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My girlfriend and I will be in Paris for a weekend in late June. We have been unable to buy an online ticket for the Eiffel Tower, so we would like to go there early in the morning to avoid having to wait in line too long. Since it's a Saturday in summer, we think it will probably be quite busy that day.

Considering the fact that it opens at 9:30AM, we think it'll be good to arrive there before 9AM, and be among the first to enter.

Has anybody done this before? Did this trick work, or are there usually long lines already in the morning? In case this won't work, is there anything else that will?

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You can queue for the lifts, however this is not your best bet (unless you have difficulty with stairs.) There are two better options...What I would suggest (and what I do whenever I take people there) is:

  • Queue at the Pillar Sud from 8:40 or 8:45 for it to open at 9:00
  • Pay under €5.00 for a ticket to walk up to level 2 - this is quite exciting in itself
  • On level 2 pay about €5.00 for a ticket to the top. The queue here will be only a couple of minutes so you'll be at the top before 10. Folks queueing from 9 on the ground will still be on the ground!

Then check out level 1 and 2 on your descent - much more relaxed.

Update as per your comment If you really don't wan't to queue, the only option is to buy lift tickets online. This then means you don't need to queue at the kiosk, but there is still a small queue at the lift. You miss out on the climb, but to be fair, you can still walk down if you want - so you can still enjoy the view out through the girders.

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  • Woah, that sounds great. :) Have you done it this way yourself?
    – Lee White
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 10:38
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    I have done that, and while the queues on level 2 to get a ticket, and then to get to the lift still took roughly an hour, at least we had a nice view. One extra bit of info is that you don't have to walk down the stairs; the lift seems to take everyone back to the ground, even with a stairs-only ticket.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 11:06
  • Yes - done this 3 times now, and at that time of the morning the queue is pretty short. Never had it more than about 10 minutes. And as OR said, the view is lovely
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 12:51
  • In your third bullet point, is the ticket from level 2 to the top? Just want to be clear I understand the difference between what you're suggesting and OP's original idea.
    – starsplusplus
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 13:14
  • Yep - there are no other levels in between:-)
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 18:13
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I went after dark. The line was short, the tower wasn't crowded, and the city looked amazing. I only went to the second level; I'm not sure if the top level was open or not.

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