The Eiffel Tower is both the easiest attraction in Paris to visit and the easiest one to visit badly. Seven million people climb it every year. About a third of them queue for an extra hour because they did not pre-book; another third pay 50 percent above face price by booking through reseller platforms; and almost everyone underestimates how much the experience varies between the second floor and the summit, between elevator and stairs, between 10am morning light and 9pm sparkle. The full eiffel tower visit guide below covers tickets and skip-the-line strategy, the choice between elevator and stairs, the two on-site Michelin restaurants, the summit Champagne bar, exact best photo angles from inside and out, the post-2024 Olympic upgrades, and the practical timing tricks that turn a 90-minute slog into a 2-3 hour highlight of your trip.
Built by Gustave Eiffel’s engineering firm for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (the World’s Fair marking the centennial of the French Revolution), the tower was originally meant to stand for only 20 years. Parisians hated it; novelist Guy de Maupassant famously ate lunch in its restaurant every day “because it’s the only place in Paris where I cannot see it.” Saved by its eventual usefulness as a radio antenna, it has spent more than 130 years becoming the most-recognised structure on Earth. For broader trip planning around an Eiffel visit, see our Paris attractions pillar; for related photographic angles, our most Instagrammable places in Paris guide breaks down seven Eiffel-specific viewpoints.
Eiffel Tower at a Glance: Quick Facts and 2026 Stats
- Height: 330 metres (1,083 feet) including antennas. Held the title of world’s tallest structure for 41 years (1889-1930), until New York’s Chrysler Building.
- Construction: 1887-1889. Two years, two months, five days. 18,038 wrought-iron parts, 2.5 million rivets.
- Annual visitors: approximately 7 million in a normal year; about 6 million in 2024 (post-Olympic year).
- Total visitors since opening: more than 330 million.
- Levels accessible: 1st floor (57m), 2nd floor (115m), summit (276m).
- Stair count: 674 steps to the 2nd floor; summit only by elevator.
- 2026 ticket prices (official): €31 elevator to summit / €19 elevator to 2nd floor / €14 stairs to 2nd floor / €24 stairs to 2nd floor + elevator to summit.
- Hours: typically 9:30am to 11:45pm (last summit lift 10:30pm summer / 9:30pm winter); reduced during weather events.
- Annual painting: the tower receives a fresh coat of paint roughly every 7 years; the most recent €60M repainting was completed for the 2024 Olympics.
- Sparkle: 5 minutes at the top of every hour from sunset until 1am (until 11pm/midnight in winter), plus continuous golden glow until close.
Eiffel Tower Tickets: Every Option Explained
There are four official ticket types and at least a dozen reseller variants. Get the official ones first; only switch to resellers if the official site is sold out.
The Four Official Tickets
- Elevator to summit (276m): €31 adult, €15.70 youth (12-24), €7.90 child (4-11), free under 4. Includes 1st and 2nd floors. The full experience.
- Elevator to 2nd floor only (115m): €19 adult / €9.50 youth / €4.80 child. Misses the summit but covers most of what people come for — the views are excellent and the queue at the second-floor elevator-to-summit can add 30-60 minutes.
- Stairs to 2nd floor (115m): €14 adult / €7 youth / €3.50 child. Climbs 674 steps. Stair-only ticket; no summit access from this option.
- Stairs to 2nd floor + elevator to summit (276m): €24 adult / €12 youth / €6 child. The hybrid: climb up, take the elevator to the summit. Best value for active travellers.
Free admission: under 4 for everyone, under 18 for EU residents, students 18-25 from the European Economic Area with valid student ID. Disabled visitors and one accompanying person also free with ID.
How to Pre-Book Officially (And Why You Must)
The official website is toureiffel.paris. Tickets release 60 days ahead of date at exactly 8:30am Paris time. The popular slots (10am, 11am, sunset, sparkle window) sell out within 30 minutes for high-season dates. The strategy: 60 days out, set an alarm for 8:25am Paris time, log in by 8:29, refresh at 8:30 sharp, book your slot. If you miss the 60-day window, smaller batches are released throughout the week and on the day of visit, but at less convenient times.
Do not buy tickets at the tower itself unless you have absolutely no choice. Walk-up queues run 60-120 minutes in summer, 30-60 minutes in shoulder season, and tickets to the summit may already be sold out for the day by 10am.
Reseller Platforms (Get Your Guide, Viator, Tiqets)
When the official site is sold out, third-party platforms (Get Your Guide, Viator, Tiqets, Paris City Vision) sell guided skip-the-line tour tickets — usually €55-90 to the second floor with a guide, €90-130 to the summit. The premium covers the guide, the platform’s allocation of held tickets, and a fast-track entry. Worth it when you cannot get official tickets and your dates are fixed; not worth it when official tickets are still available.
A note on combo passes: the Paris Pass and Paris Museum Pass do NOT include Eiffel Tower entry — the tower has its own ticketing system separate from the city’s museum-pass programme.
Best Time of Day to Visit the Eiffel Tower
The same ticket buys very different experiences depending on time of day. The five main windows:
First Lift of the Day (9:30am)
Shortest queues, clearest air, softest morning light. Photographs of Trocadéro from the 2nd floor are at their cleanest in the 9-10am window. The major drawback: morning haze in summer can blanket the city, and many tourists choose this window so the “empty” theory is overblown for the actual peak season.
Mid-morning to early afternoon (11am-3pm)
The high-volume window. Elevators run continuously; the second-floor crowd is thickest. Useful only if your schedule forces it; not the time you would choose.
Late afternoon (4-6pm)
Light beginning to soften. Crowds dropping. A 5pm summit ticket in summer will give you the summit at sunset (9:45pm) if you stay up there for several hours, but most visits last 90-120 minutes — you will be down before sunset.
Sunset (90 minutes before)
The single most popular window of the day. Tickets for the 7-9pm summer window release first and sell out first. The trade-off is real: golden hour from the summit is unforgettable, but the tower itself is filled with everyone else who had the same idea. If you can get a sunset ticket on the 60-day release, take it.
Sparkle Window (9pm summer / 8pm winter)
On the hour, every hour from sunset until 1am, the tower performs a 5-minute sparkle — 20,000 strobing white lights overlaid on the existing yellow illumination. From inside the tower at the right hour, you experience it from within (the 2nd floor and esplanade level offer different angles). From outside, the canonical viewpoint is Trocadéro plaza, but Pont de Bir-Hakeim, the Champ de Mars south lawn, and the Esplanade des Invalides all work.
Stairs vs Elevator: Which Is Right for You?
A real strategic decision. The 674 steps to the 2nd floor take 25-40 minutes depending on fitness and crowd. They are open-air, structurally engineering-revealing, and uncrowded compared to the elevator. The elevators are faster but spend much of busy days backed up to 30+ minute queues at the bottom and 30-60 minute waits for the summit transfer at the 2nd floor.
When to take the stairs:
- You are reasonably fit (no injuries, no recent surgery, comfortable with two flights of regular stairs).
- You want to see the tower’s engineering up close — the rivets, beams, and trusses are gorgeous from the staircase.
- You hate queues more than you hate exertion.
- You are visiting on a busy day and the elevator queue exceeds 30 minutes.
- You want to save €5 (stairs ticket is €14 vs elevator €19 for the same 2nd-floor access).
When to take the elevator:
- You have any mobility limitation (knee, hip, heart, recent injury).
- You are travelling with very young children (under 6) or elderly parents.
- You want to reach the summit (only accessible by elevator from the 2nd floor).
- You have heat or weather concerns — the staircase is exposed to sun, wind, and rain.
- Your time is tight and you cannot afford a 25-40-minute climb.
The hybrid approach — the €24 stairs-up-elevator-summit ticket — is genuinely the best value for an able-bodied first-time visitor. Climb the stairs (you bypass the elevator queue entirely at the bottom, which is often the longest queue of the day), enjoy the open-air engineering, then ride the summit elevator from the 2nd floor.
What to Do at Each Level
Esplanade and Ground Level
Free to walk under and around the tower; the four pillars (north, south, east, west) frame iconic looking-up shots. The esplanade is a pedestrian-only zone since 2018 with airport-style security screening at four entry gates. Allow 15-20 minutes to clear security; bag rules: no large bags, no glass bottles, no sharp objects. Photograph from immediately under the tower’s centre point looking straight up — one of the most-shot angles in Paris. The four pillars also house the elevators (Pillar Est for stairs and elevator, Pillar Ouest stairs only for descent, etc.) and the official ticket counters.
First Floor (57m / 187 ft)
A 4,415m² level renovated in 2014 for €30M. Glass-floored sections that allow you to look straight down 57 metres — not for vertigo-prone visitors. Madame Brasserie restaurant (formerly “58 Tour Eiffel,” now run by Frédéric Anton, 1 Michelin star, €90-130 lunch / €130-180 dinner). The 1889 history exhibition. Souvenir shops. Public restrooms. Allow 30-45 minutes if you are stopping; many visitors blow through in 10 minutes en route to the 2nd floor.
Second Floor (115m / 377 ft)
The most-visited level — this is where the “classic Eiffel views” happen. Le Jules Verne (Frédéric Anton, 1 Michelin star, €135 lunch / €255-310 dinner). Macaron Bar with Champagne. Souvenir shop. The summit elevator queue forms here on the south side; allow 30-60 minutes additional wait time on busy days for the summit transfer. Photo views from the 2nd floor are arguably the best in the entire tower because you are still close enough to the city to see street-level detail.
The Summit (276m / 906 ft)
Two viewing decks: indoor (heated, glassed-in) and outdoor (open-air, exposed). On clear days you can see 70-80 km in every direction — Versailles, La Défense, the Bois de Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes, the river snaking east. Gustave Eiffel’s reconstructed private apartment with mannequins of Eiffel and Edison. The Champagne Bar serves a glass for €20-25 (rose or brut), worth ordering for the experience. Allow 30-45 minutes at the summit. Note: in high winds (above 70 km/h, roughly 43 mph) the summit closes for safety; this happens 10-15 days a year, mostly in winter.
Eating at the Eiffel Tower: Madame Brasserie and Le Jules Verne
Both on-site restaurants are run by Frédéric Anton, the chef of the three-Michelin-starred Le Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne. Both hold one Michelin star. Both require advance reservation and include guaranteed lift access for diners.
Madame Brasserie (1st Floor)
The more accessible of the two. Brasserie format with French classics adapted by Anton: vol-au-vent, cassoulet, Île flottante. Lunch menu around €90, dinner around €130-180. The 1st-floor windows provide good but not spectacular views — you are still 57 metres up. Lunch is genuinely worth booking: faster, cheaper than dinner, gets you tower access without the standing-queue pain.
Le Jules Verne (2nd Floor)
The destination experience. 125 metres up, panoramic windows on three sides, lunch menus from €135, dinner tasting menus €255-310. Book 6-8 weeks ahead for dinner; lunch is sometimes available 2-3 weeks out. Includes private express lift access via Pillar Sud (south pillar). The food is excellent rather than transcendent — the experience is the windows, the engineering, and the Anton service.
Champagne Bar at the summit: no reservation, €20-25 a glass, open during all summit operating hours. The most photogenic Champagne in Paris.
Photographing the Eiffel Tower: From Inside and Out
From Inside the Tower
The classic interior photographs are the radial views looking out from the second floor (Trocadéro fountains visible from the north side, the Champ de Mars and Tour Montparnasse from the south). The geometric beam-and-rivet engineering shots are best from the staircase corners and from the inside-looking-up perspective on the 1st floor. The summit interior is largely glass-enclosed and reflective — bring a polariser or shoot through any visible scratch-free section.
From Outside the Tower (the seven canonical viewpoints)
- Trocadéro plaza — classic postcard, best 6:30am sunrise; pickpocket warning.
- Pont de Bir-Hakeim — the Inception bridge; lower deck for two-tier framing.
- Avenue de Camoëns — short Haussmann-flanked street ending in Eiffel; morning side-light.
- Rue de l’Université at #29 — narrow-street vista with Eiffel framed by Haussmann buildings.
- Place de Varsovie — Trocadéro fountains plus Eiffel.
- Pont d’Iéna — base-up shot during golden hour.
- Galeries Lafayette Haussmann rooftop — free, Eiffel framed between Opéra Garnier and chimneys; 7th-floor terrace.
For sparkle photographs: the Champ de Mars south lawn directly under the tower captures the sparkle from below with the structure in motion-blur; Trocadéro captures it from in front; Tour Montparnasse 56 from across the city. Use shutter speed 1/15 to 1/30 for sparkle blur; faster freezes the lights. The full breakdown of every Paris photo location is in our most Instagrammable places in Paris guide.
Free Eiffel Tower Views: How to See It Without Buying a Ticket
Half the visitors to Paris never go up the Eiffel Tower itself; many of them have better photographs than those who do. The free or low-cost viewing alternatives:
- Trocadéro plaza — the postcard view. Métro Trocadéro line 9. Free, 24/7, best 6-7am for empty frames.
- Champ de Mars lawn — lay on the grass directly under the tower. Free, especially atmospheric for the 9pm summer sparkle.
- Pont de Bir-Hakeim — Métro Bir-Hakeim line 6. The Inception bridge, free.
- Rue de l’Université at #29 — the “narrow-street” viewpoint that has gone viral on Instagram. Free.
- Galeries Lafayette Haussmann rooftop — 9th, free 7th-floor terrace open during store hours, Eiffel between Opéra Garnier and chimneys.
- Tour Montparnasse 56 — not free (€23) but offers the only Paris skyline that includes the Eiffel Tower itself.
- Sacré-Coeur steps — northern view; Eiffel visible across the city.
- Arc de Triomphe rooftop — €16 (free under 26 EU) for a different angle that includes both the Champs-Élysées axis and the Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower Sparkle: When and Where to See It
The Eiffel Tower has been illuminated continuously at night since 1985, but the famous “sparkle” (scintillement) was introduced for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, and made permanent in 2003. The mechanism: 20,000 6.5-watt bulbs strobing across the face of the tower, overlaid on the standard golden floodlighting.
The sparkle runs for 5 minutes at the start of every hour from sunset until 1am (until 11pm on summer nights when sparkle starts later, until midnight on summer Sundays). In winter, sparkle starts at 6pm and ends at 11pm. Specific best-viewing locations:
- Champ de Mars south lawn — from underneath, the sparkle feels immersive; bring a blanket and stay for two cycles.
- Trocadéro plaza — classic frontal view, but the most crowded.
- Pont de Bir-Hakeim middle deck — framing the sparkle through the bridge structure is the Inception look.
- Esplanade des Invalides — lateral angle, less crowded.
- Tour Montparnasse 56 observation deck — the only view that includes the entire Paris skyline with the sparkle as a single jewelled feature.
- From a Seine cruise — Bateaux Mouches, Bateaux Parisiens, Vedettes du Pont-Neuf all schedule routes that pass the Eiffel Tower around 9pm. (See our Seine river cruise Paris guide.)
- From inside the tower itself — if you have a 9pm or 10pm summit ticket, you experience the sparkle from within. Surreal.
Practical Tips: What to Bring, Security, and Logistics
Security and Bag Rules
Since 2018 the Eiffel Tower has had a permanent security perimeter with airport-style screening at four entry gates. Allow 15-20 minutes to clear. Banned items: large backpacks, glass bottles, sharp objects, weapons, fireworks. Allowed: small day bags, refillable water bottles (plastic only), cameras, tripods (small only; commercial tripods may be questioned).
Drone Policy
Strictly forbidden. Paris is a permanent no-fly zone for drones; the immediate 5 km around the Eiffel Tower is doubly enforced. Police WILL confiscate and fine. Do not bring a drone to Paris with the intention of flying it.
Mobility and Accessibility
The 1st and 2nd floors are wheelchair-accessible by elevator. The summit is NOT wheelchair-accessible — the summit elevator from the 2nd floor has step access only. Wheelchair tickets are discounted, and one accompanying person enters free. Restrooms on 1st and 2nd floors. Elevators have priority queues for visitors with mobility issues; flag a staff member at the base.
Weather and Closures
High winds (above 70 km/h) close the summit; the 2nd floor stays open. Winter ice closes the staircases occasionally. Lightning storms can close the entire tower briefly. The tower runs full schedules on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Bastille Day. The official @LaTourEiffel social channels post real-time closure information.
How Long to Allow
For 2nd floor only: 1.5-2 hours including security, ascent, viewing, descent. For summit: 2.5-3.5 hours including the additional summit elevator queue. For lunch at Madame Brasserie: 3 hours. For dinner at Le Jules Verne: 4 hours including the after-dinner walk back to the Métro.
Eiffel Tower with Kids
The Eiffel Tower is a near-universal kid hit, with caveats. Children under 4 are free; 4-11 are at child rates. Strollers are allowed but cumbersome; bring a baby carrier. The glass floors on the 1st floor are a magnet for children; the summit is sometimes too windy for very young visitors. The summit closure for high wind is also more disruptive with kids. (For broader family logistics see Paris with kids.)
Strategy with under-10s: take the elevator up (the stair climb is too much for short legs), book a sunset slot if your kids can handle the late timing, plan for a Champ de Mars picnic before or after. The 9pm sparkle viewed from the lawn directly under the tower is reliably the highlight of any Paris trip for children — arrive 30 minutes early with a blanket and snacks.
What Else to Do Around the Eiffel Tower
A morning at the Eiffel Tower fits naturally into a full day in the 7th and 16th arrondissements. Within walking distance:
- Trocadéro and Palais de Chaillot — immediately across the river. The Musée de l’Homme (anthropology), Musée National de la Marine, and Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine all sit in the Palais de Chaillot.
- Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac — non-Western art (Africa, Asia, Oceania, Americas), 5-minute walk along the south bank.
- Champ de Mars — the long lawn south of the tower; picnics, summer events, Bastille Day Concert de Paris.
- Les Invalides and Napoleon’s Tomb — 15-minute walk east along the Seine.
- Musée Rodin — 20-minute walk; the Hôtel Biron mansion and sculpture garden.
- Rue Cler market street — 10 minutes south of the tower; pedestrianised cheese shops, bakeries, and brasseries (Café du Marché, Le Petit Céladon).
- Musée d’Orsay — 25 minutes east on foot, or 5 minutes via RER C from Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel station.
- Pont Alexandre III — the most ornate Paris bridge, walking distance.
- Avenue Montaigne shopping — 15 minutes north toward the 8th, the luxury fashion corridor.
Brief History of the Eiffel Tower
The tower was conceived in 1884 by two engineers in Gustave Eiffel’s firm, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, who were exploring an iron-tower design for a possible exhibition centrepiece. Architect Stephen Sauvestre adapted their plans into the curved-base, two-arch silhouette we know. Eiffel championed the design, secured the contract for the 1889 World’s Fair (held to mark the centennial of the French Revolution), and oversaw the 26-month construction with 250 workers. The tower opened on March 31, 1889, with Eiffel personally climbing 1,665 steps to plant a French flag at the summit.
It was meant to stand for 20 years and then be dismantled. Cultural opposition was fierce; Maupassant, Dumas, Garnier (architect of the Opéra), and dozens of other Paris luminaries signed a public petition denouncing the “tragic streetlight” and “skeleton of a belfry.” The petitioners lost. The tower’s usefulness as a meteorological and (especially) radio antenna saved it — the French military used the tower for telegraphy during WWI, and it has remained a working broadcast tower ever since.
It became Paris itself sometime in the early 20th century. By the 1920s it was the unmistakable symbol of the city; today it is among the most-photographed structures on Earth. The tower is repainted approximately every 7 years (most recently completed in 2024 in advance of the Olympic Games, in the bronze-toned “Eiffel Brown”). The Olympic ceremonies that featured the tower as a jumping platform and a stage for Celine Dion in July 2024 reintroduced it to a generation of viewers worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visiting the Eiffel Tower
How much do Eiffel Tower tickets cost in 2026?
Official tickets in 2026: €31 elevator to summit (276m), €19 elevator to 2nd floor (115m), €14 stairs to 2nd floor, €24 stairs to 2nd floor + elevator to summit. Youth (12-24) and child (4-11) prices are roughly half. Under 4 is free; under 18 EU resident is free.
Do I need to book Eiffel Tower tickets in advance?
Yes, especially in summer. Tickets release 60 days ahead at 8:30am Paris time on the official site (toureiffel.paris). Popular slots sell out within 30 minutes. Walk-up tickets are available but queues run 60-120 minutes in summer and the summit may be sold out by mid-morning. Reseller skip-the-line tours (Get Your Guide, Viator) provide a backup at €55-130 if official tickets are unavailable.
Is the Eiffel Tower worth going up?
For first-time Paris visitors, yes. The summit views, the engineering, and the Champagne bar are first-tier experiences. For repeat visitors, you might choose to skip the climb and instead enjoy the tower from outside — from Trocadéro, Pont de Bir-Hakeim, or the Champ de Mars during the 9pm sparkle. Both are valid Paris experiences.
Can you climb the Eiffel Tower stairs?
674 steps to the 2nd floor, €14. The summit is only accessible by elevator (no stairs option). The hybrid €24 ticket lets you climb to the 2nd floor and take the elevator up to the summit — the best option for active visitors.
How long does the Eiffel Tower sparkle last?
5 minutes at the top of every hour from sunset until 1am (winter sparkle ends at 11pm). The tower is also illuminated continuously in golden floodlight from sunset to close. The summer sparkle window starts around 9pm; winter starts around 6pm.
Is Le Jules Verne worth the price?
The food is excellent rather than transcendent; the experience — private express lift, panoramic windows, the engineering visible through the floors — is what you are paying for. Lunch (€135) is the better value than dinner (€255-310). Worth it for special occasions, anniversaries, and visitors who want guaranteed tower access without queues.
Can children go up the Eiffel Tower?
Yes; under 4 free, 4-11 child rate, 12-24 youth rate. Strollers allowed but cumbersome — baby carrier preferred. The glass floors on the 1st floor and the summit Champagne bar are kid favourites; high winds occasionally close the summit, so a rain plan helps. The 9pm sparkle viewed from the Champ de Mars lawn is the kid-magic of any Paris trip.
What is the best time of year to visit the Eiffel Tower?
October-November and February-March are the sweet spots: shorter queues, cheaper hotels, no heatwave risk. Summer is busiest but offers the longest evening sparkle window. Winter brings shorter days but a different magic — visit our things to do in Paris in winter guide for context, and our best time to visit Paris guide for direct seasonal comparison.
Plan Your Full Paris Trip Around the Eiffel Tower
A great Eiffel visit is part of a great Paris trip, not a trip in itself. Build outward: planning a trip to Paris for dates and flights, where to stay in Paris for neighbourhood selection (the 7th and 16th put you within walking distance), getting around Paris for the Métro and Navigo Easy explainer. From the tower itself, expand to Paris attractions for the iconic sights, Paris museums guide for the cultural pillars, Paris food guide for restaurants near the tower, Paris neighborhoods guide for the 7th-arrondissement context. For specific Eiffel-adjacent topics, see most Instagrammable places in Paris for seven Eiffel-specific viewpoints, Seine river cruises that pass the tower at sparkle hour, things to do in Paris at night for the post-tower evening plan, and best Paris tours for skip-the-line guided options. Travelling with kids? Paris with kids. On a budget? Paris on a budget. Romantic? Romantic Paris. Going out late? Paris nightlife guide. Shopping? Paris shopping guide. And for the spectrum of things to do in Paris across all itineraries, the pillar guide is the master index.
