerodynamics
In the year the tower opened, 1889, Eiffel authorised Éleuthère Mascart, the founding dire… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Radio and Television
In October 1898, Eugène Ducretet transmitted France's first Hertzian wireless telephone si… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Television Transmission
The tower's summit is where French television broadcasting began. On 8 November 1935, the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Tourism, Access and the Copyright of the Night Lights
The tower itself, and daytime photographs of it, have been in the public domain since 1993… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Eiffel Tower?
The 72 Names on the Eiffel Tower, The Golden Roll of 72 Scientists, Gustave Eiffel's Office and more — 26 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Eiffel Tower guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 21 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).