Experiencing the Eiffel Tower can be a crowded affair – about 7 million people visit each year – but now you can enjoy a part of this majestic French monument in your own home.
A piece of the Parisian landmark’s original staircase is going up for auction in the French capital next month.
There are a couple of catches, however: Bidders will need deep pockets to buy it and high ceilings to store it.
Section no. 1 of the original spiral staircase connected the second and third floors of the tower when it opened in 1889. Made of steel and riveted sheet metal, it comprises 14 steps resting on a cross-shaped base and measures 2.75 meters high (9 feet) and 1.75 meters (5.7 feet) in diameter.
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About 300 million people have visited the world-famous French landmark since it first opened during the Universal Exposition, a fair celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
For almost a century, those visitors would have climbed to the top via these steps, but in 1983 the monument underwent a major overhaul and sections of the staircase were dismantled and replaced with elevators.
On May 21, this part of the historic staircase will be auctioned off by Artcurial’s Art Deco department in Paris.
According to a listing on Artcurial’s website, it is expected to fetch between €120,000 ($140,000) and €150,000 ($175,000). Although the seller has not been publicly identified, the auction house said that this piece has remained in the same private collection for “over 40 years” since it was dismantled in 1983.
“It has never been outside and underwent a complete restoration for the sale,” Sabrina Dolla, associate director at Artcurial, told CNN in an email.
According to Artcurial, this sale represents a rare opportunity to purchase a piece of this historic monument.
Dolla described the staircase section as “more than just a piece of history,” adding: “It’s an immersive experience, a stationary journey through time and space. Imagine yourself in 1889 on this staircase, perched between 113 and 276 meters high, with no safety barriers, but with a 360-degree view of Paris.”
There were 20 sections of the staircase that were sold off in 1983 and the majority of those remain in the possession of their original buyers.
In France, sections 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, some of the steps are also on display in the Yoishii Foundation gardens in Yamanashi in Japan and another near the Statue of Liberty in New York.
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Artcurial has previously sold sections that have attracted keen interest from bidders. The most valuable proved to be section 13, which sold for €523,800 (about $612,000) in 2016.
Dolla said of that record high sale: “It was in good condition (like the one we’re presenting), and above all because a new Chinese collector wanted it at any cost. Ultimately, it’s a matter of circumstances and opportunities.”
CNN’s Francesca Street contributed to this report.
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