Hi all. I plan to visit Paris at the end of August for a day. I've been many times before and have done this climb, but it was during the winter months. Now that the trees will be green and hoping for clearer skies I want to revisit to get some more great photos. I know the lines to get up the stairs will be long during the day, but what kind of lines can I expect if I go later in the day around 4ish? I wouldn't be able to get here in time for when the doors open so that option is out.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Then you will wait a long time. Sorry.. the line is painfully slow, and if you go at 4 ish there will still be all the folks that have lined up from 2 ish on...
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7025 posts
It's pretty hard to predict how long the line will be at a particular time on an August day so I guess you just have to take your chances. If you look at the line and get a rough estimate of how many people there are you can approximate how long your wait will be. They let 25 people in at a time every 15 mins. So that's 100 people per hour. I have seen the line pretty long, probably 2-3 hours wait, but you never know. You could get lucky.
Posted by
Ohio
2123 posts
We did the Towers last week. Got there at 11 a.m. and the line stretched about three quarters the length of the building. We waited exactly 1 hour. It wasn't an easy climb, small, circular staircase with a few spots to step off to catch your breath. I think it was 387 steps. But, worth it to get photos up close with the gargoyles, pretty cool!
PS - we went to the Arc du Triomphe in the evening and the elevators are apparently closed from about 8-11 p.m. (I took a photo of the sign, will edit times when I find it). Another 300 steps!
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
At about 830am grab a spot for breakfast in the cafe opposite the towers entry, on Rue du Cloître Notre-Dame.
Once the line starts to form, skip over - don't forget to pay your bill.
Be one of the first to enter at 10am.
Posted by
OP
Pico Rivera, CA
594 posts
Try walking down those steps after a small hail storm. I slipped and was EXTREMELY thankful the guard rail was there. This time I'm hoping there won't be slippery steps.
Thank you so much for pointing out the opening time. I thought it opening much earlier. My train arrives at 8:35 am so I guess I can grab my breakfast somewhere and zip on over to check out the length of the line.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
I'm glad I did it in the old days, before the hordes became commonplace.