Built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the Eiffel Tower rises 330 metres above the Champ de Mars in Paris — 10,100 tonnes of wrought iron that Gustave Eiffel's engineers bolted together in just over two years. More than seven million people pay to climb it each year, yet the experience shifts completely depending on whether you stop at the glass floor on the first level, the 115-metre second floor, or the 276-metre summit where a champagne bar opens when the wind allows. This guide covers what each level actually shows you, how lift and stair tickets differ in price and queue time, and where to stand for the postcard view without fighting the crowds at the base.
What to see at the Eiffel Tower — floors, summit, and the base
Walking beneath the four diagonal piers at ground level is free and underrated. You can watch the elevator cars climb inside the legs, hear the structure creak slightly in a stiff breeze, and grasp the sheer mass of iron that photographs flatten into a silhouette. Security for paying visitors funnels through the south or east pillar — follow your ticket's pillar assignment or you will queue twice.
The first floor at 57 metres holds a transparent glass floor section that makes even confident walkers hesitate, plus exhibits on the tower's construction and Gustave Eiffel's private apartment (visible but not open for casual wandering). Crowds thin here compared with the second floor, making it a good stop if someone in your group wants views without the summit wind.
Most ticket holders aim for the second floor at 115 metres, where the Seine curves past Île de la Cité, Sacré-Cœur sits on the Montmartre ridge, and the Arc de Triomphe aligns with the Champs-Élysées on clear days. Orientation panels name distant suburbs and help you pick out Les Invalides' golden dome and the Montparnasse Tower to the south. The Jules Verne restaurant occupies part of this level — diners with reservations use a separate entrance and elevator.
The summit adds 161 metres of height but not always 161 metres of new detail; on hazy days the second floor may be the smarter stop. When visibility is good, the upper platform feels exposed and noticeably colder, and the champagne bar becomes one of the highest drinking spots in Europe. After descending, spread a blanket on the Champ de Mars lawns for low-angle photos, or cross Pont d'Iéna to the Trocadéro Gardens for the classic frontal shot across the water.
Eiffel Tower tickets: lift vs stairs, prices, and booking
Official tickets sell only through the tower's website and on-site kiosks — ignore anyone offering skip-the-line passes on the pavement around the piers. Current lift prices typically run €17–€26 depending on how high you go: second floor by lift sits at the lower end, summit combinations at the upper end. Stair tickets to the second floor alone cost less and suit visitors who want exercise and a slower ascent up 674 steps.
Stairs are not a queue shortcut. Everyone passes the same airport-style security screening regardless of ticket type. From the second floor you can sometimes buy a summit supplement by lift if same-day slots remain, but summer visitors should book summit access when they purchase online — June through August slots disappear days ahead.
Timed entry windows are strict. Arrive within your slot; latecomers may need to rebook, and refunds are limited. Download or screenshot your QR code before you reach the crowded base, where mobile signal drops when thousands of phones search for data at once. Children, young visitors, and people with disabilities qualify for reduced official rates — check the tariff page the week you travel because prices adjust seasonally.
Restaurant bookings at Jules Verne are entirely separate from standard admission and require reservations weeks ahead for dinner service. Your ticket type determines which elevator bank you use; mixing up south and east pillars after a long wait is a common frustration. Large bags and suitcases face restrictions, so drop luggage at a station locker if you are travelling between Gare du Nord and the tower on the same afternoon.
Getting to the Eiffel Tower from central Paris
The tower stands at Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, between the École Militaire and the Seine in the 7th arrondissement. Bir-Hakeim on Metro line 6 is the most direct approach — exit toward the monument and follow foot traffic across Pont de Bir-Hakeim or along the river embankment. École Militaire on line 8 drops you at the park's southeast corner for a ten-minute walk across the lawns.
RER line C stops at Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel, useful when coming from Versailles-Rive-Gauche, Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame, or Musée d'Orsay without changing Metro lines. Batobus river shuttles pause at Port de la Bourdonnais in season, pairing naturally with an Orsay morning and tower afternoon on the same bank. Several bus routes serve the surrounding avenues, though walking from Saint-Germain-des-Prés takes 25 to 40 minutes along the Seine and costs nothing.
Taxis and ride-hail apps use designated drop zones near the base; expect congestion on summer evenings when the hourly light show pulls crowds onto the Champ de Mars. If you are combining the tower with the Louvre or Orsay, plan one riverbank per day — crossing Paris at rush hour twice eats time you could spend on the platforms.
Best time to visit the Eiffel Tower (and when to avoid it)
Opening hours run 9:00–23:45 daily, with last entry times shifting slightly by season — confirm on the official site the morning you go. The first timed slot after 9:00 consistently sees the shortest security lines outside midwinter. Sunset entry tickets sell out fastest: Haussmann rooftops turn gold, then on the hour after dark the tower runs a five-minute sparkle display that is a coordinated lighting programme, not thousands of bulbs flickering independently.
July and August midday waits without reservations can stretch past 90 minutes at security alone. April through June and September offer milder weather and shorter queues. Winter means cold wind on open platforms but often walk-up availability for second-floor tickets; fog can swallow the summit entirely, making a lower ticket the better value that day.
Rain rarely closes the tower, but low cloud cuts visibility enough that summit photos disappoint. If your booking is flexible and the forecast shows solid overcast, swapping to a clearer day often matters more than climbing an extra 161 metres into grey sky.
How long does the Eiffel Tower take?
Plan 1.5 to 2 hours for a standard lift visit to the second floor, including security, elevator waits, and time on the viewing deck. Add 30 to 45 minutes for the summit lift and upper platform. Exploring the first-floor glass floor and construction exhibits adds another 20 minutes. Stair climbers should budget 2 to 2.5 hours total — the climb itself takes 30 to 45 minutes each way for average fitness, with landings for rest and photos.
A relaxed half-day pairs the tower with a picnic on the Champ de Mars or a walk through the 16th arrondissement via Trocadéro. Stacking the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre on the same day works only if you accept museum fatigue; both deserve fresh attention. The Musée du Quai Branly sits a short riverside walk away and fits neatly into a west-bank afternoon without a Metro ride.
Why Gustave Eiffel built it: the real story
Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier sketched the original lattice design; Gustave Eiffel bought the patent and championed a structure meant as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair, marking the centennial of the French Revolution. Parisian artists and writers attacked it as an ugly factory chimney — a petition signed by Guy de Maupassant and Alexandre Dumas fils called for its removal. Construction crews assembled prefabricated iron pieces on site in just over two years, proving industrial engineering could be spectacle as much as sculpture.
The tower was scheduled for demolition after 20 years, but its usefulness as a radio transmission mast saved it. It carried early radio broadcasts and later television experiments; during the First World War, equipment at the top jammed German communications. Today crews repaint the iron on a seven-year cycle using roughly 60 tonnes of paint in three shades officially called "Eiffel Tower brown" to sharpen the silhouette against the Paris sky.
First-floor exhibits include historic photographs of workers on girders without modern harnesses — a stark contrast with today's guardrails and glass elevators. Standing on the second floor, you are inside a piece of living infrastructure, not just a viewpoint bolted onto a city.
Eiffel Tower photography tips and where to stand
The classic frontal composition sits at the Trocadéro Gardens across the Seine — arrive at dawn on a weekday for empty fountains in the foreground. Pont d'Iéna at blue hour frames the tower between bridge lamps and water reflections. On the Champ de Mars, walk toward the École Militaire end of the park for low-angle shots that emphasize the piers converging upward.
From the second-floor platform, a telephoto lens picks out Notre-Dame's reconstruction scaffolding, the Pantheon dome, and on exceptional days the hills beyond Versailles. Drone flights over the tower require permits and are illegal for casual visitors; ground-level photography for personal use faces no restriction. The sparkle display photographs best from outside the structure — on the hour after dark, set a tripod on the lawns rather than fighting for railing space on the crowded summit.
Inside the tower, wide-angle lenses distort the lattice; mid-range focal lengths capture the ironwork detail more honestly. Agree a meeting point at a specific pier before splitting up on busy platforms — mobile reception on upper levels degrades when networks saturate during peak season.
