We will be in Paris in September. I thought I read somewhere that the entrance to the stairs up the tower will be open? until 6:30pm this time of year??? We are thinking of taking the stairs up in the evening but are wondering if we will be limited time wise. If we go up in daylight, can we go down the stairs at night??
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7158 posts
Even though you take the stairs up you don't have to take them down. Once you're up there you can stay as long as you like and then take the elevator down.
Posted by
OP
Conway, AR
71 posts
Thanks...That is helpful...
Posted by
Marion
50 posts
Actually, if you take the stairs up you must take them down. With having limited elevators they are checking everyone s ticket. They will not let you down an elevator if you have walked up. This was in effect when I was there the first week of June.
Posted by
Marion
50 posts
Actually, if you take the stairs up you must take them down. With having limited elevators they are checking everyone s ticket. They will not let you down an elevator if you have walked up. This was in effect when I was there the first week of June.
Posted by
OP
Conway, AR
71 posts
Crystal, do u know if u walk down, will the stairs be open all night (until closing time) or will the stairs close early? Just wondering because it could decide what time we choose to go UP??
Posted by
Marion
50 posts
Honestly I am not sure. The Web site says that the stairs close at 630 pm starting September 1st. You may have to ask at the welcome both when you arevin Paris. If you wanted you could pay for an elevator ticket and then take the stairs up to avoid the line. They don't seem to mind if you do that and in that case you would have the lift ticket to go down. I think the difference in price to the 2nd level is 5 euros for the stairs and 9 euros for the lift. To the 3rd floor it is 15 euros.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
My assumption, and a risk I would be willing to take, is that if you climb up by the stairs and stay up past the 6:30 "off-season" stair closing, that they then will allow you to take the elevator down, since the rest of the place is not closed. The stricter policy is probably summer-only. They won't be rounding people up at 6:00 to make them start the stairway descent. Even if they decided to charge you something for the elevator, at least you didn't stand in a ticket line for that.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7158 posts
"They will not let you down an elevator if you have walked up. This was in effect when I was there the first week of June."
Apologize if I gave you misinformation. Maybe this is new or not always enforced. I was last there in August 2012 and I walked up; when it was time to go down I got in line for the elevator and nobody asked to see any kind of ticket. Maybe as Laura said it was because the stairs were closed when I went down.
Posted by
OP
Conway, AR
71 posts
Thanks all. I think we will figure it out. We will have to get down somehow. We will just have to ask when we go up. I guess the same set of stairs is used for going up and coming down?? If so and the stairs close at 6:30 the only way down would be by elevator .. I was just curious to know if they let people go down the stairs in the dark ( which I guess would be a question if we were going in the summer.).