Eiffel Tower summit tours take you to 276 metres with the top floor in the fare rather than as a checkout option, and the question is whether the extra €13.20 and the second queue are worth it.
Both upper levels in the fare, guided in English, from Rue de la Manutention. Two hours at the tower and the top floor to yourself afterwards. A final sale, so fix your date before you book.
From $129 per person
Final sale — this one is not refundable, so fix your date before you book.
Six people maximum and the top included outright. Gustave Eiffel's reconstructed office and the panoramic maps are part of the tour rather than something you find. The joint-highest rating captured here.
From $152 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Timed evening entry for six, both upper levels by lift, and a glass of champagne at 276 metres as the golden lighting comes on. The most expensive fare here, and the one people book for an occasion.
From $234 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Every fare that reaches each floor is compared on guided tours of the Eiffel Tower.
Every tour here includes the summit in the fare. On most Eiffel Tower tours it is an upgrade you tick at checkout, and it can be unavailable.
Check availabilityA tour that takes you to 276 metres, the third and highest level, in the fare rather than as an extra. That distinction is the whole point. Most guided ascents of this monument stop at the second floor and offer the top as a checkout option; the tours above do not.
The top is reached by two glass-walled lifts from the second floor, and it is a different building up there. Two levels, one open to the sky and one enclosed, 820 square feet in total. Gustave Eiffel's reconstructed office with its wax figures. The panoramic maps that give direction, distance and height for monuments around the world. A 1:50 model of the summit as it was built in 1889. And a champagne bar wedged into the structure itself.
Nothing to tick, nothing more to pay, and nothing that can be sold out separately when you get to the second floor. On the fares here the ascent to 276 metres is the product.
The lifts from the second floor to the top are a separate system with separate capacity, and that queue is the one travellers mention most. A guide who knows the timing is worth more here than on the ground.
Most people arrive at 276 metres, photograph Paris and leave. The office, the panoramic maps and the 1889 model are all up there and all easy to walk past.
Six travellers maximum on the small-group tour and on the evening one, on platforms narrow enough for that to matter.
This is the comparison that decides it, and the honest answer is not automatically the higher one.
| The summit, 276 m | The second floor, 115 m | |
|---|---|---|
| Official adult fare, by lift | €36.70 | €23.50 |
| Cheapest official route | €28.00 stairs then lift | €14.80 by stairs |
| Queues | Two — the second at 115 m | One, on the ground |
| Floor area | 820 sq ft | 4,692 sq ft |
| Closes in high wind | Yes | No |
| Wheelchair access | No | Yes, by lift |
| What you see | The whole basin of Paris | Named monuments, sharply |
| Best for | Anyone for whom the height is the point | Anyone for whom the view is |
The tower's own pages name what the second floor shows you: the Louvre, the Grand Palais, the bends of the Seine, Montmartre, Invalides and Notre-Dame. From 161 metres higher those become shapes. The full argument is in the guide to choosing between them.
You get the ticket to the top in the fare, a guide for the ascent, and free time on the platforms afterwards on every tour here. The small-group and evening tours cap the group at six, and the evening one adds a glass of champagne at the top.
You don't get a way past the security. Every visitor clears two checks whatever they hold, which is the monument's own rule and is set out on what to expect. You also do not get a guarantee that the top will be open: it closes in high wind and severe weather, and access can be restricted at peak times.
Price band. From about $129 to about $235, against an official lift-to-the-top ticket of €36.70. The spread is group size, the evening slot and the champagne.
Duration. One to two hours at the tower, and closer to three all in once the two security checks and the second lift queue are counted.
Booking window. Top-floor slots go first and sunset slots go before those. The monument's own lift tickets go on sale 60 days ahead; guided fares hold their own inventory, which is often the reason to use one.
Weather. Book a still morning rather than a windy evening if the top is non-negotiable. The weather page has the month-by-month picture.
The small-group tour caps at six and includes the summit outright, so there is nothing to tick and nothing that can sell out at 115 metres.
Check availabilityWheelchair users and anyone on crutches. The top is closed to you and the reason the tower gives is evacuation, which can be by stairs. A lift ticket to the second floor is the route, with priority access at the desks and the pillars — and the second floor is the better viewing platform in any case.
Families with young children. The extra floor is a second queue for a smaller, colder, windier platform. The first floor at 57 metres has the glass floor on it and every ticket reaches it.
Anyone counting the cost. A guided climb to the second floor is roughly a third of the price here, and the official stairs-then-lift ticket reaches the same 276 metres for €8.70 less than the all-lift route. The stairs tours are the page for that.
Anyone with an hour. The top is another hour once the second queue is counted. Take the second floor and spend the time on it.
The level-by-level detail is on the second floor and summit page, the closure risk by month on the weather page, and every fare on Eiffel Tower Paris Tours.