June 2026, 3 minutes to read, written by the guides
The 674 steps
There is a staircase inside the south pillar, and most visitors walk straight past it: 674 steps to the second floor, and 72 names painted in gold on the way.
There are two lines at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The long one is for the elevators. The short one, at the south pillar, is for the stairs, and most people walk straight past it.
The climb to the second floor is 674 steps. The number breaks into short flights and landings, and you settle into a rhythm after the first few turns.
What the elevator skips
On foot, you see how the Tower is made. The rivets come first: there are about 2.5 million across the structure. Then, somewhere around the 200th step, the wind starts to matter, and the Champ de Mars drops away below the iron lattice.
The Tower went up in two years, two months and five days, between 1887 and 1889. The stairs put that work at arm's length. You climb through the lattice with a hand on the paint.
At the first floor, 57 meters up, stop. On the frieze that runs beneath the gallery, Gustave Eiffel had the names of 72 French scientists and engineers painted in gold letters: Lavoisier, Ampère, Foucault. The climb gives you time to look for them.
By elevator, the Tower is a view. From the stairs, it is ironwork.
Before you climb
Closed shoes with decent grip: the steps are metal and can be damp in the morning. Water in summer. The climb takes 30 to 40 minutes at a normal pace, with landings to catch your breath, and going down is fast. Children handle it better than most parents expect.
The stairs stop at the second floor, at 115 meters. Above that, only the elevator goes to the summit. From the second-floor rail you can pick out the Trocadéro across the river and, on a clear day, the Sacré-Cœur on its hill.
One honest note, because people write to ask: we do not guide the stairs. The stair ticket is sold at the Tower itself and you climb on your own, which is half the pleasure. Our own tour takes the elevators and carries on to the summit at 276 meters, with the ticket booked before you arrive. Same meeting point either way: 3 avenue de Suffren, a short walk from Bir-Hakeim (line 6) or École Militaire (line 8).