Climbing The Eiffel Tower: 674 Steps To The Top Of Paris
The Eiffel Tower, or Tour Eiffel is one of the most easily recognized landmarks in the world. The famous structure is the tallest building in Paris, standing at 1,063 feet, and receives over 6.98 million visitors per year. A lover of Paris, climbing the Eiffel Tower has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and this year I finally was able to cross it off my list!
The (dreaded) Lines
I won’t lie to you, the first time I visited Paris was in August-prime tourist season-and the line for the Eiffel Tower was at least 3 hours long. As my time in Paris was limited, I decided to skip the trip to the top and save it for next time, and boy am I glad I did. By some miracle, during my visit this March, I waited a grand total of 20 minutes.
Off season=no lines!
There are definitely benefits to traveling during the off season. Moral of the story: during prime tourist season, the lines WILL be long, but arriving early can help cut your wait time down. Additionally, the lines for the elevators tend to be much longer, so climbing the stairs will shave time off the wait.
Getting To The Top
There are two ways to get to the second floor of the tower, the stairs or the elevator. For those interested in getting the…um…full (and cheaper) experience, the stairs are the way to go! Climbers beware, there are 674 stairs separating you and the second floor, but you can rest after the first 300 steps on the first floor and take in the views before attempting the final 300. To reach the very top of the tower you must pay for an additional elevator ride all the way up.
Ticket Prices (for adults)
- Stairs to the second floor: 7 €
- Elevator to the second floor: 11 €
- Elevator to the top: 17 €
Check out the Eiffel Tower’s website for more information on discounted prices for people 12-24 years old, opening hours, or to purchase a ticket in advance.
The Climb
Climbing the stairs to the Eiffel tower was hands down one of the coolest experiences of my life. As it was off season, there weren’t many other climbers, so I had the stairs pretty much to myself. It was a really windy day when I visited, and even though I am not afraid of heights (and am from the Windy City, Chicago), the wind really did blow me away (pun intended). After climbing the first 300 stairs I quickly discovered that being freaked out by the strong gusts and nearly losing my scarf a few times was totally worth it. Even from the rest I took on the 1st floor I was awed by the amazing views of Paris the Eiffel Tower affords its visitors, and by the 2nd floor, I was absolutely astounded.
If you have ever been to Paris, you are probably aware of how vast the city is. However, the size of the city doesn’t quite sink in until you’ve seen it from above. As I stoop from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower staring out at the horizon, I felt as if I was looking out an ocean of historic buildings.
I could have stayed up there admiring the view forever, and would recommend leaving some time to casually walk around. However, after about 45 minutes the sky started looking scary, and I decided to head down. (Thank God I did because no less than 10 minutes later did it start to pour, then hail, then snow.)
Fortunately, the weather cleared up in time for me to return to the Eiffel Tower later that night to see it sparkle (it goes off every hour for 5 minutes).
Clearly, I had an amazing day climbing the Eiffel Tower, and seeing it at night really made the experience complete. I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone headed to Paris!
Is climbing the Eiffel Tower on your bucket list? Would you take the stairs or the elevator?
