World NewsBuy your own piece of the Eiffel Tower

Buy your own piece of the Eiffel Tower

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World News
Buy your own piece of the Eiffel Tower
(CNN) — 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.

Eiffel-Tower-stair-pic

The Eiffel Tower was designed by French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, pictured left, for the 1889 Paris Exposition.

General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

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.

An original part of the Eiffel Tower's staircase is displayed outside the Artcurial French auction house in Paris.

An original part of the Eiffel Tower’s staircase is displayed outside the Artcurial French auction house in Paris.

PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

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.

Paris Eiffel Tower Pexels

French auction house Artcurial estimates the landmark staircase is worth $40,000-$60,000.

Courtesy Pexels

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).