The Best Way to Experience the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is the most romantic icon of the world and a spot you can’t miss in Paris. To fully experience the Eiffel tower without stress, follow these tips, and there are a few reservations you need to make first too. Make your reservations below as soon as possible before your trip. (This post in not sponsored, all opinions are my own)

When to go: The best time to go to Paris is in November or during springtime. We were there at the beginning of June and the weather was still nice to walk around in. You’ll often hear that you need to visit the Eiffel tower at night. While you definitely must see the Eiffel tower glittering at night, this special effect is on the outside of the tower, so I recommend exploring the interior of the Eiffel tower in the day time and finding a view of it from nearby streets at night during the glitter hours, or on a Seine River Cruise which I will talk about below (highly recommended). Most likely you will see the Eiffel Tower many times on your trip in passing.

Take account of jet lag when you plan your visit. We made the mistake of taking our kids to experience the Eiffel Tower on the first day in Paris. They were extremely tired and fell asleep on the bench when we reached the top of the Eiffel. It was still a great time, but if I did it all over again I would have went one day later.

Before you go– Go to https://www.toureiffel.paris/en and make a reservation to ride the elevator up to the summit (very top) of Eiffel tower. This is also the website to make restaurant reservations on the tower. Even if you book dining on the tower, you’ll still need a separate ticket to reach the summit.

Possible Itinerary for the full Eiffel Tower Experience:

1. Get pictures done first– Start the morning as early as you can with a professional photographer at Jardins du Trocadero for 3O minutes for family photos. This is the best spot for photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Your photographer might decide to walk to the river from there for more photos. The ideal time would be 8-9am before it gets crowded here. By getting great family photos with the Eiffel Tower out of the way, you can enjoy the rest of your time there without worrying about pictures. To find a photographer you can do a search on instagram. This was how we found @myparisphoto (not sponsored). A 30 minute session was all the time my family could have patience for and the photos turned out great. From there we proceeded to walk to the Eiffel tower.
2. Eat on the Eiffel Tower– We made reservations for Madame Brasserie, which is on the first floor of the tower. Making a restaurant reservation allows you to have priority access while in line to enter the grounds for the Eiffel tower. There’s a special spot in line right up front for those dining at Madame Brassiere or the Jules Verne. By making a dining reservation, you’ll also have a separate crowd free elevator that takes you up the tower.
3. Take the elevator from the first or second floor all the way to the top. You do not need to go back down to the first floor. See my “Before you Go” section above for info on prior reservations.
4. In the evening, take the Seine cruise for the best evening view. We took the last cruise of the day from Vedettes du Pont Neuf by the Louvre. I love how they timed it so that they Eiffel tower started glittering when when the boat was in front of it. Bring a jacket. It was cold on the boat at night with the wind.

Don’t forget to read our Louvre article.