Why you are breaking the law if you take a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night but not the daytime

Did you know that it is illegal to take pictures of one of the most photographed monuments in the world?

The Eiffel Tower is well-known worldwide and Paris is commonly known as the city of light due to their sparkling tower. However, you may want to think twice about snapping a picture on your next visit.

Eiffel Tower in the day Massimo Borchi/Atlantide Phototravel/GettyImages

A little known fact to many is that it's actually illegal to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower at night time. The tower lights up every evening from dusk, so as soon as it gets dark the golden lights switch on automatically.

The sparkling of the towers 20,000 lights goes on for the first five minutes of every hour until the tower is shut off at 11:45pm.

To snap a selfie with the dazzling tower is illegal because, according to the European copyright law, the lighting is officially classified as a work of art. Because of its classification under the law, the monument is protected for the lifespan of the creator, so 70 years plus.

The creator of the tower, Gustave Eiffel, passed away in 1923, however, Pierre Bideau, who is the engineer of the system, put it in place and activated the lights in 1985.

Pierre has now passed away, but the law still remains in place for quite a while as he only passed in 2021.

Despite the law, you are unlikely to get in trouble.

It is mainly aimed at people who plan to use their pictures for commercial use.

However, technically, according to La Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel,, which is the tower's building operation company, anyone who is planning on taking and publishing a picture of the tower needs to ask for permission, pay for rights and then credit the artist correctly.

If those precautions aren’t taken, then there is a risk of being given a fine.

Eiffel Tower sparkling Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Contributor/Getty Images

Many social media users have posted about this law on various TikTok accounts, which has led to controversy in the comment sections about whether this law is actually serious or not.

One user said: "Weird! Interesting to know I've unknowingly broke the law sending someone a snap of their night lights."

While another disagreed: "Wrong. It is allowed to take photos. Even at night. But not for commercial use, because the LIGHTS are under copyright. Not the actual tower itself."

Others have been mocking the law, with one user quipping: "What are you in jail for? 'taking a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night.'"

So, just take this as a warning to be a bit more careful on your next trip to Paris.

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