Eiffel Tower tickets cost €36.70 (about $41) for an adult going to the summit by lift, €23.50 ($26) for the 2nd floor by lift and €14.80 ($16) if you climb the stairs to the 2nd floor, on the tower’s official site (prices checked October 2026). For a first visit, book the summit-by-lift ticket on ticket.toureiffel.paris as soon as sales open, 60 days before your date. If the official calendar is already full, this guided elevator tour with access to all three levels is the practical way up, at a higher price because you’re paying for the guide and the reserved access.
How much do Eiffel Tower tickets cost?
The tower sells four standard tickets, priced by how high you go and whether you climb. These are the official 2026 rates from the Eiffel Tower’s prices and times page, checked in October 2026.
| Ticket | Levels you reach | Adult (25+) | Youth (12-24) | Child (4-11) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit by lift | 1st floor, 2nd floor, summit | €36.70 ($41) | €18.40 | €9.20 |
| Stairs to 2nd floor + lift to summit | 1st floor, 2nd floor, summit | €28.00 ($31) | €14.00 | €7.00 |
| 2nd floor by lift | 1st and 2nd floor | €23.50 ($26) | €11.80 | €6.00 |
| 2nd floor by stairs | 1st and 2nd floor | €14.80 ($16) | €7.40 | €3.80 |
Children under 4 go free, and visitors with a disability get a reduced rate (€9.20 for the summit by lift). Every ticket includes the 1st floor, where the glass floor sits 57 meters (187 feet) above the ground. The summit is 276 meters (906 feet) up, and you always reach it by lift from the 2nd floor: the public stairs stop at the 2nd floor.
What a family pays: two adults, a 13-year-old and an 8-year-old pay €101 (about $112) for the summit by lift, €77 ($85) for the stairs plus the summit lift, or €64.80 ($72) for the 2nd floor by lift.
Prices for 2027: the tower has announced new prices for visits from January 11, 2027. Its 2027 price list puts the adult summit-by-lift ticket at €37.70, the stairs-plus-lift summit ticket at €28.80 and the stairs to the 2nd floor at €15.20. If you’re booking for January 2027 or later, the price at checkout is the one that applies.
Summit or 2nd floor: which ticket should you buy?
Buy the summit ticket if it’s your one visit to the tower and the forecast is clear. Buy the 2nd floor if you’re watching your budget, short on time or traveling in January. For an adult, the summit adds €13.20 to the lift ticket, and it adds a second lift ride with its own line at the 2nd floor.
Why the summit is worth it: it’s the highest point you can reach in Paris, with a 360-degree view, a Champagne bar and a reconstruction of Gustave Eiffel’s office. It’s the full experience, and on a clear evening it’s hard to beat.
Why the 2nd floor is often enough: you’re high enough to see the whole city but close enough to pick out the Seine bridges, the dome of Les Invalides and Sacré-Cœur on its hill. Many visitors find it the better level for photos, because from the summit Paris flattens into a map. The 2nd floor also has more room to move.
When the summit closes:
- Every January for maintenance. In 2026 it was closed from January 5 to February 6, according to the official notice. Plan on the 2nd floor if you travel then.
- In bad weather or heavy crowds. The top opens only when weather conditions and visitor numbers allow.
- In extreme heat. During a heatwave on August 14, 2026, visitors could go no higher than the 2nd floor, Sortiraparis reported.
If the summit closes on your day, the tower’s terms of sale refund only the difference between the summit and 2nd-floor prices, and you still get to the 2nd floor.
Our rule: book the summit if at least two of these are true: it’s your first visit, it’s April to December, you’re traveling without toddlers, and you’ll go on a day with a clear forecast. Otherwise the 2nd floor gives you most of the view for less.
Lift or stairs?
Take the stairs if you’re reasonably fit: the climb is 674 steps to the 2nd floor, and it saves €8.70 per adult whether you stop at the 2nd floor or continue to the summit by lift. For a family of four like the one above, the stairs-plus-lift ticket costs €24 less than going up by lift all the way.
The official stairs page says the climb suits everyone except parents with very small children or babies and visitors with reduced mobility. The site also says the summit and the stairs aren’t accessible to visitors with reduced mobility, so the 2nd floor by lift is the option for wheelchair users.
Two things changed in autumn 2026:
- Stairs tickets now need booking. The official price page says advance reservations are required for stairs tickets from September 29, 2026. Book online rather than counting on a walk-up stairs ticket.
- Stairs tickets open later than lift tickets: 14 days before the visit, against 60 days for the lifts. That makes the stairs a good fallback when lift tickets are gone.
When do Eiffel Tower tickets go on sale?
Lift tickets go on sale on the official site 60 days before the visit date, and stairs tickets 14 days before, according to the tower’s FAQ. The tower says summit lift tickets usually sell out very quickly once they’re released, so set a reminder for the day your date opens.
How to book on the official site:
- Type the address yourself: ticket.toureiffel.paris. The tower warns that fake ticket sites are promoted on search engines and AI platforms, and that it is the only seller of standard tickets for the ascent.
- Choose the ticket, date and time slot. Your time is for the lift or the stairs, so arrive early enough to clear the security check first.
- Enter each person’s age category. Youth and child rates need proof of age at the entrance.
- Pay and save the e-tickets. The tower recommends printing them at home, and a copy on your phone is a useful backup.
The online ticket office also sells same-day e-tickets while they last, and the ticket offices at the tower charge the same prices as the website. Groups of more than nine people, guide included, can no longer buy at the ticket office from September 29, 2026 and must book online, which matters for big family trips.
The tower’s FAQ says there’s no such thing as a skip-the-line ticket. A booked e-ticket gets you a time slot instead of the ticket-office line. Everyone, including tour groups, goes through the same security check.
Opening hours: the tower opens at 9:30 am every day. In late October 2026 the official calendar showed closing at 11 pm, with last ascents at 10:45 pm and the last lift to the summit at about 10:30 pm. Summer evenings run later. Check the calendar on the official site for your date.
What if Eiffel Tower tickets are sold out?
You still have options, roughly in this order:
- Check for the stairs. Stairs tickets open 14 days ahead, so they’re often still available after the lifts sell out, and the stairs-plus-lift ticket still reaches the summit.
- Check the official site again close to the date. Same-day e-tickets are sold while they last.
- Book a tour with reserved access. Tour operators book their own access, so a tour can have space on a day the official calendar is full. The Eiffel Tower summit with reserved access by elevator is built for exactly that situation. Expect to pay a lot more than the official price.
- Queue at the ticket office. It works on quiet days. At peak times you risk a long wait and no summit tickets.
- See the tower from somewhere else. The Arc de Triomphe rooftop faces the tower across western Paris and is covered by the Paris Museum Pass. Our Paris Museum Pass math shows when the pass pays off.
Are Eiffel Tower tours worth it?
A tour is worth it when official tickets are gone, when you want someone to explain how and why the tower was built, or when you’re bringing children who will enjoy the stories more than the queue. If you just want the view, the official ticket gets you the same levels for less.
We compared five Eiffel Tower tours on Viator in October 2026. The cards under the picks below show each tour’s current rating and starting price.
| Tour | How you go up | Format | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elevator tour with access to the summit, 2nd and 1st floors | Lift to all three levels | Guided group | A first visit without climbing |
| Summit small-group tour, max 6 people | Lift, summit included | Small group | A quieter, more personal tour |
| Climbing stairs experience with optional summit upgrade (City Wonders) | Stairs to the 2nd floor, lift to the summit if you add it | Guided group | Active travelers on a budget |
| Summit with reserved access by elevator | Lift, summit included | Reserved access | Dates when official tickets are sold out |
| Elevator reserved access with optional summit and Seine cruise | Lift to the 2nd floor, summit optional, plus a cruise | Combo | The tower and a river cruise in one booking |
Which Eiffel Tower tour to book
- Best overall: the elevator tour covering the summit, 2nd and 1st floors takes you to every level without climbing, with a guide for the history on the way.
- Best small group: the Eiffel Tower summit tour for six people at most is the one to pick if you want to ask questions and stay together in the crowds.
- Best budget: the stairs climb with an optional summit upgrade by City Wonders uses the cheaper stairs route, and you decide at booking whether to add the summit.
- Best combo: the elevator access with optional summit and a Seine cruise bundles the tower and a boat ride, which saves a second booking.
- Compare everything else: the full list of Eiffel Tower tickets and tours on Viator includes dinner, sunset and private options.
Book on ViatorParis: Eiffel Tower Summit Small-Group Guided Tour Max 6 People
Book on ViatorEiffel Tower Climbing Stairs Experience & Optional Summit Upgrade
Book on ViatorEiffel Tower Elevator Reserved access & Optional Summit & Cruise
Book on ViatorEiffel TowerBefore you book any tour, check which levels are included. Some include the summit only as an add-on, and the summit closures above apply to tours too. Our Viator vs GetYourGuide comparison explains how the two platforms handle cancellations and refunds.
Getting there and tips for the day
The closest stations are Bir-Hakeim (metro line 6), Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9) across the river, and Champ de Mars - Tour Eiffel on the RER C. The RER C is also the train to Versailles, so the tower and a Versailles day trip from Paris are easy to pair on the same line.
- Go early or late. The first slots after 9:30 am and the evening slots tend to be calmer than midday. After dark the tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of every hour, which is worth timing a night visit around.
- Eat on the tower if you want to splurge. Madame Brasserie is on the 1st floor, Le Jules Verne on the 2nd, and the Champagne bar at the summit. The official site sells tickets that bundle a meal with the ascent.
- Add a cruise after your visit. Bateaux Parisiens boats leave from the riverbank next to the tower, and this 1-hour Bateaux Parisiens sightseeing cruise is an easy way to rest your legs.
- Stay close if the tower is the point of your trip. The Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel is a short walk from the tower, which makes a late-night visit or an early slot easy.
- Keep your phone online. Your e-tickets, time slot and route all live on your phone, and Verizon’s TravelPass costs $12 a day per line abroad. A France eSIM from Airalo is set up before you fly: use code GUIDEZ15 at checkout if you’re new to Airalo, or GUIDEZ10 if you’ve bought from them before. Our Airalo vs local SIM vs roaming comparison runs the numbers.
If the Louvre is next on your list, our Louvre tickets guide covers its timed slots, entrances and the €32 non-EU price. For timed-entry tactics at other big sights, see our skip-the-line hacks for Europe. And for cafés, bakeries and neighborhoods to fill the rest of your Paris days, open Traveliri’s Paris map on Guidez, which is in Hebrew.
