Forget your standard Paris souvenir, now you can take part of the original Eiffel Tower home instead – a section of the statuesque building’s famous staircase is about to be auctioned off.
The 25-step, 4-meter spiral staircase was part of the original stairway when the Eiffel Tower opened to global acclaim in 1889.
The helix stairway, part of the link between levels two and three was part of the Tower’s structure until 1983, when elevators were installed.
Other sections of this original staircase can be found in two Paris museums: the Musée d’Orsay and the Cité des sciences. There’s also a section in eastern France, at the Musée de l’Histoire du Fer.
Further afield, you can spot Eiffel steps on display in the Yoishii Foundation gardens in Yamanashi in Japan and another near the Statue of Liberty in New York.
If you’re keen to nab a slice of this Parisian icon for yourself, you’ll need to have a lot of spare cash to splash. French auction house Artcurial estimates the piece is worth $40,000-$60,000.
Better move fast too. The auction takes place on November 27.
The steps on sale are currently installed in Artcurial’s courtyard at the Rond-pont des Champs-Elysées for public exhibition.
This is the third time Artcurial will present a slice of the Eiffel Tower at auction. In 2013, an original section measuring 3.5 meters went for €220,000 ($249,000). In 2016 another section went for €523,800 ($593,000).
