Eiffel tower

[Jank8]

Has anyone been to Paris recently, we are going at Easter and didn't realise we need to book to go up the effiel tower months ago! Is it possible to get tickets on the day, with an expected queue?

[ditalini]

What? I didn't know this. We're going in a couple of weeks.

I haven't been to Paris for years and hadn't considered booking anything. I know London museums were still taking bookings when we went last year - should we be booking other tourist sites in advance?

[Jank8]

Things don't seem to have gone back to the way they were before covid! So yep worth booking if you can!

[ditalini]

Ok, I've just looked at the ticket site and it says that "purchase is always possible at the Tower on the day of your visit for immediate use". I don't really want to buy in advance because we wouldn't go up if the weather was miserable.

ticket.toureiffel.paris/en#_ga=2.161761916.1362671553.1678965140-656385731.1678965140

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

There is also a security line which can be very long indeed.

Beware also of the many hawkers, petition girls and pickpockets who congregate around that general area. Ignore all of them.

[Jank8]

Ah brill that wasn't there when I looked, take our chances then I guess 😁

[pianogirl79]

The exact thing happened to me and my 11 yr old was distraught about the possibility of not getting to climb the tower (she's autistic and currently obsessed with landmarks) I booked a guided tour today which includes lift access to the top - more pricey than just getting an entry ticket but peace of mind and less queing on the day hopefully... I tried get your guide and viator - they're booking up fast for summit tours on Easter weekend though. Good luck!

[Can2022getanyworse]

We went 6m ago. No pre-booked tickets available.

We went anyway, was about 7pm and literally walked straight to the ticket counter, straight through security. Longest queue by far was for the lift to the top stage.

[BuildingAShepherdsHut]

We were there in October. I did pre-buy tickets but there is a separate line for tickets to buy on the day.

It was half term and paris was packed but it did not seem to be a huge problem for people - they just had to stay in a queue for longer than the pre-paid tickets I think.

[moderationincludingmoderation]

In the same predicament re Eiffel Tower pre booked tickets.. was keeping a close eye on the website then suddenly all the pre booked tickets on our date were gone!

Hoping the queues arent too bad, and considering the stairs if shorter queues.. is that crazy with an athletic 9 year old?

[ditalini]

I think we queued for about an hour when we went in April. It didn't feel too bad but we'd been softened up by the bloody Louvre!

I think it's probably good advice to go at dusk as it'll likely be quieter. We went at night years ago and it was fantastic seeing the lights of the city from up high.

The queues were a bit of a downer all told tbh (we didn't have tickets for anything). We limited one visit per day to a "queue" location. The Louvre was the worst, partly because there are so many different queues and it would be easy to end up in the wrong one. Also the longest by far.

Musee d'Orsay also fairly long and lots of different options for queueing - there was a queue ticket option that you could have got the day before but to be honest that queue was only a bit shorter than our no-book queue.

It must have always been bad but I've just forgotten! We still had an amazing time in Paris.

[ditalini]

@moderationincludingmoderation

In the same predicament re Eiffel Tower pre booked tickets.. was keeping a close eye on the website then suddenly all the pre booked tickets on our date were gone!

Hoping the queues arent too bad, and considering the stairs if shorter queues.. is that crazy with an athletic 9 year old?

I think you'd be ok with the stairs (I didn't notice whether the Q was much shorter), but make sure you all have a very good head for heights. We started to go down the stairs from the 2nd floor to the 1st but ds2 (aged 10) couldn't cope with being able to see through the stairs/ironwork down to the ground. I volunteered to get the lift with him because quite frankly it was making me feel a bit queasy too!

To be honest, there was nothing stopping you taking the lift down whatever your ticket - it was only going up that they checked.

[moderationincludingmoderation]

Thanks @ditalini
Super helpful info... my 9yo actually has a terrible head for heights so that's very helpful!
We've booked tickets for the louvre.. so hoping thst helps with the queues a bit! We'll see... half term and May... expecting it to be busy!
If you have any other tips, they're more than welcome. We're going for 2 days/1 night whirlwind trip

[Can2022getanyworse]

We've walked down the Eiffel tower a few times from the 2nd floor.

My exh didn't make it as far as the first floor going up on the stairs due to his vertigo being triggered... It was knackering though, something like 350 steps to the 2nd floor!

[FlamingoYellow]

I went in Feb and bought tickets when I got there. We got the lift up and the stairs down. There was a lot of waiting around to get the tickets and then even more waiting around to get in the lift. The dcs found the whole experience really boring and spent more time watching a wild mouse they found in the grounds than in the tower itself. Money well spent 🙄.

[ditalini]

@moderationincludingmoderation

Thanks @ditalini
Super helpful info... my 9yo actually has a terrible head for heights so that's very helpful!
We've booked tickets for the louvre.. so hoping thst helps with the queues a bit! We'll see... half term and May... expecting it to be busy!
If you have any other tips, they're more than welcome. We're going for 2 days/1 night whirlwind trip

I think the main thing I would say is not to feel like you have to cram too much in. Paris is one of those cities that just screams "I'm in Paris!!" wherever you go, so just walking around is great.

We spent quite a bit of time walking along the Seine, had a look at poor old Notre Dame and read the boards about the rennovations, Tuileries and Luxumbourg gardens were both good for having a walk and a sit down - and it'll be warmer now so you can get lunch and have a picnic - not particularly French, but we got filled bagels from the Bagelstein close to the Tuileries and ate them as we walked.

The transport is great and the T+ tickets work for both the metro and the buses (and the little funicular up to Sacre Coeur) - we went on buses quite a lot as you could sightsee a bit more, and found using Google Maps was as good as anything to let you know what bus/metro to take, plus changes and times. Each ticket is valid for 90 minutes so covers you for any changes. A "carnet" of 10 is the best way to buy them if there are enough of you or you're making enough journeys - there's also a child's ticket and you can get them in 10s as well. You can also use contactless I think but I was struggling to work it out so we just bought paper tickets from the machines in the end.

Another lunchtime eat - apparently there's a brilliant falafel place L'As du Fallafel on 34 Rue des Rosiers. There will be queues but they move quickly. My friend raved about it but we didn't make it there.

We did make it to Bouillon Chartier for dinner one night. It's v cheap and an amazing art nouveau atmosphere. Another queue but watching the incredible queue management is part of the fun and it moves v quickly.

A bit more expensive, we also went to Cafe du Commerce (on Rue du Commerce - be careful with Google maps which has listings for other places with the same name) which is also v friendly and a gorgeous setting. We went for lunch and had the fixed lunch which was delicious and good value - it felt vv French and fancy while still being family friendly.

Both have a website so you could see whether it's for you.

Have fun!

[SometimesNine]

My DH and DS visited the Eiffel tower, without booking tickets in advance, though that was back in October. They had to queue quite a lot for the Louvre, even with the tickets and the time booked.
For free museums, cannot recommend Le Petit Palais and Musee Carnavalet enough, both brilliant.

[Worldgonecrazy]

You can get a reservation at one of the restaurants and that helps get around the queue. One is £££££ and the other is more reasonable, both have great views.

[magnolia1997]

Instead, we went up the Montparnasse tower in the evening just as the Eiffel Tower was about to be lit up.
It was lovely (and not far from the catacombs if you are interested in going there).

[moderationincludingmoderation]

@magnolia1997

Instead, we went up the Montparnasse tower in the evening just as the Eiffel Tower was about to be lit up.
It was lovely (and not far from the catacombs if you are interested in going there).

Great tip! Like the idea of this and they have tickets! Thanks!

[moderationincludingmoderation]

@SometimesNine

My DH and DS visited the Eiffel tower, without booking tickets in advance, though that was back in October. They had to queue quite a lot for the Louvre, even with the tickets and the time booked.
For free museums, cannot recommend Le Petit Palais and Musee Carnavalet enough, both brilliant.

And how was the queue for the eiffel tower without the tickets?

[SometimesNine]

@moderationincludingmoderation Just asked my DS, and he thinks they queued about twenty minutes. It might be different in summer.

[PinkPondQueen]

@magnolia1997

Instead, we went up the Montparnasse tower in the evening just as the Eiffel Tower was about to be lit up.
It was lovely (and not far from the catacombs if you are interested in going there).

Montparnasse is much better imo, after all you can't actually see the Eiffel Tower when you are up there! The view of it from Montparnasse at sunset when it lights up is truly something special. And hardly any queues!

[GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing]

We went last summer having pre booked tickets for the only time still available, which was about 9 am. Opening time - so thought wouldn’t be too bad.

All good except there was some sort of problem on the day meaning we all had to wait for ages outside for them to sort it. Once we got in all was fine.

You can buy tickets on the day but I didn’t want to risk it!

Both my kids (then 8 and 13) really loved it.

The Louvre on the other hand was definitely a mistake to visit with kids in the summer hols!

[lilachouse]

We visited one October half term and just headed over one evening to Eiffel Tower and got sorted pretty much right away. Might be worth risking it!

[livingonpurpose]

Went at Easter and just queued up for tickets first thing. Yes it took a bit of time, but was worth it. View was better from top of the Arc de Triomphe - cos you could actually see the Eiffel Tour itself, plus you get to watch the crazy drivers on the roundabout around the Arc!