Eiffel Tower Tickets

We were there in June. I forgot to order my tickets online, so we just went there. We followed Rick's suggestions on what days to avoid (those tips alone are worth the price of his books). We got there maybe 9:30 am. The line for the lifts all the way up were 2-3 times as long as the line for the stairs to the 2nd level so we took the stairs. That line only took maybe 30 mins. Later in the week we noticed the lines were even longer. It turned out one of the lifts was broken.

Erin, at this point,yes, all tickets for next month would be sold out,,its high season!
Also,if you read site it explains that one of the elevators has been out of order( and has been for some time now!!) so anyone on a travel forum has had that warning for some time,,and therefore many already booked their tickets 2 months ago( er,, like I did,lol) .. so if you plan to go you have two plans of attack to minimize wait time( it will not be elimanated no matter what without a prepurchased timed entry ticket). 1) GO EARLY,,and by early I mean one hour before it opens,, which I beleive is 9 am , so go at 8 am. Yes, you will wait, but hopefully one hour instead of three. 2) or,, Climb the stairs,, I have and its doable by most healthy people, I did it at 45 and I am no gym bunny. Lines for stairs are at the south foot(Sud Pilar). and go faster then line for elevators. There are two other ways to avoid lines but one involves paying alot for a reservation at Jules Verne and at this point its probably full,or,, paying to take the "Behind the Eiffel Tower Tour" not expensive,but likely full too.

Could anyone give more information on the line to walk up to the first level? Thank you for the information about the line being at the south foot. Does one stand in another line to get a ticket first, or is that the line to both buy a ticket and go up?

Nancy, at the line for the stairs we bought entrance tickets as well as lift tickets to the top.

We just went in June. The line for the stairs is on the left side. There are two lines. One goes towards a building and there is another one that goes to a little kiosk in the middle. They both go to the same place but the kiosk was quicker. We walked up the first level and it was easy. We decided that we would rather spend the time on the 1st level looking out then standing in line.

Hello everyone! Thank you for all your excellent advice. We decided to take the stairs to the second level and it was beautiful! We thought about taking the elevator but a very nice French lady told us it would be too foggy to see out once you got higher. (The day was a bit drizzly). Thank you again and happy travels to you all!

Yes...found it difficult too! We walked the flight ofsteps instead of getting a ticket on line. We just came home from Paris and we also found the view from the top of Notre Dame SO much better!! It was an hour wait but free with the museum pass. It was incredible!