Looks like we are too late to book our advance purchase tickets up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. So I am looking for the best advice to get same day tickets. We will have two kids with us (10 and 13) so we want to minimize lines (ha!).
How do same day tickets work? Do we just need to get there early, like way before they open? Do they sell same-day timed tickets or are you just waiting to get tickets, then waiting again to get up?
Thanks for your help!
Becky
In summer, the Eiffel Tower opens at 09h00. If you want minimal wait, arrive at 08h30 and hope for the best. No one can tell you how long the lines will be.
We booked a tour that included a cruise. City Wonders. No I don't own stock in the company.
I am pretty sure these tours only get you to level 2 of the Eiffel Tower. With kids you really want to go all the way to the top. With a 10 and 13 year old, I would walk up the first two floors and then take the elevator to the top. You can buy the elevator ticket when you buy the walk up tickets and usually the line for walk ups is fairly short. You could check out how long the elevator line is the day you arrive and decide then whether to do that or walk up.
Both times we went, we did what janettravels suggested. We arrived about 30 minutes before it opened and got in the line to walk up to the 2nd level. The line was short and when we got to the 2nd level, we had no wait to get a ticket and ride up to the top. Then we came back down and explored the 1st and 2nd levels. (Don't do that when you first get there as the line to the top can grow long as the morning proceeds). I will add, the 2nd time we did this, we had to go back down to the 1st floor to buy our tickets to the top. (not hard as they are close together). It was a bit confusing.
Our kids were both in elementary school and we walked to the second level. We had a lot of fun.
Janet’s advice is exactly right. Unless someone has mobility issues, walking up is not hard and is actually fun.
