We have been trying to get four tickets to the top of the Eiffel tower for over two months. We are continually told they are not available. We have been to Paris 5-6 times and never encounter this. We then book with a travel agent in France and where told everything is fine. Just got email that we can only get to the second level due to the annual tennis meet in Paris. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Going with my brother and it is his first time. Thanks for your advice.
Posted by
San Francisco, CA
47 posts
we did it through Viator.com
it was easy, we skipped the line and had a great time up there. Good luck with your trip!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
The problem is that travel companies buy up all of those advance ticket sales in a matter of seconds at the instance when they become available...leaving the rest of us to either show up and wait in a long line or buy overpriced timed/skip-the-line tickets from unscrupulous ticket vendors.
There are many amazing things to see and towers to climb in Paris other than the Eiffel Tower.
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
There is also the Soccer Finals during the whole month of June. There will be a fanzone set up in front of the Eiffel Tower, and there will be more security than before. I don't know about accessing the summit of the Eiffel Tower, but unfortunately, travel agents aren't always up on the latest news. You will just have to accept what the security standards allow - but the view from the second level is often the best one, depending on the weather.
What you might consider is to arrive early and get in line for tickets - there are always some "same day" tickets available, but they might run out later in the day. Some people report standing in line later in the evening and getting tickets for that night, with no trouble. Visits to the Eiffel Tower have fallen off since the attacks, according to a report I read, so you might have a better chance just going in person to buy tickets.
You can always purchase tickets to climb the stairs, if you are fit and able to handle it.
Posted by
Ohio
2161 posts
Hi Roger, grab the tickets to the second level. With many tour companies you'll get tickets to the second, then need to purchase an additional ticket to reach the third (summit) level. It's a cheaper ticket with a short line. I hope it will work out that way for you too. I'd get whatever tickets I could, especially if it's busy due to the tennis matches. Hope you have a great time in Paris!
Posted by
Chicago
8554 posts
The tickets go on sale 90 days out. We had no trouble getting them 90 days out last fall; they do go quickly because apparently middle men grifters are allowed to scoop them up as soon as they go on sale. The disadvantage of buying them early is you get what you get with the weather. Here we are in the pouring rain on the only day in an entire month in Paris where it poured:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/the-eiffel-tower-in-the-rain/
If you can go and walk up to the second floor; you can buy tickets to the top on the tower.
Posted by
42 posts
I bought tickets that included the summit over a month ago, and last week received an email from the company that per the authorities they were not allowing summit access due to the Euro Cup. So they offered 2nd level and refund our $$ for the summit. It's a bummer, as that was a number 1 priority for us, but I figured getting to the 2nd floor was better than nothing and if we got lucky to be able to get tickets last minute to the summit then it'll be icing on the cake. I heard Montparnasse Tower offers great views too, with fewer people and less $$. I'm debating on trying that.
Posted by
Big D
10 posts
JC,
which date did you have reserved? We have tix to summit on 6/24 and have not gotten any emails about it being unavailable.
Posted by
42 posts
G.K. - our tix are for 6/26. I was wondering if it was all across the board with no summit access, or if the company we booked through had some issue. Their response led me to believe it was across the board, but maybe for some reason it's just that day? Though I did ask about other days too as we had 4 other days to choose from. Who did you book yours through? I got them through Eiffel-tower-tours.com, tix came from isango. Was the only place I could find tix available. I didn't really want to do a tour, but did not get to the eiffel tower site to buy advance tix soon enough before they were sold out unfortunately.
Posted by
42 posts
G.K. - our tix are for 6/26. I was wondering if it was all across the board with no summit access, or if the company we booked through had some issue. Their response led me to believe it was across the board, but maybe for some reason it's just that day? Though I did ask about other days too as we had 4 other days to choose from. Who did you book yours through? I got them through Eiffel-tower-tours.com, tix came from isango. Was the only place I could find tix available. I didn't really want to do a tour, but did not get to the eiffel tower site to buy advance tix soon enough before they were sold out unfortunately.