Go behind the scenes of a hidden apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower with Condé Nast Traveler.
If you’re traveling to Paris, seeing the sights from the top of the Eiffel Tower is a can’t-miss opportunity. Now, four lucky people will have the chance to enjoy the iconic building in a unique way—from their own luxurious apartment on the first floor. Vacation-rental company HomeAway is giving four winners the chance to stay in Haussmannian-style living quarters for the duration of the UEFA Euro 2016 soccer tournament, June 10 to July 10. The guests will enjoy panoramic views of the Arc de Triomphe, the Sacre Coeur, and the Seine river and surely treasure an unprecedented vacation memory.
But this isn’t the first and only apartment in the tower. When Gustave Eiffel designed his namesake tower, he included a private apartment for himself at the top, which is now available for the public to tour.
Eiffel was “the object of general envy” among Parisians during his lifetime, and it wasn’t for designing one of the most famous monuments of all time. Rather, it was due to the fact that he had a private apartment at the top of the tower—and almost no one else was allowed access to it.
In his book *La Tour Eiffel de Trois Cent Métres (The Eiffel Tower of 300 Meters),*author Henri Girard explains that Parisians would offer up “a small fortune” to rent his private space for a single night, but Eiffel consistently refused. However, he would occasionally entertain guests of the utmost prestige (Thomas Edison is one notable example).
Unlike the scientific marvel of steel and hard lines it’s housed in, the pied à terre is cozy and romantic—think paisley wallpaper, wood furniture, and oil paintings. All in all, not a shabby place to view Paris from the best vantage point in town.
While Eiffel Tower visitors were previously denied access to the apartment (what Monsieur Eiffel would have wanted, no doubt), the 1,000-foot-high space is officially open to the public. At long last, we mere peasants can get a look at what it’s like to live at the world’s most enviable address.
