Eiffel Tower Weather: When to Go, Month by Month
Weather does not just decide whether you enjoy the visit here. It decides whether the top is open, when the lights come on and how long the queue is. Here is what each month actually does to a visit, and which Eiffel Tower evening tours suit which season.
What the weather does to a visit here
Three things, and only the first is about comfort.
The top closes. The tower shuts the summit in high wind and severe weather and says access may be restricted at peak times as well. The lower floors keep running in the rain. If you have booked the top and it shuts, most operators refund that portion of the fare — but the day is still changed.
Sunset moves more than four hours. Late December it is around 4.55pm; late June it is close to 9.55pm. The golden lighting comes on at nightfall on sensors, and the sparkle runs for the first five minutes of every hour after that, so the same booking is a daylight visit in one month and a night one in another.
Everything up there is outdoors. The platforms are open to the sky at 57, 115 and 276 metres. The monument’s own advice for the third floor is four words long: it is always windy.
The Eiffel Tower month by month
January
The quietest month on the tower and the earliest sparkle of the year. Sunset falls between about 5pm and 5.45pm, so a 4pm slot is already an evening visit. Cold and wind are the two things that close the top, and January carries more of both than any other month. Book the second floor and treat the top as a bonus.
February
Still short days — sunset moves from roughly 5.45pm to 6.25pm across the month — and still quiet on the platforms. The February school holidays are the one busy stretch, and they move each year. If the top matters to you, take a slot early in the day when the wind is usually lightest.
March
The clocks go forward at the end of the month and sunset jumps past 8pm overnight, which changes what an evening booking means. Queues start lengthening at weekends. This is the first month where a late-afternoon slot reliably gives you the city in daylight and then lit from the same platform.
April
Sunset runs from about 8.15pm to 9pm. The gardens under the piers come into leaf, which makes the walk in worth doing slowly. Easter fills the lifts for a fortnight, and the tower's own advice for the busy periods applies here: book as early as you can, and take an evening slot if you can choose.
May
One of the best months on the tower. Sunset reaches about 9.30pm, the monument's own hours often extend to 12.45am, and the terrace on the first floor opens. Long evenings mean the first sparkle is late, so a 7pm ascent still leaves you an hour of daylight before the lights come on.
June
Peak season begins and the tower switches to its summer hours from 12 June: 9am to 11.30pm rather than 9.30am to 10pm. Sunset is close to 9.55pm, the latest of the year. Top-floor slots sell out first and sunset slots go before those, so book the full 60 days ahead if you can.
July
The busiest month, the longest opening and the shortest patience in the queues. The champagne bar at the top runs to midnight in July and August. Note 14 July: the city fireworks are launched from the Champ-de-Mars, and the tower closes to visitors on the day of the display — in 2026 that was the 13th.
August
Sunset slips back from about 9.30pm to 8.35pm across the month, which brings the first sparkle forward with it. Paris empties of Parisians and fills with everyone else. The tower's own summer advice is the one to follow: come after 8pm, when the lifts thin out and the temperature drops.
September
The best month to come, on most measures. Sunset falls from about 8.20pm to 7.25pm, the crowds ease after the first week, and the weather is still reliable. The summer terrace hours revert on 31 August, and two rule changes land on the 29th — stairs tickets need booking, and groups can no longer buy at the desk.
October
The clocks go back at the end of the month and sunset drops to about 5.40pm, so an evening visit gets very much earlier very suddenly. Wind picks up along the Seine. Three of the seven Sunday closures on line 6 fall in October, which matters if Bir-Hakeim was your station.
November
Sunset between about 5.20pm and 4.55pm, and the tower lit for most of its opening hours. Genuinely quiet: this is the month to climb the stairs without a crowd behind you. Two more Sundays without Bir-Hakeim, and the highest chance of the year that the top is closed when you arrive.
December
The earliest sunset of the year, around 4.55pm, so almost every booking is an evening one. Christmas week fills the lifts again. Cold at ground level is one thing and cold at 276 metres is another entirely — the tower's own line about the third floor always being windy is at its most literal in December.
The seasons, and which one you want
| Season | Crowds | Sunset | Top-closure risk | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | Lowest | 4.55–6.25pm | Highest | Climbing the stairs without a crowd, and the lit tower from early afternoon |
| Spring (Mar–May) | Rising | 7–9.30pm | Moderate | The one ascent that gives you daylight and lights together |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | Highest | 8.35–9.55pm | Lowest | Late openings, the first-floor terrace and midnight at the champagne bar |
| Autumn (Sep–Nov) | Falling | 4.55–8.20pm | Rising | Reliable weather in September and near-empty platforms by November |
If you can choose freely, September is the month. The weather still behaves, the summer queues have gone, and sunset is late enough that a 7pm ascent gives you both versions of the city.
Best time of day
An hour before sunset, whatever the month. You go up in daylight, watch the light change from the platform, and come down under the golden lighting — one ticket, two cities. The tower’s own advice points the same way: after 8pm there are noticeably fewer visitors, and the final hour before closing is quieter still.
Mornings are the other good answer, and a different one. The 9.30am opening is the lightest queue of the day and usually the lightest wind, which makes it the slot to pick if the top is what you came for.
Booking around the light rather than the clock?
The evening tours are timed to put you on the platform as the lighting comes up, and one of them ends with a glass at the top.
When the top closes
There is no published wind threshold, and the decision is the operator’s on the day. What the record does show is a pattern: winter and late autumn carry the most closures, summer the fewest, and a bright cold day with a stiff northerly is more likely to shut the summit than a mild grey one.
Plan for it rather than against it. Book the second floor as the visit and the top as the upgrade, and check the cancellation line on your card — a few of the products listed here sit outside a free 24-hour refund, and on a windy week that matters.
Dress for it either way. Take a layer more than the street needs, in every month including July, because the top is open to the sky on one of its two levels and the wind runs unbroken across it. In winter add gloves: the handrails are iron and the sparkle is worth standing still for. If you are climbing, sensible shoes — there are about 674 steps in two flights and the descent is where people find out what their footwear is like.
Frequently asked questions
Does the weather close the Eiffel Tower?
What happens if the top is closed when you arrive?
Is it worth visiting the Eiffel Tower at night?
When does the Eiffel Tower sparkle?
How far ahead should you book?
Where to check these figures
Every figure above comes from the monument’s own published pages, listed below. Hours and rates move, so check yours before you travel.
The evening detail is on evening visits, what closes and when on the second floor and summit page, and every fare on Eiffel Tower Paris Tours.