How many steps to the top of Ostankino Tower?
The staircase is an emergency route inside the concrete shaft and is not part of the tour; the observation deck is reached by high-speed lift. An annual vertical race has used it. The 2000 fire, which killed three people and destroyed the lifts, meant that for a period the staircase was the only way up or down for staff — a 1,700-step commute. The tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the world from 1967 to 1975.
The numbers
- Steps
- 1,704
- Reaches
- the observation deck at 337 m, via the emergency staircase
- Public access
- Not climbable by the public
- Where
- Moscow, Russia
- Height climbed
- 337 m — 1,106 ft
- Average rise per step
- 198 mm
This count describes a stairwell the public cannot use. Published step figures for famous structures very often refer to service or emergency stairs — worth knowing before planning a visit around one.
Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.
How it compares
Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.
| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willis Tower | 2,109 | the 103rd floor Skydeck | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Taipei 101 | 2,046 | the 91st-floor outdoor observatory | Restricted — events or permit only |
| CN Tower | 1,776 | the main observation level at 342 m; 2,579 steps reach the SkyPod at 447 m | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Ostankino Tower | 1,704 | the observation deck at 337 m, via the emergency staircase | Not climbable by the public |
| Eiffel Tower (summit) | 1,665 | the summit at 276 m, using the service stairs above the second floor — closed to the public | Not climbable by the public |
| Empire State Building | 1,576 | the 86th-floor observatory, via the emergency stairwell | Restricted — events or permit only |
| The STRAT Tower | 1,455 | the observation deck at 260 m | Restricted — events or permit only |
Common questions
- How many steps to the top of Ostankino Tower?
- 1,704, reaching the observation deck at 337 m, via the emergency staircase.
- Can the public climb Ostankino Tower?
- Not climbable by the public.
- How high is that climb?
- 337 m, about 1,106 ft, which averages 198 mm per step.
Related pages
- Towers All 17 here
- How many steps up Eiffel Tower? 674 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Empire State Building? 1,576 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Eiffel Tower (summit)? 1,665 steps · not climbable by the public
- How many steps up Burj Khalifa? 2,909 steps · not climbable by the public
- How many steps up CN Tower? 1,776 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Tokyo Tower? 600 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Taipei 101? 2,046 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up One World Trade Center? 2,226 steps · restricted — events or permit only
Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)