What to Expect at the Eiffel Tower: Security, Queues and Your Ticket Time

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

Two security checks, a luggage rule with no workaround, two kiosk colours nobody explains, and a ticket time that does not mean what most people assume. In the order you will meet them — and where the small-group Eiffel Tower tours change the picture.

Two security checks, not one

The first is at the entrance to the site, before you are even under the tower. The second is at the pillar, before you board a lift or start the stairs. Both are compulsory, both apply to everybody, and the monument runs them under the national Vigipirate plan at its heightened level.

Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the first one. That is the tower’s own figure and it is the number worth planning around.

What you cannot bring in

Anything that could be used as a weapon is refused, and the definition is broader than people expect — a pocket knife counts, and the teams cannot hold it for you while you visit. The published list also covers large bags and luggage, drones, glass objects, non-folding strollers, walking sticks and padlocks.

Think about your bag before you leave. There is no way to fix this at the gate.

There is nowhere to leave a bag

There are no lockers, no storage and no cloakroom in or near the Eiffel Tower. A luggage sizer at the security check sets the limit and anything over it does not come in.

This is the one that ruins last days in Paris. People check out of a hotel, wheel a suitcase to the Champ de Mars and are turned round at the gate. Leave it at your hotel or a station left-luggage office first — and if your day is tight, the map page has the stations within a short ride.

What the time on your ticket actually means

It is the time you must already be beneath the tower, standing in the queue for visitors with tickets. It is not the time to arrive at the entrance, and it is not a grace period.

So work backwards. Ticket time, minus 15 to 20 minutes for the entry security, minus however long it takes you to get there. Bring some ID for everyone in the party, children included, because each e-ticket is personal and can be checked.

Green kiosk, blue kiosks

Once you are through the first check and onto the esplanade, the colour tells you where your ticket belongs. Green is the lift. Blue is the stairs. That is the whole system, and knowing it saves you joining the wrong queue under a tower that does not signpost it in English.

Put together, the visit runs like this, and the times are the tower’s own:

Step	Where	Allow
1. Arrive at entry 1 or entry 2	South or east side	—
2. First security check	At the entrance to the site	15–20 min
3. Walk in through the gardens	The Belle Époque parterres	5 min
4. Find your kiosk	Green for the lift, blue for the stairs	—
5. Your ticket time	You must already be in the ticketed queue	the time on the ticket
6. Second security check	At the pillar, before boarding	varies
7. Up to the second floor	Lift or 674 steps	lift minutes, stairs 30–45 min
8. The second queue, if you booked the top	On the second floor, at 115 m	the wait travellers mention most

“Skip the line” — what it does and does not mean here

It is worth being straight about this, because it is one of the most searched phrases about this monument and the answer is not the one the phrase implies. Nobody skips the security checks. The tower says so plainly: all visitors, whether they bought in advance or are buying on site, go through both.

Some of the guided departures listed here name “skip the line” in their own exclusions, which is unusually honest of them. What a pre-booked, timed ticket does buy is real, and it is the ticket desk: the queue that catches people out is the one to buy, and a booked ticket removes it entirely. That is why the reserved-access products are the ones travellers describe as smooth.

Want the ticket bought and timed before you arrive?

That is the difference the reserved-access tours actually sell, and it is the queue worth removing. The security check is the same for everyone.

See Eiffel Tower tours Compare Eiffel Tower guided tours

If the top is closed when you arrive

It happens. The top shuts in high wind and severe weather, and access can be restricted at peak times. Your second-floor access still works, so you still go up.

Most operators refund the summit portion when this happens and several say so in their own listings. If you are travelling in a windy month and the top is the whole point, the weather page is the one to read before you book.

What changes on 29 September 2026

Two things, and both are new enough that most guides have not caught up with them.

Groups. From that date, any group of more than nine people, the guide included, has to buy online through the tower’s professional platform. Ticket-office sales to groups end, splitting a group at the desk is prohibited, and a guide may accompany only one group of up to eight visitors per 30-minute slot. Any guided or accompanied visit is mandatory at least as far as the second floor.

Stairs. From the same date, a stairs ticket requires an advance reservation. If your plan was to turn up and climb, that stops working on 29 September. The stairs tours already book ahead, so they are unaffected.

Frequently asked questions

How long do the security queues take?

Allow 15 to 20 minutes to clear the entry check before you are even beneath the tower, and expect a second check before you enter the pillar. Both are compulsory and neither is skippable, whatever ticket you hold. Your ticket time is the time you must already be in the ticketed queue, not the time you arrive at the gate.

Can you leave a bag or a suitcase anywhere?

No. There are no lockers, no storage and no cloakroom in or near the tower, and a luggage sizer at the security check turns away anything over the limit. Leave large bags at your hotel or a station left-luggage office before you come. This catches people out on their last day in Paris more than anything else does.

What can't you take into the Eiffel Tower?

Anything that could be a weapon, a pocket knife included, and the security teams cannot hold it for you. Large bags and luggage are refused at the sizer, and so are drones, glass objects, non-folding strollers, walking sticks and padlocks. Both security checks apply to everybody.

What does the time on your ticket mean?

It is the time you must already be beneath the tower, in the queue for visitors with tickets. It is not the time to arrive at the gate. Allow 15 to 20 minutes on top of it for the entry security, and bring some ID, because each e-ticket is personal and may be checked.

What are the green and blue kiosks?

Green is the lift and blue is the stairs. Once you are through the first security check and on the esplanade, the colour tells you which boarding area your ticket belongs to. It is the single most useful thing to know before you walk in.

What changes for groups on 29 September 2026?

From that date any group of more than nine people, the guide included, has to buy online through the tower's professional platform rather than at the ticket office. A guide may accompany only one group of up to eight visitors per 30-minute slot. Stair tickets also start requiring an advance reservation on the same day.

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.

Hours and rates are on visiting the Eiffel Tower, the levels on the second floor and summit page, and every fare on Eiffel Tower Paris Tours.