. Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower: What the Queue Doesn’t Tell You

Gustave Eiffel won the right to build his tower over fierce opposition from artists and intellectuals who called it a “blot on the cityscape” and a “hollow candlestick.” Guy de Maupassant reportedly ate lunch in the tower’s restaurant daily because it was the one place in Paris from which you couldn’t see the thing. The tower was supposed to be dismantled after 20 years when its radio transmission utility saved it. Eiffel died in 1923, still proud of the structure that had been called a catastrophe from the day it opened in 1889.

None of this context appears in the standard tourist experience, which is largely about queuing. The summit access by elevator now costs around €36.70 for adults, with second floor elevator access at €29.40 and stairs to the second floor at €11.80. Prices went up roughly 7-12 percent in 2026 due to ongoing renovation costs. Book on the official site (toureiffel.paris) up to 60 days ahead; timed entry tickets sell out completely during summer. The walk-up queue for same-day tickets is not a reliable plan between June and September.

What You’re Actually Visiting

The tower is 330 metres tall and made of 7,300 tonnes of iron - not steel, which was not yet used in large-scale construction in 1887 when fabrication began. The iron expands and contracts with temperature, meaning the summit can move up to 18 centimetres during hot days. This is not an accident of design but a calculated allowance.

The first floor (57 metres) has a glass floor section you can walk over, looking straight down to the Champ de Mars. People react more strongly to this than expected; the glass is 12mm thick and load-tested to 6.6 tonnes, but none of that information prevents the involuntary hesitation stepping onto it.

The second floor (115 metres) has the better practical views for photography: close enough that the Seine and Haussmann’s grid are clear, high enough to lose the tourist infrastructure at ground level. The Jules Verne restaurant on the second floor is Michelin-starred and gets booked weeks in advance; the menu is around €130-180 for lunch, considerably more at dinner. It is one of the stranger fine-dining experiences available, eating in a landmark building that’s simultaneously being experienced by several thousand other people.

The summit (276 metres) has views extending 70km on clear days. On overcast days, you are inside cloud. Worth it anyway.

The Surrounding Area

Champ de Mars, the park stretching south from the tower, is where Parisians actually use this part of the 7th arrondissement. Picnicking here in the evening with wine and cheese from any neighbourhood cave à manger is legitimate and cheap. The tower’s light show starts at dusk and runs on the hour until 1am; from the grass, with no ticket required, this is one of the better free things you can do in Paris.

Palais de Chaillot, across the Seine on Trocadero hill, has the most famous postcard view of the tower. Every photographer working with the tower as background wants that angle. Go at dawn if you want it without crowds; by 9am it’s shoulder-to-shoulder.

Musée du Quai Branly, a 10-minute walk along the river, holds one of the world’s significant collections of non-Western art. The building itself, designed by Jean Nouvel with a vertical garden facade, is worth seeing. Entry is €12.

Getting There

Metro lines 6 and 9 both stop nearby (Trocadéro or Bir-Hakeim). RER C stops at Champ de Mars - Tour Eiffel. The 15-minute walk from Ecole Militaire is straightforward. Arriving by bike along the Seine cycle path is the most pleasant option if you have one.

Where to Stay

Shangri-La Paris at 10 Avenue d’Iéna has Eiffel Tower views from rooms facing the Seine and costs accordingly: from €800 a night. The rooms are worth the price if that’s your budget, though the view from Trocadero at dawn costs nothing.

More practically: Hotel du Champ de Mars (7 Rue du Champ de Mars) is a family-run hotel in a good location, rooms from €150. Hotel Eiffel Trocadero on Rue Benjamin Franklin is comparable quality. Budget travellers are better off in the Marais or near Bastille and taking the Metro, since 7th arrondissement budget options don’t really exist.

Le Jules Verne vs. Eating Elsewhere

The debate about whether to eat in the tower is usually decided by budget. If you’re spending €150 per person on dinner, Jules Verne is an extraordinary room and the food is competent. If you’re not, the 7th arrondissement has better restaurants per euro outside the tower. Le Café de Mars (11 Rue Augereau, around €35-50 for dinner) and Chez l’Ami Jean in the same neighbourhood (around €40-60) will outperform anything you’d eat in the tower at similar price points.