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05/25/17
The Eiffel Tower offers spectacular views of Paris.
These five tips will secure you a spot at the top of Paris' most famous landmark.
If you’ve never been to Paris before, or even if you have, you need to visit the Eiffel Tower, at least once. It may seem touristy and cliched but once you reach the top of this iconic steel wonder, you'll see why it's the most visited paid monument in the world. Unfortunately, the wait to get in can take hours. And since you don’t want to waste your day standing in line, here's how to skip it.
1. Buy Tickets In Advance
Anyone can purchase tickets via the official Eiffel Tower website up two months in advance, choose a specific entry time, and decide if you want to go all the way to the summit ($19, or €17) or just to the 2nd floor ($12, or €11). Just beware because tickets sell out quickly and if you’re more than 30 minutes late to your reservation, you lose your spot.
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2. Eat a Meal
For multitaskers, consider booking a lunch or dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Whether you choose the informal 58 Tour Eiffel on the first level or the formal dining experience at Le Jules Verne on the second level, you'll get to skip the line because they have separate entrances. Meal prices range from $48 to $260 (€42.50 to €230).
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3. Buy A Package Through The Paris Tourism Office
Because Paris is a walkable city filled with hidden charms and sights, it can feel a bit overwhelming planning a sightseeing itinerary. That’s why The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau created the Paris Passlib available for one, two, three or five days. The package includes things like a one-hour boat cruise and one-day bus tour, but also, for an additional $17, you can get access to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower without the wait. Packages start at $45 (or €40).
4. Book A Tour
Using a private tour operator on any vacation can be helpful with organizing and planning a trip. They also can help you skip lines at attractions. Companies offer comprehensive France itineraries where a visit to the Eiffel Tower without lines is included. Fat Tire Tours advertises their “Skip the Line” tour where you get access to all three levels, and City Wonders has a “Guided Eiffel Tower Tour” available that lets you walk straight to the front of the line with a local expert.
5. Take The Stairs
While everyone else is rushing the elevator, you can put in a little leg work by climbing the stairs to the first (330 steps) or second level (670 steps). From those points, you can take the elevator up to the next level where you’ll only wait a matter of minutes rather than hours. Stair tickets are only $8 and one writer said it was one of the best experiences of her trip. Extra bonus? You get to burn off your morning pain au chocolat.
One of the covered passages in Paris.
Hidden cafes, secrets passages, or simply must-see attractions.
How well do you know Paris?
1st arrondissement: Head inside the Louvre
You'd be hard pressed to find more beautiful building interiors - forget about the permanent collection.
2nd arrondissement: Wander through the Galerie Vivienne (also pictured above)
These are some of the best hidden gems of Paris. There used to be up to 150 covered passages in the golden age in the 19th century, now there are about a dozen.
3rd arrondissement: Eat at Le Marché des Enfants Rouges
It's a beautiful market that's very local, with all kinds of international dishes. You can't go wrong for Lebanese or Middle Eastern food.
4th arrondissement: Go inside the Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church
This church, right next to the Saint-Paul Metro stop, is a treasure trove of little historical details.
5th arrondissement: See the Roman ruins
The old bath houses next to the Cluny museum are fantastic and they're about 1900 years old. You've gotta check them out.
6th arrondissement: Grab a drink at the Café Procope
It's the very first café in Paris, founded in 1686, and offers unmissable French revolution memorabilia upstairs.
7th arrondissement: Take in La Fontaine de Mars
It's a beautiful little fountain on Rue Saint-Dominique dedicated to Mars, the god of war. And it's just down the road from the Eiffel Tower. Can't find it? It's right night to a cafe of the same name.
A picture of the fountain on a 1910 postcard. Photo:WikiCommons
8th arrondissement: Find the hidden café at the Petit Palais
A lot of people don't know that entry is free, and the trick here is to go into the interior courtyard where's a great little café. It's one of my best unknown coffee hotspots in Paris.
9th arrondissement: Visit the Opera house
It's only €11 to get in and you're free to roam about. You've got chandeliers, painted ceilings, marble staircases, and the origins of the Phantom of the Opera.
10th arrondissement: Stroll along the Canal Saint-Martin
It's always described as up and coming, but it has arrived now. Have a coffee at Ten Belles cafe.
11th arrondissement: Have a coffee at the cat café (Cafe des chats)
A new one in Bastille. It's a working café with house cats, you have your coffee and a crumpet with little cats playing around. It's great for families bringing kids to Paris.
12th arrondissement: Walk the Promenade plantée
Former elevated railway track that's now a walk stretching out into the 12th - and no tourists ever find it. It's very nice for a date.
13th arrondissement: Eat Chinese food at Chinatown
Head to the south eastern part of the 13th for the best Chinese food in town, it's fantastic.
14th arrondissement: Head into Catacombs
You've got to do the catacombs. When you pay as a tourist there's a mile's worth of tunnels - but there's actually around 200 miles around Paris.
15th arrondissement: Check out the Unesco Building
The headquarters of Unesco has beautiful gardens and impressive architecture - and a lot of people don't realize it. Ok, the building is technically on the border of the 15th and 7th, but that doesn't mean you should miss it!
16th arrondissement: Enjoy Hector Guimard's architecture
Guimard did all art nouveau, cast iron Metro stations. He was prolific for his buildings in the 16th, wander around and check out his art nouveau architecture. Start with Castel Béranger.
17th arrondissement: Take a stroll at Parc Monceau
It's such a local park, and it's so clean and full of families. It's extraordinary.
18th arrondissement: See Picasso's old studio
You can stand in front of Le Bateau-Lavoir and know that Picasso's artistic career started there. You can't go inside, but you can stand in a cute little square out the front and contemplate being in the footsteps of one of the greats.
19th arrondissement: Experience the Bassin de la Villette
Check out the boats anchored on the canal there, the "péniches", some of which are restaurants, cafes, some are bookshops, just walk up and down along the waterside.
20th arrondissement: Take in the Père Lachaise cemetery
It's like an outdoor sculpture gallery over 100 acres. You'll see all the famous tombs - Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrisson, Edith Piaf - but it's like a park too. Some people call it the 21st arrondissement.
Here's a map of all the attractions:
