It’ll cost you (more) to visit the Eiffel Tower

A trip to the top of the Eifel Tower by lift is going to cost more after June 17.

The present €29.40 for an adult will go up to €35.30, with the increase going towards paying for essential renovations, Paris city hall announced.

Councillors also voted in favour of reducing the annual charge paid to city hall by the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE), the publicly-owned company which maintains and runs the instantly-recognisable landmark.

Covid restrictions during the pandemic put SETE €130 million in the red as takings plummeted in 2020 and 2021, although the number of visitors has now recovered, rising to almost 6 million in 2023.

In February unions representing 200 of the tower’s permanent staff of 360 called a strike which lasted six days, following a one-day walkout in December 2023 over contracts.  This time employees were protesting about the “untenable business model”, insufficient investment and the high fees paid to Paris city hall.  These rose from €8 million in 2021 to €16 million, the unions pointed out.

The tower designed by Gustave Eiffel was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the 1889 Exposition Universelle world fair. Ideally, the structure should be repainted every seven years to control the inevitable rust, Eiffel said at the time.

The iron tower, which is 300 metres high, or 330 when taking into account the radio antenna at its top, is in good condition beneath its 60 tons of paint, experts said.  It has been repainted on 19 occasions since 1889, the last time in 2010.