Drunk tourists trapped overnight in Eiffel Tower

Home > Industry Analysis > Content

【Summary】Two drunk tourists from the US spent the night inside the Eiffel Tower after jumping a barrier into a restricted section. They were found the next morning and now face a criminal complaint. This incident adds to a string of recent incidents where tourists have caused damage or engaged in inappropriate behavior at famous landmarks around the world.

FutureCar Staff Aug 15, 2023 5:33 PM PT

Drunk tourists trapped overnight in Eiffel Tower

Two tourists from the US woke up with more than just a hangover after spending a night inside the Eiffel Tower. According to reports, the duo had been drinking before visiting the famous French landmark late on Sunday evening. While climbing down the tower, they decided to jump a barrier and enter a section that was not open to the public.

The next morning, security officers found the pair stuck in the restricted area. Paris prosecutors stated that they seemed to have gotten stuck due to their intoxicated state. As a result, both men were taken to a local police station and now face a criminal complaint. Interestingly, their escapade occurred during a sensitive time for the Eiffel Tower, as it had recently been closed temporarily due to false bomb threats.

This incident is just one of many instances where tourists have gone rogue this year. In another recent case, a group of German tourists toppled a 150-year-old statue at an Italian B&B. Surveillance footage captured two of the tourists taking photos with the statue, while another used a stick to push it, causing it to crash to the ground.

At the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, a 19-year-old was reported for carving a heart and initials into the priceless structure. Similarly, last month, Italian police spoke to a Swiss teenager and her family after she was caught on video carving her initials into the wall of Rome's Colosseum. These incidents follow a string of disrespectful acts by tourists around the world, including a UK-based tourist writing names into a wall of a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan and a Canadian teen defacing an 8th-century temple in Nara prefecture.

Earlier this year, a Russian tourist faced severe consequences for his inappropriate behavior. He was deported and banned from re-entering Bali for six months after posting a picture of himself with his pants down while at the top of a sacred volcano. This incident was not an isolated one, as a woman was also arrested for posing naked by a sacred tree.