Eiffel Tower

Decide on the summit before you book

The first decision is height, not date. The 2nd floor at 115 metres is where most people get the view they remember — high enough for the whole city to lay out below, close enough to name the Louvre, Montmartre and the Seine bridges. The summit at 276 metres adds a genuine 360-degree panorama, Gustave Eiffel’s restored office and a small champagne bar, but you queue a second time for the upper lift and the view is more distant haze than detail.

Then book a timed lift ticket online before you fly. Summit slots regularly sell out a week or more ahead in peak season, and there is no reliable on-the-day queue for them — turning up on spec usually means the 2nd floor at best, or nothing. The 2026 adult fares run roughly €14.80 (about £13) for the stairs to the 2nd floor, €23.50 (£20) for the lift to the 2nd floor, €28 (£24) for stairs-then-lift to the summit, and €36.70 (~£31) for the full lift to the summit. From 29 September 2026 even the stairs ticket needs an advance reservation, so the days of walking up on a whim are ending.

When to go, how to get there, and is it worth it?

Open hours run roughly 09:30 to 23:00 most of the year, stretching to about 09:00 to 00:45 from mid-June to late August with the last summit ascent near 22:45. Book a 09:00-10:30 slot to dodge the worst queues, or go after 17:00 to catch the light change and the hourly sparkle on the hour after dark. Note the tower is closed to the public on 13 July 2026. Either way, budget 10 to 20 minutes for the airport-style security check at the perimeter even with a timed ticket. If stairs are a problem, book a lift ticket: the summit is lift-accessible from the 2nd floor, but the cheaper stairs ticket means climbing 674 steps to the 2nd floor on foot.

Getting there is easy: Metro Line 6 to Bir-Hakeim is about a three-minute walk from the exit, or RER C to Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel drops you on the river side. Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the 2nd floor, or two and a half to three for the summit.

The most memorable view of the Eiffel Tower is usually of it, not from it. The Trocadero terrace across the river (Metro Line 9) is free and gives the head-to-toe shot the postcards use. Go up if standing on it matters to you — and if so, pay for the 2nd floor unless the summit panorama is the trip’s whole point. Pair the visit with a walk along the Champ de Mars or a Seine cruise rather than stacking it against the Louvre the same day.