The Eiffel Tower – one of the world’s most iconic monuments has been the symbol of Paris and France. Every year on March 31st, which is designated as Eiffel Tower Day, visitors and local denizens of Paris celebrate this day with great pomp and grandeur.

In fact, the festival spans for a week and the year 2019 was the 130th anniversary of this majestic monument where visitors were offered a bewildering array of fun activities, all aimed at familiarising them with the pros and cons of this stupendous monument, globally recognized as an “Engineering Marvel”.

The Tower has been an object of dispute, desire and fascination. It was built by Gustave Eiffel in the year 1889 with the primary intention of celebrating 100 years of the French Revolution. At that time towards the last phase of the 19th century, the Tower was the manifestation of France’s engineering prowess.

Thanks to constant renovation and restoration, the Tower would have lasted for just 20 years, otherwise. The Tower stands as a testimony to numerous landmark events in France’s quest for excellence in the scientific world – the first radio signals from the Tower in 1898, serving as a military radio post in 1903 and the first public radio transmission programme in 1925 to name just a few.

Being an iconic monument, every year the Tower is the backdrop for numerous international events – past events of the magnitude of the Pyrotechnic Show 2000, event to celebrate France assuming Presidency of the European Union to name just a few...

As a symbol of France and its glittering capital city of Paris, the Tower welcomes close to 7 million visitors every year that has earned it the tag of being one of the most visited monuments in the world.

Once you have made up your mind to visit Eiffel Tower and to ensure that you enjoy every moment of your landmark visit, SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel) – the official organization entrusted with the task of maintenance and administration of Eiffel Tower offers a truly hassle-free exploration of the Tower.

Since the Tower is a “pay-to-enter” monument, buying tickets is mandatory. For those who want to avoid long queues, on line E-ticketing facilities are available. SETE has come up with the novel “time-stamped e-tickets”, that is a great time saver. Tickets can be booked up to two months in advance. The peak season is the period from July-August when the visitor traffic is unusually high as compared to other months.

Time permitting, many visitors who have visited the Tower in the daytime also make it a point to visit the Tower by night, when this majestic monument is all decked up by a blaze of lights. Eiffel The Tower is open until 23:45, and in the summer 00:45.

Have tickets, will climb! WOW!

The Tower has two main entry points – Entry Point 1 to the South and Entry Point 2 to the East. Every visitor has to pass through security checks at these points. Those who want to go to the top should head for the South Point, where tickets are available for the 2nd Floor as well as for the top. Multi-lingual Visitor Guides are available at vantage locations that will offer you with useful information.

If you are social media-friendly, you would do well to connect with the Tower’s Free Wi-Fi service, which is one great way of sharing your precious moments with your near and dear ones while exploring one of the world’s greatest monument.

As you embark on perhaps one of life’s most cherished desire – a climb to the top of Eiffel Tower, bear in mind that you will have to climb 1,710 steps to be on top of this stupendous 984 feet tall tower.

The original spiral staircase which the Tower’s architect Gustave Eiffel had built has been done away with and a newer version was amalgamated skilfully. However, remnants of the old spiral staircase, a small portion really, measuring 4.30 meters is carefully preserved on the first floor.

The first floor is literally an immersive experience for visitors - Ferrie Pavilion, an introduction to the many facets of Eiffel Tower’s grandeur - touch screens, digital Apps, old reproduction of the tower’s trivia facts etc... Do not miss out on the Immersion Show that will offer you with significant insight of the Tower from its origins to its metamorphosis as one of the world’s most astonishing towers.

The first-floor bistro is every bit French and comes with its own wine cellar! La Bulle Parisienne is perhaps one of the world’s most talked about bistro and indulging in the special culinary dishes of the bistro is every bit awe-inspiring. If the 1st Floor experience is awe-inspiring, the 2nd Floor is resplendent with French romanticism – an effort to portray to the world France’s obsession with celebrating life itself: imagination, emotions and all things sublime and transcendental.

Be it the outstanding Jules Verne restaurant that offers mesmerising views over the Champ-de-Mars and the Trocadéro or the La Verriere Souvenir Shop that serves as the melting point for visitors from the ground floor and the top, the tower never ceases to amaze you. Make it a point to visit The Glass Canopy which stocks perhaps the largest Eiffel Tower reproductions.

All is well that ends well and the French know how to celebrate life! So, can Champagne be far behind? At the top of the tower is the quintessential Champagne Bar and raising a toast to your out of this world experience is just what the doctor ordered for a sensational culmination to your exploration.

The aura and romance surrounding the Eiffel Tower is best summed up by Sakshi Vashist thus:

You see, I don’t complain of your stolen kisses in the dim lamp light. But they are not enough. I deserve to be kissed under the grandeur of the Eiffel on a full moon night.