Repainting the Eiffel Tower in Paris 2025

Every tourist visiting Paris is sure to take a picture of this famous structure in the background, but does it occur to any of them how much it takes to keep it in good shape? After all, Paris's icon is built with 7 million kilos of iron and is exposed to day-to-day city pollution, bird droppings, rain, and, of course, natural metal corrosion.

If not for regular repainting campaigns, the grand 300-meter tower would probably have become a nasty rusty construction, abandoned or demolished. To prevent such a travesty, the Eiffel Tower is repainted every seven years by 25 old-fashioned painters who take a brush and cm by cm cover the entire surface with a puddle of iron paint. The painters have to do all the work by hand in order not to miss anything.

The complex procedure takes up to 18 months, but the tower is still open to visitors in the meantime. Nowadays, it is puddle iron, but it hasn't been like this forever. The tower was constructed in 1889 in honor of the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. Since then, it has changed its color several times–from original red-brown to yellow-ochre, then chestnut brown, bronze, and finally modern puddle iron. The tower's surface is 62 acres (25 ha)—the painters have not only to be patient but also resistant to vertigo.

Apart from human resources, the tower needs 60 tons of paint, 1,500 brushes, 1,500 overalls, 62 acres (25 ha) of safety nets, 30 miles (50 km) of safety lines, and so much more. The efforts and costs are worth the beauty annually, drawing millions of tourists from around the globe.