“In January, the top floor of the Eiffel Tower is getting a makeover,” warns the SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel) on its website. Like every year, maintenance and renovation work is carried out at the top of the monument symbol of the capital and on its elevators leading from the second floor to the top. This construction site results in the closure of this emblematic floor to the public from January 6 to February 7 inclusive.
A “very exposed” top floor
“It is a necessary refreshment of this level which is carried out every year. It is in fact very exposed to permanent winds at this altitude (when the wind on the ground reaches a speed of 50 km/h for example, it blows at more than 80 km/h at the top of the tower) and bad weather of all types: negative temperatures, rain, snow, hail, sun…. », justifies the operating company.
Situated 300m high, the iconic summit of the Eiffel Tower is “extremely busy and often saturated during the summer months and school holidays”, with half of its more than 6 million annual visitors passing through.
Numerous revision works are thus scheduled to “improve the safety and comfort” of visits to the “Summit” floor: sanitary facilities, stairs, floors, glass frames, lighting, radiators, etc.
Since 2022, annual maintenance work particularly concerns the elevators leading to the summit. “Essential to the operation of the monument, they are currently benefiting from modernization work on all of the equipment in order to make them more efficient and reliable, more energy efficient, more pleasant for visitors and more easily operable for our lift operators” , specifies the SETE.
During this construction period, tourists will still have access to the second floor of the Iron Lady, by elevator or staircase.
