Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Go stand in line. They don't pre-sell all the tickets, in fact, just a fraction. If you go a couple of hours before closing, the line will be minimal.

Agree with Ed. Head over an hour before opening in the morning or an hour before sunset and get in line, be prepared to wait a while (anywhere from 1/2 hr to 2 hrs). Or you could, as Pat usually recommends, take the stairs (cheaper and shorter line) to the 2nd level and get elevator from there to the top. There's a lot of stairs but it's doable for anyone of normal fitness, just go slow and don't rush it, it's an adventure.

I just checked their website and it seems to be down as there are no graphics and no where to make reservations. I have a hard time believing that all reservations are gone for the time you will be there this far in advance. I would look again in a couple days when their website is working again: www.tour-eiffel.fr

Hi Becky, try a Get Your Guide tour (http://www.getyourguide.com/paris-l16/exclusive-behind-the-scenes-tour-at-the-eiffel-tower-t2669/). I did it last year and plan to do it again this year. Very informative 45 min or so tour then you skip the lines to go to the second level. On the second level there's a short line to buy a ticket to the summit. Hope you have a great time in Paris!

Abe, there are no tickets available for the entire summer on the Eifle tower web site. I have been religiously following your advice to "not be stupid". However, the reality is you can not buy tickets online at the Eifle tower website. I starting going to the website months ago. They told me the tickets for the date I wanted in the first week of August would go on sale at 8:30am (CEST) May 3. They apparently put tickets on sale one day at time. When I got up on Saturday morning May 3rd (US time) all the tickets were gone. So I decided to try again for the following day, this time I got out of bed in the middle of night so I would be online at the exact moment they went of sale. I got there at the right moment, but in a matter of seconds they were gone. From the time I put what I wanted in my cart to start the payment process my tickets were gone and no others were available. You guys might want to reconsider the advice you and handing out so we don't all look stupid.

I was also interested in the behind the scenes guided tour, but for those who have done it, does it enable you to skip the lines to the elevators? The website says, "The behind-the-scenes guided tour does not give clients priority access to the elevators," and warns people they may need to add time to the 90 minute time they quote as average for the tour because of delays getting to the elevators.

Also, does anyone know how much tickets are to the top once you get to the second floor? I would want to go to the top once the tour ends on the second floor, but I can't find how much the tickets are from there to the top.

If I were going to Paris with my 10-year-old, I would tell her "I tried" and say we could wait in line to WALK to the elevator level OR we could look at the tower from the bottom without waiting in line. Her choice.
(She's 33 now and still speaks to me occasionally)

I was in Paris last summer with an 11 and 13 year old who also had the Eiffel Tower as a "must do". We got on line about 45 minutes before the ticket office opened. Once the office opened it took about 20 minutes for us to get through security, buy our tickets and get on the elevator. I bought tickets for the top and we went directly up and up and up...We had the top to ourselves for about 10 minutes! We took the elevator back to the second level, which by now was getting crowded, had our walk around, took photos etc and then took the stairs all the way down - very interesting walk.
The down side of advance tickets: the weather - if the day you have tickets for is rainy or foggy you are out of luck and the Tower is sometimes closed due to threats or other issues.

Just go and get on the line - you won't fail and it is not the end of the world if you have a bit of a wait. I copied several pages from a book on the construction of the Tower and they kids took turns reading aloud while we waited.

By the way, it looks like the guided tour "behind the scenes" is now sold out until the 19th.

I tried to make reservations for the Eiffel Tower Summit on April 6 for a July 6 visit (first day they were on sale online). Got up at 6 am CST and found out quickly they were LONG gone. Then woke up at 1:25 am CST on April 7, shook out the cobwebs a bit, waited for the clock to tick over to 1:30 am, and then typed as fast as I could to get a reservation for 10:30 am on July 7. That time was almost immediately sold out, so I backed out to the screen showing all the times, and many times were already gone, in less than one minute. Luckily, jumped into 11:00 am slot and was able to make a reservation.

I guess that Tour Eiffel thingie is kind of popular.....who knew? :o)

I posted the same question a month or so ago and the best suggestion was to go around 45 minutes before the ticket office opened. This was a great idea as we'll just grab breakfast on our way for our kids to eat there (I have two 8 year olds) and they can play while my husband and I take turns letting them run around. You may not have the back up to take turns in line but I'm sure it will all work out which ever way you decide. Have fun!!

We are currently in Paris and yesterday went to the Eiffel Tower. I too could not get reservations on-line. We got to the Eiffel Tower at around 10:30am and decided to take the stairs. The line for the stairs was shorter and only about a 20 minute wait. During our wait, I had downloaded the Official Eiffel Tower Tour App on my iPhone (no Wifi or data required after it's downloaded) and we listened to that while we waited. It helped pass the time. This would be a great App for your 10-year-olds to listen to. We saw a few families taking the stairs. They just took their time, reading the information banners along the way and taking photos.

I recommend that once you get to the 2nd level, stand in line for the summit tickets. While we stood in that line (about 10 minutes again), we continued listening to our Tour App, because we hadn't listened to the entire tour.

Then you get to stand in another line to actually go to the summit, and yes we continued our Tour App.

If you decide to take the elevator from the base to the summit, you still have to wait in line for the elevator at the 2nd floor, because you have to change elevators.

Take in the sights on the 2nd floor when you come back down and have to change elevators. The lines going back down were a lot shorter. At the 2nd floor going back down, we didn't have to wait in line, we just had to wait for the elevator. I think the Eiffel Tour is best seen from top to bottom.

The view is fantastic and I think worth the wait. Just remember that while you're in Paris, there is a line for everything and you just go with it.

We also tried to purchase tickets to the summit on several occasions and they were sold out completely within minutes! I believe we discovered it is an anniversary summer for the tower? Unsure of the year, but it would help explain the difficulty -that and the time difference! We are going to try the standing in line version..good luck!

Ragan,, the thing is .. they only sell a few tickets ( think its 25-50 or so ) per time slot.. and thousands of people want to visit the ET each day ...so its really almost a lottery .. you literally have to be ready to book at midnight the day the tickets for your date becomes available. Its not that bad if going in january or feburary.. but the rest of the year it gets so busy.. from April thru to october the ET is always busy.. its never "quiet" .. even the worst winter day people still stream there..
They only started preselling timed slot tickets about 3-4 years ago.. and at that time fewer people knew about it,, when I got tickets for july 2012 it was pretty easy.. I had many time choices .. but now with travel forums( there are many, and this is not the busiest ) everyone who reads any forum on Paris quickly learns about pre purchasing tickets.

Hi, I too am trying to purchase tix (for the week of 9/22) and I get this message, "There are no products compatible with your selection".

This is not the same as I see for dates in August which are generally sold out and say so. I am assuming that tickets for September are just not on sale yet, but the message is a bit cryptic for me to be sure.

Do I just need to wait? If so, any idea how far in advance they go on sale?

They opened up a bunch of previously unavailable dates today. As of 5/21/2014 6:30 MST they are up for sale and available. BOOK now!!!!

I bought tickets on line from home with VIATOR that get you past the ticket line . Took the 4pm slot took about 45 min in line inside Eiffel going to summit do not stop stay in line headed to summit . Very crowed inside Eiffel but it does move quicker than you think once inside . We could stay as long as we wanted once at the summit "MAGNIFICENT view" . Energy wise it was so worth it having the ticket ahead of time. You do meet the VIATOR guide 5 min away from Eiffel but that is easy & we arrived early & found nice cafe & bathrooms & gift shop at meeting point. YES is was worth it to spend a little extra for ticket & use the time not standing in line But
to See paris &'you only have so much time & energy once there trying to figure it all out! VIATOR ticket gets you inside the Eiffel & then stay in line for elevators to summit NO EXTRA CHARGE . VIATOR hands you a ticket when you show them your name (from purchase online at home) that ticket covers the elevators to summit. Do eat & bathroom beforehand because inside Eiffel Very crowed & you want to stay awhile it is so wonderful once you get to the summit DO NOT STOP AT OTHER LEVELS KEEP GOING UP. May 6th 2014 beautiful Eiffel day!

Becky Look at the "Paris Insiders Guide" for Eiffel Tower tour tickets. Like you, I could not get tickets directly from the Eiffel Tower website, so I thought I was out of luck. However, I stumbled across this guide and was able to book two tour tickets. A bit pricey, but I didn't want to disappoint my grandson. Good luck !

Fresh experience. I had missed booking my tickets to Eiffel for July when the sales opened. But I religiously checked the site everyday since people had mentioned that they release more tickets slowly and just today I found 2 times slots for the dates I wanted in July.