Eiffel Tower

i am sure others will have better advice as we have not gone to France yet but this is what I have gathered reading these threads and posting my own questions.

yes - you can watch and see if there are cancellations.

you could also look at a third party vendor who provides a tour of the Eiffel tower which includes tickets....or book a lunch/dinner reservation at one of the restaurants up on the tower.

yes, buy an online ticket to the 2nd floor, then buy a ticket to the summit - as I understand it, whether you have a ticket to the summit or not you still need to stand in the line to get to the summit.

I just read this morning in rick steve's paris 2016 book that if you do not have a ticket you should plan to show up to the tower at least 30 minutes prior to opening for the shortest line or plan on going in the evening as the lines 'can' be shorter.

sorry my information is not very specific but hopefully a bit helpful.

Hi, RGS is pretty much on track with his info. No reason why you can't continue checking the official site for cancellations. However, if I were you, I'd book a Behind the Scenes Tour. I've used Get Your Guide tours twice with good results. They have several ticket options. I chose the one hour tour (good info, small group), and a "skip the line" ticket to the second level. Once on the second level, you can stand in a short line to purchase a ticket to the third (summit) level. Note, once you're done with the tour portion, you can stay on the Tower as long as you like. There's a snack bar and small gift shop on the second level if you want to linger.

If you don't purchase advance tickets, you'll have to just wait in line. The best advice I can give you is to walk by and see how many people are ahead of you. The long lines can require a wait time of possibly two hours (too long for me, that's why I'd get the advance tickets). There is also an option to take the steps, but I haven't done that.

I love the Eiffel Tower and I think the experience (and view) is worth whatever you need to do to get tickets. Hope you have a great time!

I found that the lines to go up the tower are a lot shorter during the dinner hours. You might want to check out the lines around 6:30 to 7:30. Most tourists are getting ready to go out to dinner and are not waiting in line to go up the tower.

Try this website (recommended by my Paris hotel) where you can still book Eiffel Tower + Cruise for €29pp: http://www.francetourisme.fr/

I just checked the website & there are still tickets available for the first week of May.

Have a great trip!