🇫🇷Eiffel Tower Guide 2026: Ticket Types, Best Photo Spots and When to Go
Lift or stairs, second floor or summit, and what each costs. Plus the quietest hours, the four best places to photograph the tower, and the hotels with a tower view.
2026-08-13
The Eiffel Tower stands 312 metres tall in the 7th arrondissement, was completed in 1889, and is lit until 1am (2am in summer), with a five-minute sparkle on the hour.
Going up is only one way to experience it. This guide covers the summit, the photo spots, the hotels with tower views, and eating in the tower.
Which ticket to buy
The tower has three levels. Ground to second floor is stairs (674 steps) or lift; second floor to the summit is lift only.
| Ticket | Adult | Youth 12–24 | Child 4–11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit, lift + lift | €36.70 | €18.40 | €9.20 |
| Summit, stairs + lift | €28.00 | €14.00 | €7.00 |
| Second floor, lift | €23.50 | €11.80 | €6.00 |
| Second floor, stairs | €14.80 | €7.40 | €3.80 |
The summit lift-and-lift ticket is the one to buy unless you specifically want the stair climb. Under-4s go free.
Eiffel Tower summit ticket with priority access
GetYourGuide · from €36.70
Official-site holders queue at the green flag; on-the-day buyers at the yellow; stair climbers at the blue
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Opening hours: generally from 9:15 until around midnight, but your ticket has a specific time slot — that's what matters.
When it's quietest
Official visitor data puts 11am–5pm as the busiest window, 5–8pm slightly better, and 9–11am and 8–10:30pm as the quietest. July and August are the busiest months of the year; January, February, October and November the calmest.
How much time to allow: at least 1.5 hours for the second floor by lift, 2.5 hours for the summit. Add 30–45 minutes if you're taking the stairs. You queue again between the second floor and the summit, so allow extra in high season.
At the entrance: arrive 15 minutes early and carry ID. Both the East and South entrances work; South is usually quieter. There's no bag storage, non-folding pushchairs aren't allowed (folding ones are), and glass bottles and cans are prohibited.
The four best places to photograph it
- Palais de Chaillot terrace (métro Trocadéro) — across the Trocadéro Gardens, directly facing the tower. The classic shot.
- Pont d'Iéna — the bridge straight in front, with a carousel at each end to include in frame.
- Pont de Bir-Hakeim (métro Bir-Hakeim) — the Inception bridge. The arches make a natural frame.
- Champ de Mars — the lawn on the south-east side. Good for picnics and for getting the whole tower in one shot.
Hotels with a tower view
- Closest: the hotels immediately south of the tower, five minutes' walk, with the widest choice of view rooms.
- Best value: near the Champ de Mars, about 15 minutes on foot.
- Further but higher: the 17th arrondissement, around 1.5 km from the Arc de Triomphe — the higher the floor, the better.
Hotels with Eiffel Tower views
Booking · from €180
Request a tower-view room in the booking notes — not every room in these hotels has one
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Eating in the tower
Two restaurants: Madame Brasserie on the first floor (about €70 a head at lunch, €130 at dinner) and Le Jules Verne on the second (€200+). Both have their own entrance and lift, but a reservation does not let you visit the rest of the tower — you'd need a separate ticket for that. The views from the tables are good enough that most people don't mind.
Back to the Paris travel guide for the seven half-day routes.