Statue of Liberty vs. Eiffel Tower: Which Is More Visited?

By raw visitor numbers, the Eiffel Tower wins decisively—but the comparison comes with caveats.

The Numbers (Pre-Pandemic Peaks)

• Eiffel Tower: ~6.9 million paid ascents (2015). Total visitors to the Champ de Mars base: ~25M.
• Statue of Liberty: ~4.5 million ferry riders to Liberty Island (2016). Crown access: ~400K (limited by reservation).

Why the Gap?

• Access: Eiffel Tower = walk up / elevator in a city of 12M metro residents + 30M tourists. Statue = mandatory ferry from Battery Park (capacity-limited, weather-dependent, security screening).
• Capacity: Eiffel Tower handles ~13,000 visitors/day. Statue ferry max ~15,000/day (often less).
• Cost: Eiffel Tower summit ticket ~€26. Statue crown reserve ~$25 + ferry ~$25. Comparable, but Eiffel has cheaper lower-level options.

Different Categories

• Eiffel Tower: Paid monument (world #1).
• Statue of Liberty: National Park Service site (US #1 in 2016).

Cultural Weight

Both are global icons. The Statue symbolizes immigration, liberty, America. The Eiffel Tower symbolizes engineering, Paris, modernity. "Popularity" depends on metric: ticket sales? Eiffel. Symbolic recognition? Arguably a tie.