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Eiffel Tower Paris Tours › 10 Things to Do Near the Eiffel Tower, and What Each One CostsUpdated 2026-09-09

10 Things to Do Near the Eiffel Tower, and What Each One Costs

Hours, prices and access verified by the Eiffel Tower Paris Tours team — last checked 2026-09-09

An open golf cart parked on a cobbled Paris street, the Eiffel Tower at the end of the road between stone apartment buildings

The short answer. Four of the best things near the Eiffel Tower cost nothing: the gardens under the piers, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro gardens and the Île aux Cygnes. Beyond those, you have the Musée du quai Branly (€14), the Aquarium de Paris, two museums in the Palais de Chaillot, a one-hour Seine boat from Port de Suffren (€21) and Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides (€17).

The ten, side by side

Four are free, and the paid ones do not share a closing day, so no day of the week is a bad one to be here. Prices are the adult rate each place publishes.

Things to do near the Eiffel Tower: cost and closing day, 2026
StopSide of the riverAdult priceOpenClosed
The gardens under the towerLeft BankFreeThe tower's hours—
The Champ de MarsLeft BankFree24 hours (Sep–Oct 2026)—
The Trocadéro gardensRight BankFree24 hours (Sep–Oct 2026)—
The Île aux CygnesMid-riverFree24 hours (Sep–Oct 2026)—
Aquarium de ParisRight Bank€27.50 at the tillSee the aquarium’s calendarSee the calendar
Musée de l’HommeRight Bank€12–15Every day but TuesdayTuesdays
Cité de l’architectureRight Bank€1311:00–19:00, Thu to 21:00Tuesdays
Musée du quai BranlyLeft Bank€1410:30–19:00, Thu to 22:00Mondays
Les Invalides (Musée de l’Armée)Left Bank€17Every day, 10:00–18:00—
Vedettes de Paris cruiseLeft Bank quay€21 (€18 online)See the timetableSee the timetable
Going up as well? Book your slot first and fit the rest around it. The guided climb with an optional summit takes two hours and leaves you the afternoon.

The free four

1. The gardens under the tower

You can walk the gardens and the esplanade beneath the piers without a ticket. Every floor of the tower is ticketed, though, so standing underneath is free and going up is not. The tower’s own hours and rates decide when you can be there.

2. The Champ de Mars

The park behind the tower was laid out in 1908 by the architect Jean-Camille Formigé, with a formal French garden down the middle. The Champ de Mars is open 24 hours a day through September and October 2026. If you have children with you, there is a playground, a Guignol puppet theatre and pony rides. Some paths and lawns are being renovated.

3. The Trocadéro gardens and the Warsaw fountain

Across the Pont d’Iéna, the Trocadéro gardens keep the layout of 1937. Their centrepiece is the Warsaw fountain, built that year for the international exhibition and still the largest fountain in Paris: twenty oblique water cannons throw jets 50 metres. The basin is lit in the evening, and the gardens are open 24 hours through October 2026.

The tower names the Trocadéro and the Champ de Mars as the two best places to watch the lights come on. The sparkle runs for the first five minutes of every hour after nightfall. When the golden lighting comes on changes by season, so check it before you pick a time.

Did you know? The Île aux Cygnes is not a natural island. It was built in 1825, is 850 metres long and only 11 metres wide.

4. The Île aux Cygnes and its Statue of Liberty

A walk down the middle of the Seine, from the Pont de Grenelle to the Pont Bir-Hakeim, along a tree-lined path. At the Grenelle tip stands a bronze replica of Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty, given by the American community in Paris and inaugurated in 1889. It is open 24 hours. Check the dated closures around the tower before a Sunday visit, as the Bir-Hakeim metro station shuts on selected Sundays.

Museums across the river at the Trocadéro

5. The Aquarium de Paris

Set into the Trocadéro gardens at 5 avenue Albert de Mun, it holds more than 13,000 fish and what it calls the largest medusarium in Europe. At the till you pay €27.50 as an adult (13+) and €20.50 for a child aged 3 to 12; under-3s go free. Online is often cheaper, and till tickets cannot be refunded. On Saturdays it reopens from 7pm to 9pm, a glass of champagne included, for €30.50. If you are bringing a family, read the tower with children as well.

6. The Musée de l’Homme

The museum of humankind sits in the Palais de Chaillot at 17 Place du Trocadéro. It opens every day except Tuesday, and tickets run from €12 to €15.

7. The Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine

In the other wing of the same building. It opens 11am to 7pm, until 9pm on Thursdays, and closes on Tuesdays. A full ticket costs €13; if you are under 25 and from outside the EU, you pay €10. The second floor of the murals and stained-glass gallery is closed for renovation. The nearest metro stops are Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9) and Iéna (line 9).

Museums on the tower’s own bank

8. The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac

One ticket covers the permanent collections and the temporary exhibitions: €14 full, €11 reduced. On the first Sunday of each month it is free, but you still need a timed ticket. It opens 10:30am to 7pm, until 10pm on Thursdays, and closes on Mondays except in the short school holidays.

9. Les Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb

The Musée de l’Armée, at 129 rue de Grenelle, sells a museum and exhibitions ticket for €17 (€12 reduced). It covers the permanent collections, the church of the Dome and the tomb of Napoleon I. You can go any day from 10am to 6pm, and on the first Friday of each month there is a late opening from 6pm to 10pm for €10. If you plan to see the Musée Rodin too, the combined ticket is €26 instead of €30 and stays valid for three months.

Want to see the Left Bank sitting down?

Private Golf Cart Tour: Paris Landmarks & Hidden Gems meets at Place Vauban, beside Les Invalides. You get two hours in a private cart, from $93 a person.

Check availability

10. The Seine, from the quay below the tower

You do not need to go far for a boat. Vedettes de Paris sails from Port de Suffren, at the foot of the tower: a one-hour guided cruise costs €21, or €18 as a web exclusive, and a one-hour champagne cruise €32.

If you want the tower and the river in one booking, Eiffel Tower Tour with Optional Summit and Seine River Cruise pairs a guided second-floor visit with a commented cruise, in two hours to two and a half. The other Eiffel Tower and Seine cruise tours are set out side by side.

How do you cover the area in one go?

Ten stops on foot is a long day. If you would rather be guided:

  • By bike. Four hours, at most twelve riders, from Place Saint-Michel. Your bike and helmet come with it.
  • By private golf cart. Two hours from Place Vauban.
  • On foot. Four to five hours, at most fifteen people, from Anvers metro. Entry tickets are not included.

Each of these sits alongside the Eiffel Tower tours and tickets we list, and if you would rather build the day yourself, there is a one-day plan around the tower.

Match the closing days to your tower slot. The quai Branly shuts on Mondays; the Musée de l’Homme and the Cité shut on Tuesdays. If your tower visit falls on one of those days, pick the stops that stay open.

Frequently asked questions

What can you do near the Eiffel Tower for free?
Walk the gardens and esplanade under the tower, which cost nothing even though every floor is ticketed. Picnic on the Champ de Mars, stand by the Warsaw fountain in the Trocadéro gardens, or walk the Île aux Cygnes to its Statue of Liberty. The Musée du quai Branly is free on the first Sunday of each month, with a timed ticket.
Which museums near the Eiffel Tower close on Mondays or Tuesdays?
The Musée du quai Branly closes every Monday, except in the short school holidays. The Musée de l’Homme and the Cité de l’architecture both close on Tuesdays. The Musée de l’Armée at Les Invalides opens every day, 10am to 6pm.
Can you take a boat from the Eiffel Tower?
Yes. Vedettes de Paris sails from Port de Suffren, at the foot of the tower: a one-hour guided cruise costs €21, or €18 online, and a champagne cruise €32. A guided visit to the second floor with a Seine cruise ticket runs two hours to two and a half.
What is there to do near the Eiffel Tower in the evening?
Watch the sparkle, the first five minutes of every hour after nightfall, from the Trocadéro or the Champ de Mars. The quai Branly stays open until 10pm on Thursdays and the Cité until 9pm. The aquarium opens 7pm to 9pm on Saturdays, and Les Invalides 6pm to 10pm on the first Friday of the month.

Filling the hours around the tower? These cover the neighbourhood by bike, on foot or in front of a camera, and each one leaves you near the piers when it ends. Every way up the tower is on Eiffel Tower Paris Tours.

Ways to see the area around the tower