Did You Know the Eiffel Tower Has a Secret Apartment? It’s the Best Kept Secret in Paris

The Eiffel Tower is probably the most famous landmark in Paris. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, it was completed in 1889 and was hated by most Parisians as it was a blot on their otherwise perfect skyline. But there is more to the Iron Lady than first meets the eye.

Yes, it sparkles and lights up at night and has the most spectacular views over Paris. It’s been used as an advertising billboard and is an engineering marvel. But it also has a small apartment at the top that many people don’t know about and have never seen.

It’s small, cozy and has the most amazing views over Paris. It’s in complete contrast to the industrial metal framework of the rest of the tower and gives a whole new meaning to penthouse apartment. But it’s lacking one thing. Any idea what?

The Eiffel Tower Apartment Construction and History

When Gustave Eiffel designed his tower, he made sure to keep a space for himself—a rather generous one. Tucked away on the upper platform, just above the third floor and beneath the campanile, he created a private apartment spanning 100 square meters (1,076 square feet). 

A good chunk of the space was taken up by the elevator cabin, stairwell, and technical equipment, but what remained was his own retreat high above the city—away from the crowds and closer to the sky. Nobody had a better view of Paris.

This special space quickly became the talk of the town. The apartment wasn’t really a secret; Parisians knew about it, and many wealthy people offered Eiffel small fortunes to rent it for just one night. He turned them all down. Instead, he used the space to welcome scientific elites and conduct experiments. 

A Peek Inside the Gustave’s Eiffel Tower Apartment

While modest in size, the apartment showcased the latest amenities of the late 1800s. The space served as both a comfortable entertaining area and a working laboratory. It included:

• A cozy living room with a piano
• Three small desks for work
• A functional kitchen
• A bathroom with modern plumbing
• A separate toilet cubicle

What was it missing? A bedroom. This wasn’t an apartment built for Gustave to live in; it was somewhere to work from, an office, and, more importantly, a place to entertain some of the most brilliant scientific minds of the time. 

The apartment’s decor reflects late 19th-century style: wooden furniture, intricate paisley wallpaper, a gas table lamp, and a phonograph, which was a gift from Edison. A bookcase lined with leather-bound volumes adds to the space’s scholarly feel.

Little is left of the larger apartment today, but if you visit, you can see the small office with three wax models of Gustav Eiffel, his daughter Claire Eiffel, and Thomas Edison. Claire was the eldest of Gustave Eiffel’s five children.

When his wife died, Claire took on the role of mum to her four younger siblings. Later, she married Adolphe Salles, an engineer who played a key role in overseeing the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

Famous Names Who Visited the Eiffel Tower Apartment

As you can imagine, the apartment wasn’t short of famous visitors. Not all of them met Eiffel, but they’ve been inside the apartment, and many of the names appear in his visitor’s book, which shows people who had been guests in the apartment.

It reads a bit like a who’s who and includes plenty of royalty. Names include Archduke Charles Ferdinand of Austria, Alexandre III of Russia, George I of Greece, and Oscar II of Sweden. 

Then there are the creatives, such as the actress Sarah Bernhardt, and one who interests me as a musician, the composer Charles Gounod, who apparently thought the apartment was a bit of a joke. However, once he’d visited, he changed his tune, quite literally, and was so inspired that he wrote a cantata at the piano in the apartment.

Perhaps the one that’s most surprising is Buffalo Bill. He was in town for the 1889 World Fair with his Wild West Show and was down in the visitor’s book as being a guest in the apartment.

The Apartment in Movies and Novels

Writers and filmmakers have featured the apartment in creative works, using it as a setting for romance, mystery, and adventure stories. The space appears in several French novels from the early 1900s.

Movies have portrayed the apartment as everything from a mad scientist’s laboratory to a lover’s hideaway. Its unique position above Paris makes it a perfect setting for dramatic scenes.

Popular culture continues to reference the apartment in documentaries, travel shows, and historical fiction. The mystique of this hidden space high above Paris captures imaginations and inspires new stories, and why wouldn’t it? It certainly captured my imagination.

Why An Apartment at the Top of the Eiffel Tower?

Gustave Eiffel had several reasons for wanting his own apartment at the top of the tower. For one, he personally covered three-quarters of the tower’s construction costs and, in return, negotiated a 20-year lease on the space as part of his deal. 

This arrangement was later extended before the apartment was eventually handed over to the city of Paris. With nearly two million visitors flocking to the Eiffel Tower in its first year, Eiffel recouped his investment surprisingly fast.

Although he had offices elsewhere, he wanted a private retreat high above the city, a place where he could bring his great-granddaughter, Janine Salles, every Thursday afternoon. In those days, there was no school on Thursday afternoons. That’s now shifted to Wednesday afternoons.

Eiffel also saw the apartment as the perfect setting for hosting esteemed guests and discussing ideas with fellow scientists and engineers. It was a hub for innovation. He built a weather observatory at the top and oversaw the first military radio transmissions from the tower.

Unfortunately, after his death, the apartment didn’t remain intact for very long. With the rise of television and telecommunications after World War II, the apartment was a coveted space for housing new equipment. An antenna was installed at the top of the tower, and the only place for all the electrical equipment was the apartment. Fittingly, the last person to use the apartment was his granddaughter, Janine Salles.

That wasn’t Janine’s only claim to fame. Apparently, she spent her wedding night in the apartment in 1935 with her new husband, Laurent Yeatman. With no bedroom, who knows where the newly married couple slept, but one thing they did have was complete privacy as the lifts up the tower used to stop at 7 pm. Oh, and the other thing, the best views of Paris. 

The Apartment’s Environmental Impact and Sustainability

The Eiffel Tower has transformed into a green energy powerhouse in recent years. Its sustainability upgrades include LED lighting, solar panels, and two wind turbines. There is also a modern rainwater collection system that helps reduce water waste. The collected rainwater is used for the tower’s restrooms and other areas.

This is quite different from when the apartment was first built in 1889, back when environmental concerns weren’t a priority. The tower’s managers have made reducing environmental impact one of their main goals. 

Fun fact: The apartment’s LED lighting system uses 85% less electricity than the old lighting setup! 🌱

Current sustainable features in and around the apartment:

• Solar panels on service buildings
• LED lighting throughout
• Rainwater harvesting system
• Energy-efficient heat pumps
• Natural ventilation systems

It should be one of the eight wonders of the world, but maybe I’m biased because I live in France and love Paris. Either way it’s well worth a visit and should definitely be on your Paris bucket list.

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