American Tourists Spend Night on Eiffel Tower: A Bizarre Escapade
The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, renowned as one of the world’s most sought-after tourist attractions, recently witnessed an unusual event involving two American tourists. These adventurers managed to ascend the tower while under the influence, evading security guards, and spent the entire night atop the towering structure.
Last year alone, the Eiffel Tower welcomed approximately 6.2 million visitors, each harboring the desire to witness its grandeur. However, these two American tourists chose an unconventional approach, scaling the tower during the night and remaining there until the next morning. The security staff discovered the presence of these daring tourists during their routine rounds prior to the tower’s official opening.
Traditionally, the Eiffel Tower opens its doors to the public at 9 am, with security personnel conducting thorough checks before allowing entry. The management company SETE, responsible for the tower’s operations, reported that the security team had to wake up the American tourists who had spent the night on the tower.
Reports suggest that the inebriated state of the tourists might have led them to their predicament. Evidently, they chose to spend the night between the second and third levels of the tower, an area typically closed off to regular visitors. Despite their unusual escapade, no apparent danger arose due to their actions.
The tourists had purchased entry tickets on a Sunday evening around 10:40 pm. Dodging security guards, they managed to ascend the tower and found themselves spending the night under the stars. Authorities dispatched a special team of firefighters to rescue them from the considerable height. Subsequently, the tourists were taken to a Paris police station for questioning. SETE plans to file a criminal complaint in response to their actions, causing a one-hour delay in the tower’s regular opening on the following Monday morning.
Coincidentally, a recent security alert led to the evacuation of three floors of the Eiffel Tower the previous Saturday. The incident prompted a comprehensive search by the bomb disposal unit and police throughout the area, including the tower’s restaurant. Although the situation was eventually resolved, the peculiar escapade of the American tourists adds another chapter to the Eiffel Tower’s rich history. Standing at a towering height of 330 meters (1,083 ft), the Eiffel Tower remains Paris’s tallest structure. Its construction, initiated in January 1887, was successfully completed on March 31, 1889.
