Have you ever noticed those names engraved in gold letters on the Eiffel Tower? Hint: look up to the 1st floor!

Published on October 25, 2023 at 5:38 pm

Visited by 75 million people a year, the Eiffel Tower still has a few surprises up its sleeve. If you look closely when you are at the bottom of the tower, you will see golden letters inscribed on the 4 facades of the 1st floor. These names were chosen by Gustave Eiffel. But who do they refer to? Here are all the answers you need to shine in society the next time you pass by the Iron Lady, with family or friends.

La tour Eiffel un jour de beau temps, à Paris.

Summary

Names far from chosen at random
The Eiffel Tower Science Hall of Fame
Sometimes surprising selection criteria

Names far from chosen at random

Don't try to look for your name on the Eiffel Tower, you're unlikely to find it. Unless you are a scientist, or one of your ancestors was a great name in a scientific discipline. In all, on the 4 sides of the monument, 72 scientists are engraved in marble, or rather in iron.

The Eiffel Tower Science Hall of Fame

Gustave Eiffel explained:"To express in a striking way that the monument I am building will be placed under the invocation of Science, I have decided to inscribe in gold letters on the large frieze on the first floor and in the place of honour, the names of the greatest scientists who have honoured France from 1789 to the present day".

In this sense, several disciplines are honoured with the inscription of these scholars. Mathematics, which is omnipresent, is the most represented discipline, with around twenty people listed, including Fourier and Cauchy. Lavoisier, Laplace, Regnault and Fresnel proudly represent physics and chemistry, not forgetting Navier for mechanics and Bichat for medicine.

On the 4 sides of the monument, 18 great names are inscribed, paying tribute to 72 important scientists.

Vue sur le premier niveau de la tour Eiffel.

Sometimes surprising selection criteria

While the scientific discipline criterion makes sense, there was another, more unusual criterion that had to be met in order to be engraved on the Eiffel Tower. Names of more than 12 letters were not accepted, due to the lack of space on the beam on which they were inscribed.

So the next time you're in Paris, take a look at these inscriptions and you'll be able to shine in society by explaining their meaning.

Practical information

📍 Location: Champ de Mars, 5 Av. Anatole France, 75007 Paris

👛 Price: between €4.50 (for children) to €18.10 (adult price) to access the 2nd floor with the lift. Between €7.10 (children aged 4 to 11) and €28.10 (adults) to reach the top by lift

⏰Opening times: 9.30am to 10.45pm

🚌 Getting there: metro line 6 or 9 and get off at the Trocadéro stop.

👉 Website and reservations