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It welcomes approximately 7 million visitors each year. It has survived two world wars, endless refurbishments, and has played host to more marriage proposals than perhaps any other structure on earth.
Now a small piece of the world-famous Eiffel Tower is looking for somewhere quieter to live.
An original section of the tower’s spiral staircase – the very steps that carried the first visitors upward when the iconic Parisian monument opened in 1889 – is going under the hammer on 21 May, courtesy of auction house Artcurial.
Estimates put the likely sale price at between €120,000 and €150,000 – but the final price could very well climb higher if past auctions are anything to go by.
Standing 2.75 metres tall and 1.75 metres in diameter, the piece is made up of 14 steel steps, mounted on a cross-shaped base. It once formed part of the staircase connecting the tower’s second and third floors.
When Gustave Eiffel’s iron marvel first opened during the Exposition Universelle of 1889, the only way up was on foot. It was only nearly a century later in 1983, during a significant renovation, that large sections were dismantled and replaced with lifts.
Around 20 sections were removed and sold at the time, with many passing into private hands and others finding permanent homes in institutions such as the Musée d’Orsay and the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie. Others can be seen in the gardens of the Yoishii Foundation in Yamanashi, Japan, as well as near the Statue of Liberty in New York.
There’s clearly still an appetite for a piece of the landmark – a similar section sold for a staggering €523,800 in 2016. Not bad for a piece of staircase that’s been retired for more than 40 years.
Bidding opens at Artcurial in Paris on 21 May 2026.