Eiffel Tower

You don't need a tour. But you do need to book in advance at the official site 60 days in advance. It's 28 euros to go to the top.

You are expecting to get tickets for all 11 adults (plus 1 toddler and 1 infant) in your group for the same time slot?

Ok, thanks!

Yes, we are a group of 11 adults, 2 young children.

So, we should listen to Rick Steve's audio (on his ap) about this before we go up - that would be all we need to learn all about the Eiffel Tower, correct? I'm wondering if a tour would be needed to explain all buildings seen from atop the tower??

There are LOADS of placards on the ET that also explain its own history, tons of YT videos that show this and it's mentioned on the ET's website.

We have been up to level 2 of the ET a couple of times but never to level 3. So our last trip to Paris I bought reserved tickets to go all the way up.

This was the experience in early October: wait close to an hour to gain access to the tower (lots of queue jumpers and no official types stopping them), smoosh into a very crowded elevator, exit into level 2. Crowded, but OK. Then it was time to think about going to level 3. The line (with more queue jumpers) for the tiny elevator stretched all the way around level 2. The wait would have been close to an hour. We decided to skip it. And this experience was in 2018 when we didn't have to worry about whether the stranger standing a foot away was Covid positive. The only way we would ever do the ET ascent again is if we had reservations at the over-priced Jules Verne restaurant and could take the private elevator.

Consider treating yourselves instead to a lovely lunch with a view of the tower. (Les Ombres is good.) Another enjoyable ET experience is sitting on the Champ de Mars around 9 P.M. with champagne watching the lights sparkle.

Our June 2022 experience with timed Summit tickets on a Tuesday was a relatively short wait for the elevator from the ground to the second floor. A longer wait in a zigzag line for the elevator to the summit - maybe 30 minutes. The summit has both an enclosed level and a breezy level. At the summit, we were able to identify a dozen or so major buildings; I can't remember if there were signs to identify the buildings or if we just picked the easy ones. If someone in your party gets bored sooner than the rest, on the walls near the ceilings of the enclosed level there are pictures and names of a tall building in that direction.

Anyone have a suggestion for access to the top of the tower? We didn't realize that you had to book so early. We are having lunch at Jules Verne and thought we could just jump on the elevator to the top without a reservation. Ouch