Just got back from Paris. If you want to go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, you have the choice of showing up and standing in line, or making a reservation in advance which lets you cut in front of the line. At this time, the earliest you can make a reservation is June 19th. We didn't book far enough in advance so decided to wait in line. We stood in line for over three hours!! A very frustrating experience. One of the lifts is down so the lines are exceptionally long.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Booking in advance carries a risk, too. What if you book for a day that it turns out to be pouring rain? You can't know that month in advance.
Posted by
West Islip, NY
15 posts
In my opinion nothing is worth waiting three hours for, not even the Eiffel Tower. We too tried the reservation system and could not get tickets for the time that we were there. Fortunately we are fit enough to climb the 700 steps (350 to first level, then rest, then 350 to second level) and waited in line for less than a half hour. Once you get to the second level you can buy another ticket (if you haven't bought a combo ticket at the bottom) to take the lift to the top. The out-of-order lift was supposed to be back up this weekend.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Like Al said, climb the stairs. I have climbed them a few years ago, before there was any reservation system in place . Arrived to a line for elevators that stretched well beyond a rope marker that said "wait time from this point 1. 5 hours" . My son and I decided to take stairs. Wait time, mid summer less then 20 minutes,, line for elevator about 2 hours. No contest.
Posted by
San Rafael, CA, USA
2 posts
Taking the stairs up the Eiffel Tower was exhilarating. We got there at 9:30am on 5/25/12 and stood in line for about half an hour to get tickets. We were on our way at around 10am. It was easier than I thought and the views were well worth the effort. You can buy a combo ticket (stairs to level 2 and elevator to level 3) at the ticket office down at the bottom. There is no need to wait till you get up to the second level to get the elevator ticket to level 3. The line to take the elevator for stair climbers is much shorter (i.e. no waiting) than for those who take the elevator up to the second level. We convinced a few Aussies in the elevator line to join us at the stairs and they seem very happy with their decision!
Posted by
Vacaville, Ca, Usa
3 posts
We just left Paris...there is only one working elevator at this time...so the lines were huge. We signed up for the behind the scenes tour and it was awesome! Even my teenage daughters loved it.
Posted by
Vacaville, Ca, Usa
3 posts
We just left Paris...there is only one working elevator at this time...so the lines were huge. We signed up for the behind the scenes tour and it was awesome! Even my teenage daughters loved it.