On Location: Paris VIP - Inside the Eiffel Tower’s Grand Tour with the man who holds the keys

Imagine what it would be like to run the Eiffel Tower.

Every day begins with an unbeatable view of Paris, you have access to every corner of the tower, and you get to share in the excitement of the crowds (nearly seven million paying visitors annually) who come to marvel at it each year.

For Mr. Patrick Branco Ruivo, France’s most iconic landmark is at his feet – and, as director general of La Société d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), the company that runs the Iron Lady – he holds the keys to it all.

Last October, Branco Ruivo brought those keys to Toronto—figuratively, at least—during a special visit with Canadian travel trade partners. His mission? To showcase new opportunities that the Eiffel Tower can offer travellers, including an experience so exclusive that even many Parisians don’t know it exists.

For travel advisors seeking something epic and unforgettable for their clients, he introduced what’s called the “Grand Tour,” a behind-the-scenes exploration of the Eiffel Tower unlike any other.

“It’s a VIP visit,” explained Branco Ruivo, speaking to PAX over breakfast at Reign restaurant at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel, alongside Melanie Paul-Hus, Atout France’s director for Canada.

Designed for intimate groups of up to six, the Eiffel Tower’s Grand Tour, which launched in June of 2023 (it hasn’t been widely publicized in Canada) grants priority access straight to the top and pairs guests with a dedicated concierge.

And it’s a fully-customized experience. Before each visit, the Eiffel Tower’s team collects key details about their Grand Tour guests—from their names and backgrounds, to whether they’re travelling with children or visiting as a couple.

They even inquire about professions and personal interests, ensuring a uniquely-crafted tour.

“If it’s someone’s birthday, we’ll arrange a cake,” Branco Ruivo noted.

The tour includes a fully-personalized guided journey through the tower, revealing historical insights, stories, vantage points, and architectural details rarely seen by everyday visitors.

It also invites guests to step inside the tower’s elevator machinery room—an area closed to the general public—offering a close-up look at the engineering that has powered the iconic monument for more than a century.

It concludes with a celebratory glass of champagne, enjoyed either at the Tower’s summit or on the first-floor terrace.

The entire experience lasts about one hour and 30 minutes—which sounds brief, but entirely fitting when you’re “plus-plus priority,” as Branco Ruivo put it.

Grand Tour ticketholders bypass the often-observed queues at the Eiffel Tower. “If we have 10,000 people, you will be first,” Branco Ruivo said.

The price tag for the tour isn’t publicly listed—travel advisors may request details directly at exclusive@toureiffel.paris—but its early success speaks for itself.

“During the first year, we earned 600,000 Euros. Last year, it was one million Euros. And in 2025, it should be 1.3 million Euros,” Branco Ruivo shared. “It’s working very well.”

Secrets to unlock

During his visit to Canada, Branco Ruivo met with travel advisors who specialize in high-net-worth clientele.

For the travel trade, his message was clear: the Eiffel Tower, despite being one of the world’s most famous landmarks, still holds many secrets.

While most visitors simply admire the tower’s elegant wrought-iron form, designed by Gustave Eiffel's company for the 1889 World's Fair, Grand Tour guests venture beneath the pillars to explore the basement, which houses historic machinery that operate two of the tower’s hydraulic elevators.

“At the end of 19th century [when the tower was completed], there was not a lot of electricity. Gustave invented a mechanical system with water, and we’re still using that system,” Branco Ruivo shared.

Naturally, the lifts have been modernized—“We change them every 60 years,” Branco Ruivo said—but the underlying system remains unchanged.

“That's why it's very impressive,” he said.

PAX on location

I’d seen the Eiffel Tower countless times, having lived in Paris on and off over the years. But experiencing it exclusively, like this, was something I knew I had to do.

By chance, I crossed paths with Branco Ruivo again weeks later—this time in Paris—where the executive personally offered PAX a taste of the Grand Tour.

We met at the base of the Eiffel Tower on a brisk November evening, at the end of the workday – that hour when Paris exhales, and the metro fills with fashionable coats and unspoken dinner plans at cafés.

Bundled-up Branco Ruivo started off by showing us the general grounds, directly under the tower, shaking hands with every security guard, gate attendant, elevator operator and cashier along the way. 

He moved with a natural warmth, making even the busiest staff feel like old friends in his presence, and his enthusiasm made it seem as though he were seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. 

Very quickly, it felt less like a tour and more like being ushered into an institution that lives and breathes its own rhythms.

From the winding pathways and manicured gardens at the Tower’s base to a mural illustrating the structure’s many paint colours over the decades, Branco Ruivo told the story – with the ease of someone deeply connected to every rivet and beam.

He explained how the Eiffel Tower has returned to the golden-yellow-brown shade originally chosen by Gustave Eiffel, timed for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The tower has seen many repaintings over its lifetime, but the work remains ongoing. Professional painters operate through the late night, once the tower closes, during the spring and summer months. The job takes years to finish.

The Tower’s exterior was completed ahead of the Olympics and interior repainting will continue this year, Branco Ruivo explained.  

After wandering through the Tower’s revived green space—ponds and paths softening the iron above—we slipped through a discreet entry behind the lifts and descended underground.

Most tourists don’t see the original hydraulic machinery room beneath the East and West pillars.

Below, massive pistons, pumps, and accumulators—some more than a century old—roared and whirled, powering elevators with systems envisioned by Eiffel himself.

Modernized yet fully operational, the machinery is a rare, carefully preserved feat of engineering.

And watching it function in a caged-off, clearly off-limits area felt thrillingly forbidden. As if a beefy security guard could kick us out at any moment.

Of course, that doesn’t matter when you’ve got a Grand Tour ticket – or when the big boss is guiding you through!

From there, we slipped through a back door into one of the Tower’s glass-walled elevators, bypassing the long queue entirely – like having a Lightning Lane fast pass at Walt Disney World Resort.

The first floor, 57 metres above ground, revealed interactive exhibits and the “Gustave Eiffel Room,” an event space with views of the Seine. Candlelight concerts are also organized here.

The second floor, 115 metres up, offered Paris in every direction. From the outdoor observation deck, Branco Ruivo pointed out landmarks—the Louvre, the bends of the Seine, pencil-thin railway tracks, Montmartre, Notre-Dame—turning the skyline into a lively game of I Spy.

Haussmann-era apartments, cream-coloured façades, zinc rooftops. Paris looked precise, composed. Like a tidy puzzle, assembled by hand.

Finally, we soared up to the summit, 276 metres above the city. The clamour of the boulevards vanished, swallowed by wind and awe.

There's a private apartment at the top, built by Gustave Eiffel, which visitors can view through a window, where wax figures of Eiffel, his daughter Claire, and inventor Thomas Edison sit.

Branco Ruivo shared insider details, noting the 20,000 sparkling lights that glitter for five minutes every hour after nightfall.

We descended back to the second floor, then spiraled down a set of stairs to ground level.

With no queuing, total access, and a guide who knew every secret nook and cranny, the Eiffel Tower, for a moment, felt as if it belonged only to us.

Sweeten the experience

Travel advisors can further enhance this tour with tastings at the Pierre Hermé macaron bar (on the lower level of the Tower’s second floor), reservations at the Tower’s restaurants—first-floor Madame Brasserie and second-floor Le Jules Verne (both overseen by Michelin-star chefs) – and even enhanced security for ultra-VIP clients.

But careful planning is essential. The Grand Tour requires at least one week’s notice, with only one to three tours offered per day. Restaurant reservations—especially at Le Jules Verne—should be booked at least three months in advance.

The tour may also include a stop at the Eiffel Tower’s first-floor boutique, offering made-in-France products and exclusive collaborations.

“It’s very, very French,” Branco Ruivo remarked. “It’s a gift boutique, not a souvenir boutique.”

You can even purchase an original iron rivet from the Eiffel Tower! 

France fever

The Grand Tour arrives as Paris continues to benefit from post-Olympics momentum and rising interest in France – especially as Canadians reconsider travel to the United States.

Canadian arrivals were up eight per cent last summer, with advance bookings showing an increase of nearly 10 per cent, Paul-Hus told PAX.

Some 220,000 Canadians visited the Eiffel Tower last year, marking a 35 per cent increase over 2024, Branco Ruivo shared.

Visitor satisfaction has also climbed from 81 per cent in 2019 to 96 per cent today.

“We’ve worked very hard to improve the quality of the experience,” Branco Ruivo said.

That includes improving the Tower’s grounds and adding more electronic signage to keep visitors informed.

The Tower, which can welcome up to 28,000 visitors daily during peak periods from July to mid-August, is also expanding its e-ticket offerings to streamline visitor access, Branco Ruivo noted.

How much does it cost to experience the Eiffel Tower (without doing the Grand Tour)?

Prices vary. Adults can access the second floor of the Eiffel Tower by stairs, for example, for 14,50€; by lift, it’s 23,10€. To visit the summit by lift, it’s 36.10€. There are add-ons, too, including champagne service and dining packages.

No matter how you go about it, the key is to savour the moment.

“The idea is to not go to the top, take pictures and come back down,” Branco Ruivo said. “We want people to stay with us – even if that means having a sandwich (which are very good).”

The magic of the Eiffel Tower takes care of the rest.

“Our job is to create emotions,” he said.

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