Eiffel Tower revives 200ft suspended bridge for spring visitors

The netted walkway, billed as France’s tallest urban bridge, has returned to the Iron Lady’s first floor, giving visitors a chance to cross 60 metres above the ground during the Easter travel period

Visitors to the Eiffel Tower are once again being offered a vertigo-inducing walk between its pillars after the return of a suspended net bridge almost 200ft (60m) above the ground.

The attraction, called The Vertigo of the Tower, has reopened on the monument’s first floor, where it stretches 130ft (40) metres between the East and West pillars.

Billed as France’s tallest urban bridge, the structure allows ticket holders to cross above the esplanade on a fully netted walkway suspended high over central Paris.

The official site says nearly 24,000 visitors tried the bridge during its first run, describing it as a limited-time attraction aimed at combining “thrills with fun” in safe conditions.

The crossing is fully enclosed, with two superimposed layers of knotted netting and an additional anti-fall mesh designed to prevent objects from dropping. According to reports, the structure is also secured by a network of cables.

The attraction is open to Eiffel Tower visitors aged three and above and is included with a valid tower ticket.

The return of the walkway comes as another piece of Eiffel Tower history is due to go under the hammer in Paris. A section of the tower’s original spiral staircase, removed in 1983 when lifts replaced the stairs between the second and third floors, is scheduled to be auctioned on May 21.

The piece, measuring 8.5ft and comprising 14 steps rising from a cross-shaped base, has been valued at between €40,000 and €50,000. Artcurial, the Paris auction house handling the sale, said the anonymous owner had held it for four decades.

Sections of the staircase have drawn far higher sums before. One was sold for €212,458 in 2013, while another fetched €523,800 in 2016.

The Eiffel Tower has a history of staging temporary public attractions.

One of the best-known was the zipline over the Champ de Mars, staged in 2004, 2017 and 2019. In its 2019 form, participants launched from the second floor, 115 metres above the ground, and travelled 800 metres across the Champ de Mars at speeds approaching 100 km/h.

Another favourite was the ice rink on the first floor, installed regularly between 1969 and 2017 during the winter season. Set 57 metres above ground, it was the highest ice rink in the Paris region.

In 2007, the monument also hosted a heated dive pool on the esplanade, where visitors could take free introductory scuba-diving sessions as part of an ocean-awareness initiative.

In 2017, the first floor was transformed into a six-hole mini-golf course ahead of the Ryder Cup, giving visitors the chance to play golf 57 metres above Paris.

READ MORE: ‘The bon hiver guide to Paris‘. A winter stay between the Fifth and Sixth Arrondissements offers quiet streets, uncrowded museums, excellent food and the kind of intimate, romantic atmosphere that makes Paris’ Left Bank ideal for a weekend or Valentine’s break, discovers our Travel, Hospitality & Culture correspondent, Deborah Lyon.

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