The Eiffel tower's inauguration and first visitors

Inauguration de la tour Eiffel - 31 mars 1889, © Collection Tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

On Sunday 31 March 1889, Gustave Eiffel showed some of the famous personalities of the day who had come to attend the official inauguration ceremony around what was then the tallest tower in the world.

Une ascension dans la tour Eiffel, © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

After climbing the 1,710 steps that led to the top of the Tower, they unfurled the French flag to the sound of a 21-gun salute. Gustave Eiffel wrote on a woman's fan: "The French flag is the only one with a 300-metre pole."

Vue générale de l'Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889 - Servando, © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

The official inauguration of the Eiffel Tower was on May 15th, 1889, the opening day of the Exposition Universelle.

La tour Eiffel - 300m - comparaison avec les monuments les plus élevés du Monde - A. Normand, © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

The Eiffel Tower remained the world's highest construction until the Chrysler Building was erected in New York in 1930.

La tour Eiffel et le dôme central - Exposition universelle de 1889 by © Parisienne de photographie - Léon et Lévy / Roger-ViolletEiffel Tower

On May 15th, 1889, the Eiffel Tower welcomes its first visitors.

People from all over the world gathered in the city of Paris to have a look at this masterpiece.

Bassin de la tour Eiffel - Exposition universelle de 1889 by © Parisienne de photographie - Neurdein/ Roger-ViolletEiffel Tower

The 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris received millions of visitors. Amongst them, 1,953,122 came to see the Eiffel Tower: almost 12,000 a day!

The Tower was an immediate success.

Visiteurs de la tour Eiffel admirant Paris, © Parisienne de photographie - Neurdein/ Roger-Viollet, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

From the very first week, although the lifts were not yet in service (they would be from the 26th May), almost 30,000 visitors climbed the monument using the staircase: a total of 1,710 steps to the top!

Tap to explore

And still today, the view from the top is as spectacular as it was back then!

Un des magasins de souvenirs de la tour Eiffel - Exposition Universelle de 1900 by © Parisienne de photographie - Neurdein / Roger-ViolletEiffel Tower

All sorts of boutiques (sale of souvenirs, photographers’  booths, binocular rental, refreshments) and restaurants opened up on the monument.

The main Parisian places are indicated and allow visitors to locate themselves from the top of the Tower.

Tap to explore

Now, monuments from all over the world are indicated.

La salle de restaurant de la tour Eiffel vers 1889-1890, © Parisienne de photographie - Neurdein/ Roger-Viollet, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

On the first floor, four restaurants, each in a different style, were installed: the Russian restaurant, the Anglo-American bar, the French restaurant and the Flemish restaurant.

L'ascenseur système Fives-Lille montant les visiteurs du sol au 2e étage, © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

From the outset, the lifts allowed hundreds of thousands of visitors to climb the Tower safely to embrace the whole of Paris.

La tour Eiffel - Ascenseur de la première plate-forme (photo d'après gravure - Chevojon), © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

Never before had the limits of such heights and loads been broken.

Détails de la construction et du fonctionnement des ascenseurs Otis - gravure N & B - Exposition Universelle de 1889, © Collection tour Eiffel, From the collection of: Eiffel Tower
Show lessRead more

Two of the original lifts are still in service on the Eiffel Tower today. Carefully preserved, this exceptional heritage still testifies to Gustave Eiffel’s visionary genius.

Tap to explore

A universal Tower of Babel, almost 250 million visitors of different ages and origins have come from all over the planet to see the Tower since it was opened in 1889. As France’s symbol in the world and the showcase of Paris, today it attracts almost seven million visitors a year, making it the world's most popular paid-entry monument.

Credits: Story

Conception—Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites