We're starting to plan a trip to Paris for Fall of 2019 (which can't come soon enough!). How do you get tickets for the Eiffel Tower when they are sold out months in advance??? FYI , my husband and daughter went in June of 2017 with a school group here ( which I had to cancel ) and they told me there wasn't a line at all to get tickets and only about a 45 minute wait after getting the tickets for the lifts. They went all the way to the sumit also!! He said it was dead ( maybe because Paris was having a heat wave then?). I know you can book through tours, but those prices are 3x the price to get your tickets individually. I don't want to take a chance and not have tickets ahead of time because this is something I have to do. I had to cancel my trip in 2017 because of cancer treatment and fatique and now that I'm healthy and not tired all the time, its on my "take that cancer and time to enjoy life with my husband!" Any and all help would be much appreciated!!
Posted by
New York City
62 posts
The Eiffel Tower has their own web site where you can purchase tickets approximately 30 to 45 days in advance.
Posted by
Arizona
31 posts
I went in 2015, so my experience might be outdated. I was able to get "walk-up" tickets to climb the stairs that day. Short line compared to the lines for the elevators. The second time we went, I think my MIL had to buy the tickets through a tour. Our line was much shorter than the other lines.
The elevator ride up was so scary but the view is breathtaking! Enjoy Paris!
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6485 posts
I have been to Paris and never done the Eiffel tower. Partly because I don't like lines, other things were higher priority and you can't see the Eiffel tower from the Eiffel tower. ;) I am told, and If you are up to it, you can climb partially up the tower to where the views are supposed to be the best anyway. You lose some of the views when you get too high. It's cheaper to take the steps and the line is shorter. You can take the elevator down. I'm told that others have gone 1/2 hour before opening to get in line for tickets day of. I hope you have a lovely trip. Paris is beautiful in the fall.
Posted by
Chicago
8558 posts
I have been to the top twice. Once was 25 years ago with our daughter; once was a couple of years ago at night in the rain. It is well worth doing and if yu are doing it do it to the top. The system used to run like clockwork: 90 days out tickets became available on line at 8:30 Paris time and if you were on line then you probably got tickets. They went fast. The system has apparently been turned over to the people in charge of ruining the Velib system since now it doesn't work. No one can count on tickets being available at any particular time.
If I could not get tickets I would walk up to the second floor; that line is usually short (obviously if you show up and the line for elevator tickets is not too long, then join that line. We actually had a great time on a drizzly day so don't rule rain out, the lines are pretty much non-existent then; as you can see it is still pretty cool.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/the-eiffel-tower-in-the-rain/
When you buy walk up tickets you can get a combo ticket for walking up two floor and then taking the elevator to the top. If you are fit then this is a good way to deal with unavailability of tickets.
I'd never pay scalpers. I am pretty cynical about the current situation. I assume deals are being cut with scalpers and part of that is making it hard for independent tourists to acquire tickets. Keep checking every day and some day they may have just released tickets for your dates.
Posted by
21 posts
We took my daughters (ages 12 and 10) on their first trip to Europe last year, and they made it clear how badly they wanted to climb the ET. So I felt some pressure here!
First, as pointed out above, they sell directly through their own website. If you watch it pretty carefully from day to day, you can get a sense of the date when tickets are likely to go on sale for the dates of your trip. (We were actually doing the RS family tour, so our window was pretty well-defined and I had one date in particular I was targeting.) Once I had that figured out, I set my alarm for 2am on the day when tickets were going on sale for my targeted date (timed to when ticket sales opened in Paris), logged on, and the purchase was quick and easy.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s really just two steps:
1) Watching their website to calculate when tickets go on sale; and
2) Having one strange middle-of-the-night ticket purchasing experience.
Good luck!
Posted by
21 posts
A quick follow-up: I just read the post that says the system is now no longer predictable. Quel dommage!