Heritage Days 2025 at the Eiffel Tower: visit the machinery of the historic elevator

Mark your calendars, one of the best events of the autumn is back in Paris! Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days ) take place all over Europe, offering a program full of wonderful discoveries. That's right: for a weekend, museums, monuments and castles open their doors to you, often free of charge, offeringoriginal tours andevents. But it's also an opportunity to discover new places that are exceptionally open to the general public. Paris and the Ile-de-France region won't want to miss out on this not-to-be-missed cultural event!

Journées du Patrimoine 2025: the full program for this year's event in Paris and the Île-de-France region
The Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) return this weekend, September 20 and 21, 2025, for their 42nd edition. In Paris and Île-de-France, it's a chance to visit free museums and castles, places that are exceptionally open, unusual guided tours and other great activities, on the theme of "Architectural Heritage". [Read more]

Journées du Patrimoine 2025: not-to-be-missed historic monuments in Paris and the Île-de-France region
The historic monuments of Paris and the Île-de-France region open their doors to you for the 42nd European Heritage Days. This Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21, 2025, come and discover these jewels of history, through attractive programs for the whole family. [Read more]

So make a note of the dates: this weekend, September 20 and 21, 2025, we're off to conquer the treasures of our heritage. And in Paris, there's one particularly emblematic monument that's getting ready to reveal its secrets: the Eiffel Tower! Over 300 metres high, it has dominated the capital since 1889. Built for theUniversal Exhibition, it has become a symbol of France the world over. So, when this landmark enters the Heritage Days dance, it's hard to pass up the opportunity!

• To be read
• This Week's Best Deals in Paris and Île-de-France, December 15–21, 2025

The Journées du Patrimoine 2025 program at the Eiffel Tower :

• Eiffel Tower: guided tour of the historic elevator machinery
  Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 09:30 ⤏ 18:00 | Sunday, September 21, 2025 - 09:30 ⤏ 18:00
  

  The Eiffel Tower invites you behind the scenes of one of its historic elevators! Discover this unique world heritage site during the European Heritage Days on September 20 and 21, 2025.

  Ever since the Eiffel Tower was opened for the 1889 Universal Exhibition, visitors have been able to access the monument's floors by elevator. Today, these devices may seem like a common piece of equipment, but at the time, they were an industrial feat!

  Neither elevators in the traditional sense, nor funiculars, nor cable cars... The Tower's elevators don't belong to any one category, nor do they correspond to any current reference. Since their first modernization in 1899, their mechanics have remained without equal anywhere in the world.

  Carefully preserved, this exceptional heritage still bears witness to Gustave Eiffel's visionary genius. Of all the Tower's elevators, only one remains with the system closest to the original: the East Pillar elevator.

  During a guided tour led by a Tower technician and accompanied by a receptionist, you'll discover the ingenious workings that enable visitors from all over the world to enjoy the Parisian panorama every day from a height of 115m. You'll also learn more about the care taken with these elevators and, more broadly, about the everyday gestures applied by the committed technical teams who ensure the monument's preservation.

  
  
  

Please note that this free tour is by reservation only, and places are going fast! Registration opens in September on the Eiffel Tower website, so don't miss out.