Is the Empire State Building Taller Than the Eiffel Tower?

The Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower are two of the most photographed and iconic structures on Earth — symbols of New York and Paris, monuments of the industrial age, and former record-holders for tallest structure in the world. Which one is taller? The Empire State Building wins clearly, though both are dwarfed by modern skyscrapers.

The Short Answer

Yes, the Empire State Building is taller than the Eiffel Tower. The Empire State Building stands 443 m (1,454 ft) to the tip of its antenna. The Eiffel Tower stands 330 m (1,083 ft) including its antenna. The Empire State Building is about 113 m taller — roughly 34% higher.

Side-by-Side Numbers

• Empire State Building total height: 443 m (1,454 ft) including antenna
• Empire State Building (roof): 381 m (1,250 ft)
• Eiffel Tower total height: 330 m (1,083 ft) including antenna
• Eiffel Tower (without antenna): 312 m (1,024 ft)
• Difference: Empire State is ~113 m taller
• Ratio: Empire State is ~1.34× the height of the Eiffel Tower

The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building was built in just 410 days during the Great Depression, opening on May 1, 1931. At 102 stories and 381 m to the roof (443 m to antenna tip), it became the world's tallest building, surpassing the recently-completed Chrysler Building. The Empire State held the world's-tallest title for nearly 40 years, until the World Trade Center's North Tower opened in 1972 (the WTC briefly held the title before being overtaken by Chicago's Sears Tower in 1974).

The building was designed in the Art Deco style by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. Construction employed about 3,400 workers at its peak, working 24 hours a day in some periods. Five workers died during construction — a remarkably low number for the era. The building has been a New York City landmark since the day it opened and remains one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, with observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors offering views across much of the New York metropolitan area.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was completed in March 1889 for the Exposition Universelle marking the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel's engineering firm — though much of the actual design work was done by his employees Maurice Koechlin, Émile Nouguier, and architect Stephen Sauvestre. Built in just over two years, the tower used about 7,300 tons of wrought iron in 18,038 separate pieces, fastened together with 2.5 million rivets.

At 312 m (the original height; later 330 m with antenna additions), the Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest man-made structure when completed and held the title for over 40 years until New York's Chrysler Building (319 m) opened in 1930. It has remained the most-visited paid monument in the world, attracting about 7 million visitors annually.

Engineering Comparison

The two structures represent radically different eras of engineering. The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice — a transparent structure that distributes loads through triangular bracing, with the wind passing through rather than against it. Its design was a direct outgrowth of 19th-century bridge engineering, scaled up to dramatic height. The Empire State Building is a steel-framed skyscraper with a stone and brick facade, representing 20th-century skyscraper technology where the structural steel skeleton carries all loads and the exterior is non-structural cladding. The Empire State took advantage of high-speed elevators (Otis), structural steel innovations, and assembly-line construction techniques to be built far faster and higher than the Eiffel Tower's technology would have allowed.

Use and Function

The Empire State Building is primarily an office building — about 2.5 million square feet of leasable space spread across its 102 floors. It also has the famous observation decks, restaurants, a museum, and broadcast antennas at the top transmitting radio and TV signals across the New York region. The Eiffel Tower has never been a primarily-functional building. It has restaurants on its lower levels, observation decks on three levels, and broadcast antennas at the top. Its main purpose has been symbolic — to demonstrate French engineering prowess and to be a destination for tourism.

Cultural Impact

Both structures have become global icons of their cities. The Empire State Building has been featured in countless films — most famously King Kong (1933, 1976, 2005), An Affair to Remember (1957), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and many more. It has been hit by airplanes (a B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor in 1945, killing 14 people but not damaging the building structurally). It has been the site of the annual Empire State Building Run-Up race up the 86 flights of stairs. Its decorative lighting changes for holidays and events.

The Eiffel Tower has shaped Paris's skyline and global image for over 130 years. It has appeared in even more films than the Empire State, ranging from A View to a Kill (1985) to countless Paris-set romances. The tower's yellow-orange illumination at night creates one of the world's most iconic urban scenes. Since 1985, it has sparkled every hour after dark for 5 minutes with 20,000 flashing bulbs.

Survival and Threats

The Eiffel Tower has survived multiple threats. It was originally intended to be dismantled in 1909, after a 20-year lease expired. Eiffel saved it by demonstrating its value for radio telegraphy. During World War II, when Paris was occupied, Hitler ordered the tower to be destroyed, but the German commander (Dietrich von Choltitz) disobeyed. The Empire State Building survived its 1945 bomber crash, the September 11 attacks (which destroyed the nearby World Trade Center), and decades of weathering. The building underwent a major renovation in the late 2010s, including window upgrades, lighting modernization, and observation deck enhancements.

Modern Skyscraper Context

Both structures, once the tallest in the world, are now far from the top of the list. The current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 m), is nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building and 2.5 times taller than the Eiffel Tower. In New York alone, One World Trade Center (541 m) and Central Park Tower (472 m) now exceed the Empire State Building. Paris has chosen to preserve its low skyline through strict height limits, with the controversial Tour Montparnasse (210 m, completed 1973) standing as the city's only true skyscraper.

Light Shows and Special Moments

The Empire State Building's lighting is iconic. Since 1976, the tower's upper floors have been illuminated in different colors to mark holidays, events, and causes — red, white, and blue for Independence Day; green for St. Patrick's Day; pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month; rainbow for Pride. The lighting program is now LED-based and computer-controlled, with thousands of fixtures capable of creating dynamic displays. The Eiffel Tower has its own beloved light show. From 11 PM to midnight every night, 20,000 sparkling lights flicker across the entire structure for 5 minutes — a tradition that began for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, and was made permanent due to its popularity. The tower's standard nightly illumination (golden yellow) is created by 336 projectors.

Key Facts

• The Empire State Building is about 34% taller than the Eiffel Tower.
• Both were once the world's tallest structure.
• The Empire State took 410 days to build; the Eiffel Tower took just over 2 years.
• Both have been featured in countless films and works of art.
• Both have antennas that broadcast radio and TV signals.

Fun Facts

• The Empire State Building survived a 1945 B-25 bomber crash.
• The Eiffel Tower can grow up to 15 cm taller on hot days.
• It takes about 60 tons of paint to repaint the Eiffel Tower (done every 7 years).
• The Empire State Building has its own zip code (10118).
• Both structures have been used as broadcast antenna mounting points.
• The Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be dismantled in 1909.
• The Empire State Building has 73 elevators serving 102 floors.

The Bottom Line

The Empire State Building is taller than the Eiffel Tower — by about 113 m or 34%. Both are 20th-century engineering icons (well, the Eiffel Tower was 19th-century — completed in 1889), both represent the height of their eras' technology, and both have become globally beloved symbols of their cities. The Eiffel Tower's 40-year reign as world's tallest ended exactly when the Empire State opened, passing the torch from the iron lattice era to the steel-framed skyscraper era. Both remain among the most visited and photographed structures on the planet.