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Best time to visit the Eiffel Tower

My husband and I (age 29 & 30) will be in Paris from 30 May - 2 June 2018. We would like to book tickets around sunset to get the best view for our first trip to Paris. I see sunset is at 21:44 pm - Would is be best to book for 20:00 pm to go all the way to the top?
How long does is more or less take to get to the top? Are there certain nights to avoid or is the crowd size the same every night? Any tips / guidance welcome. Thanks in advance :)

Posted by
111 posts

There’s no time limit once you’re inside. The very top of the Eiffel Tower is small do if you want a sunset spot from there you’d probably have to get there with time to spare. The second level viewing area is much bigger though. Also remember sun set time is the time the sun actually sets... that magical time as the sun goes down will be in the time before that. Enjoy Paris!!

Posted by
3119 posts

Yes, Civil Twilight for Paris is 10:26 p.m. on June 1, and will increase through June 21, the Summer Solstice.

Plenty of daylight in Europe during the summer.

Big Mike from West "by God" Virginia!

Posted by
976 posts

I would definitely be on the second level at least an hour to 1.5 hours before sunset. From there you will need to take a second elevator from there to the top. At the top expect to be "shoulder to shoulder" at that time or most any other time if the weather is decent.

Posted by
8558 posts

It is far too late to book tickets except from scalpers. They get snapped up as soon as they are available and that is usually 60 to 90 days out (used to be 90 days exactly but the system is a mess right now. If you can't book to the top but find tickets to the second floor available there will be no way to then get tickets to the top.

If I were your age and fit, I would plan to walk up to the second floor; you can buy elevator tickets to the top when you buy the walkup tickets. This line is usually much shorter than the ticket line for the elevators. Check first to see what time they close walk up. They don't allow it after dark. You can take the elevators down; tickets are only checked on the way up.

If you want to line up for elevator tickets, I'd aim to get in line an hour to two before your target pre-sunset time. Sunset is quite late this far north and it fun to be on the tower for day and night.

Posted by
2161 posts

Hi talie, unfortnately it is too late to buy tickets from the official website. There are several companies that offer a one hour tour (basically the history of how the Tower was built) with skip the line tickets. We’ve used Get Your Guide tours twice and were happy with the results. I would try to figure out some way to get to the Summit. It’s a wonderful experience. Love Paris!