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Day 1 · Paris
Eiffel Tower
Step 1 · Before you enter · ~15 sec

Eiffel Tower

★ 4.7 (487,946) €65 Maps ↗ Website ↗

You’re standing at the iron landmark that changed Paris’s skyline and then became part of everyday life. Before you go up, look for the details people miss: the 72 names cut into the sides, and, all the way at the top, a tiny window where Gustave Eiffel once kept his private apartment.

Stand outside · play the audio first, then read on.

Step 2 · The story · ~2 min

Why this place matters

This tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, but it did not stay a one-season project. It found a second life as a working broadcast site, which is one reason it lasted when many fairground structures did not. If you want the best family rhythm here, one adult can queue for tickets while Melek and Roxana grab lunch from the Champ-de-Mars, then you can regroup and take the stairs together. That plan also helps with the reality of this place: the lines can get long, especially in busy hours, and crowds are one of the better-known spots for pickpockets, so keep one person free of bags and phones while waiting. When you’re ready to climb, pause and look up the latticework, then try to spot those engraved names on the sides before you head higher.

Read more →
Step 3 · Going in

Here's how

Best time to visit

Queues are usually shorter in the morning and in the evening, and the official site marks 9-11am and 8-10:30pm as quieter periods. Midday to late afternoon is busier, so your split plan helps, but it does not erase the line.

Entry strategy

Use the south-pillar stair entrance for the climbers, while one adult handles tickets and the others go for lunch; that is the sensible walk-up split. Keep one person free of bulky bags and phones, since security checks and crowded queues are known pinch points.

Recommended route

Start at the esplanade, separate for tickets and lunch, then regroup at the south pillar and take the stairs up. If you are going to the top, remember the summit is reached from the second floor, not by a single direct climb.

Tap ⓘ at the top right anytime for hours, address, prices.

Look at this · 1 of 5
72 engraved names

72 engraved names

Where to find itStand at the base of the tower’s first level and look along the iron frieze bands on the sides of the structure.

Look forA row of 72 surnames cut into the metal, each one a scientist or engineer.

Why it matters · These names are easy to miss because most visitors stare straight up and never read the tower like a document. They show that the Eiffel Tower was framed as an engineering monument, not just a fairground stunt.
Look at this · 2 of 5
South pillar stairs

South pillar stairs

Where to find itAt the ground-level esplanade, go to the south pillar, the one used for stair access.

Look forThe stair entrance and the difference between the stair pillar and the lift pillars.

Why it matters · This is the practical choice if you are climbing rather than riding up, and it explains the tower’s split circulation in plain view. It also helps you orient your family before one person breaks off for tickets.
Look at this · 3 of 5
Gustave Eiffel’s apartment

Gustave Eiffel’s apartment

Where to find itIf you reach the top, look near the summit area for the small apartment window set behind glass.

Look forA tiny furnished-looking room behind a special viewing window, tucked away from the main panorama.

Why it matters · Most people sprint past it because they are chasing the skyline, but it is one of the few preserved human-scale spaces inside the tower. It makes the monument feel lived-in, not abstract.
Look at this · 4 of 5
Broadcast antenna mast

Broadcast antenna mast

Where to find itFrom any upper platform, look all the way to the top of the iron frame above the viewing decks.

Look forThe antenna structure and mast at the summit.

Why it matters · This is the clearest sign that the tower became a working broadcast site, which is part of why it survived after the 1889 exposition. Without that, it is easy to think it lasted only because people liked the view.
Look at this · 5 of 5
Iron lattice joints

Iron lattice joints

Where to find itWalk close to the tower’s legs before you enter, then look upward where the beams meet and curve.

Look forRiveted iron arches, cross-bracing, and the layered lattice work that holds the shape together.

Why it matters · The tower reads very differently at arm’s length than from a postcard distance. Up close, you can see the structural logic that made a 19th-century metal tower feel audacious instead of decorative.
Photo gallery

What it looks like

Almost done · before you leave

Spot these

Find each one — tap to tick it off.

Done · time to eat

Nearby eat & drink

Filters

Section
Price
Max walking time
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Type

Specialty coffee

Third-wave roasters & quality espresso (worth a walk)

Coffee & bakery

Casual cafés and bakeries closest to here

Lunch

Sit-down lunch spots

  • Bateaux Parisiens

    6 min walk
    ★ 4.3 (30.869) Tour Agency
    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • La Casa di Alfio

    6 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (8.741) €€ Italian Restaurant

    Classic Italian dishes & wine in an intimate, glass-fronted venue with eclectic decor.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • Francette

    5 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (8.098) French Restaurant

    Refined restaurant on board a barge on the Seine with Eiffel Tower views & revisited French cuisine.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • New Jawad Rapp

    9 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (7.704) €€ Indian Restaurant

    Ambitious takes on classic kebabs, curries & biriyanis, served in a chic locale with posh decor.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • Vedettes de Paris

    4 min walk
    ★ 4.3 (6.846) Tour Agency
    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

Dinner

Where to land in the evening

  • Bateaux Parisiens

    6 min walk
    ★ 4.3 (30.869) Tour Agency
    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • La Casa di Alfio

    6 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (8.741) €€ Italian Restaurant

    Classic Italian dishes & wine in an intimate, glass-fronted venue with eclectic decor.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • Francette

    5 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (8.098) French Restaurant

    Refined restaurant on board a barge on the Seine with Eiffel Tower views & revisited French cuisine.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • New Jawad Rapp

    9 min walk
    ★ 4.5 (7.704) €€ Indian Restaurant

    Ambitious takes on classic kebabs, curries & biriyanis, served in a chic locale with posh decor.

    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

  • Vedettes de Paris

    4 min walk
    ★ 4.3 (6.846) Tour Agency
    Open in Google Maps ↗ Website

Quick grab

Fast food & takeaway for when you just need something fast

Familiar chains

For the "we just want a Big Mac" moment.

Practical info

Address Av. Gustave Eiffel, 75007 Paris, France
Time 14:30
Suggested 90 min
Rating 4.7★ (487,946)
Cost €65
Website www.toureiffel.paris
Map Open in Google Maps

More about this place

Notice the 72 names of scientists and engineers engraved on the tower’s sides, and if you go all the way up, look for Gustave Eiffel’s tiny apartment behind a special window; most people rush past both. For the practical part, your walk-up plan is sensible: one adult queues for tickets while Melek and Roxana grab lunch, then regroup and take the stairs, because the tower is far easier earlier or later in the day and the lines are brutal in peak hours.[2][4]

What makes the place matter is that the tower was not just a stunt of iron; it became a working broadcast site, which is a cleaner reason it outlasted the usual “temporary world’s fair project” story.[2] For a family of three, this split-task approach works well, but keep one person free of bags and phones while waiting, because crowded queues and elevators are a known pickpocket zone.[4]