Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
1,665
steps
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
You know roughly how tall it is, about 300 metres. So how much does one step lift you? A stair riser is about the length of your hand. Call it 20 centimetres.
- Height of the tower
- 300 m
- Rise per step
- ÷ 0.2 m
- 300 ÷ 0.2
- ≈ 1,500 steps
You know roughly how tall it is, about 1,000 feet. So how much does one step lift you? A stair riser is about the length of your hand. Call it 8 inches.
- Height of the tower
- 12,000 in
- Rise per step
- ÷ 8 in
- 12,000 ÷ 8
- ≈ 1,500 steps
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Climb from the ground to the top
- 279 m
- Average rise per step
- ≈ 0.168 m
- 279 ÷ 0.168
- ≈ 1,665 steps
Reference cited by Fermi: Official Eiffel Tower site (toureiffel.paris), Eiffel Tower Vertical race: 279 m of climbing and 1,665 steps from the ground to the top
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