Visiting the Eiffel Tower at Sunset

When we visited Paris over three days with the boys, the first thing on the list was going up the France Eiffel Tower. Charlie has wanted to see it and go up for the longest time. Trying to make the most of our time during our short 2-day stay in central Paris we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower on the day we arrived. In theory, this should have meant that we could have been up the Eiffel Tower at sunset and then by night. The ideal start to our Paris city break. Only it didn’t quite work out that way. Here’s how we got on visiting the Eiffel Tower with kids and riding the Eiffel Tower elevator

We arrived in Paris at about five in the afternoon and settled into our apartment which was very close to a couple of metro stations. We had brought the car with us from Calais stopping at Parc Asterix theme park on the way down. Although we had the car with us we had no plans to drive around Paris. So being close to a metro station was essential. 

Visiting the Eiffel Tower at Sunset with kids 

We had big hopes for our trip up the Eiffel Tower but as I mentioned above it did not quite work out how we were expecting. In fact, we found the whole process pretty frustrating. However, the sun going down from the top of the Eiffel Tower is more than feasible and hopefully, the tips included in this post will help you to do a better job than we did.  

How to reach the Eiffel Tower

We caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower travelling on line 6 to Trocadero metro station. From here you exit onto what looks like a normal road. It is only when you turn around the corner do you see a large paved area. That’s if you can see it as it is popular with street sellers and art sellers. Their wares are laid out on sheets. Ready to be picked up and shoved in a bag should a policeman wander around the corner. Unfortunately, the sales pitch has been well practised. But we found that if you ignore them, they tend to leave you alone. 

Walking through the paved area you will soon see the Eiffel Tower in front of you. Even if it is a little obscured by the work which is going on in the area. Stop for a while to take the view in and to nose at the hundreds of love locks that have been added. Before walking down towards the Eiffel Tower. When we visited there were street performers on the steps and people having an early evening picnic on the grass areas.  

It is worth noting that there are very few places to get food near the base of the Eiffel tower for kids. As you approach there are a couple of snack huts selling crepes, waffles and crisps. Plus a few other sweet treats. The queues are long and the prices expensive. There are also a few food vendors near where you queue to go through security. They were also selling crepes and hot dogs at a much more reasonable price and with no queues.   

Tickets and opening times – Eiffel Tower for kids

It is free to enter the base of the tower and gardens and you do not need a ticket to do this. There are security measures in place to check bags and body scanners. With things such as alcohol not allowed in. But you will need a ticket to go up the tower.

I booked our tickets online for the Eiffel Tower in advance from Tour Eiffel. This was to ensure that we had tickets for the time and day we wanted. It is possible to just turn up and buy tickets. But when we visited there was a long line and queues to get a ticket to go up were over an hour long. You can only book up to two months in advance and over the Summer months it does sell out quickly. If it does sell out online then you can still get tickets at the tower on the day. Just with the queues.

When booking online you can select which type of ticket you want. It is a little confusing on the basis that you stop at the second floor and also at the top. So in effect, there are three levels. With lifts or stair options between level two and the top. If you get the Eiffel Tower elevator all the way to the top then there is an extra cost when compared to getting the stairs.

However, having the boys and visiting the Eiffel Tower at sunset the stairs were not really an option for us. Although if we were to go back and the kids were older I think I would like to give it a go. The booking process online is really straightforward. For two adults and two children, the price came to 67€. When making your booking you also select the time you want. See more information below on the time of ticket I would suggest for making sure you see the sunset.

What is there to do? 

There is not a whole amount to do at the base of Eiffel Tower for kids or the Esplanade as they call it. Although there are gardens where you can sit and try and get a touristy photo of you touching the top of the tower. There is a cafe directly under the Eiffel tower and of course, you can marvel at the metal structure. When we visited there was work going on which meant you could not see all the way through the bottom. As one side was all boxed in. 

To go up the tower you need to queue next to the board with your allocated time. The will officials direct you to enter when it is your turn. Then you need to queue again before taking your place next to the lift shaft. During this process, you merged with those that have not booked tickets. Having booked tickets does reduce your queuing time but you still have to queue! The lift takes you to the second floor with the opportunity to get out on the first floor. We did not do this as we wanted to watch the sunset. This was our first mistake. 

The First Floor of the Eiffel Tower

There is a reasonable amount to do on the first floor so make sure you allow time to do this. First, you get the Eiffel tower elevator from the ground floor.

• Try out the glass floor where you can look directly down at the people beneath you one of the best things at the Eiffel Tower for kids
• Along the outer passageway, there is a cultural path which has touchscreens and displays all about the Eiffel tower
• There is also a large rooftop terrace where you can get a drink or snack and relax as well as a large gift shop.

The Second Floor of the Eiffel Tower

You can either take the stairs or take the Eiffel Tower elevator. Here you can walk around the lookout at the great view across Paris. Being that much higher up means you can pinpoint the historic buildings much easier and take in the panoramic view. Such as The Lourve, Grand Palais Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame. As well as marvelling at the River Seine as it cuts through the city there is plenty of opportunities to take photos of the rooftops of Paris. On the second floor there is also:

• The much coveted Macaron Shop
• There is also the Michelin-starred restaurant – Jules Verne
• A buffet is also available for the more price-conscious as well as two gift shops. Onc which is dedicated to models of the Eiffel Tower and the second offers bespoke laser-cut glass gifts. 

 

We found the second floor to be a sea of people all queuing to get the Eiffel Tower elevator up to the top. Whereas the lifts that bring you to the second floor are quite large the ones going to the top are much more modern and consequently quite small. Leading to bottlenecks. It took us over an hour to queue to get the Eiffel Tower elevator to the top. And due to where the queues are in the centre of the tower you can not see the views across the city. It became obvious as we queued we would not catch the whole of the sunset from the top. This was our second mistake we should have watched the whole sunset on the second floor but by the time we realised this, we had already been queuing for half an hour.

The Top of the Eiffel Tower

The top decks are where everyone wants to get to. You exit the Eiffel Tower elevator onto the inside floor which is fully enclosed with large windows looking out across the city. After all the queuing we found the viewing desk surprisingly quiet. Around the top are details of other tall buildings showing the Eiffel Tower in comparison. The boys were keen to spot places they have been to. Such as the CN Tower, Berlin Tower and the Burj Kalifa. 

There is a small set of steps which leads you up to the other viewing area which is outside. This is encased in a wide wire mesh so it is still possible to take photos of the views through it. And although it was not the calm peaceful sunset experience we had hoped for we just about managed to squeeze in a couple of photos of the amazing sunset. Also located on the third floor is the champagne bar albeit it is more a man serving fizz out of a hatch in plastic glasses which put us off!

Top Tips for a Visit

• Book tickets in advance to limit your queue times as much as possible. But be prepared to queue.
• You will need longer than you think you will. The sheer volume of people that pass through the popular attraction will mean it takes you so much longer. I did not anticipate the additional queuing that we needed to take part in when visiting the Eiffel Tower at sunset.
• When you get into the first Eiffel Tower elevator try to stand to the right as this has the windows looking right down the lift shaft and you can see some of the old machinery working
• Get out on the first floor – we missed this as we had not allowed enough time
• It is windy even though it was really hot the day we visited. Underneath the Eiffel Tower, the wind seems to gather. So bring jumpers or windproof jackets even on a hot day. Harry borrowed my jumper at the top!
• Head to the Macaron shop early as they do sell out of flavours and the little gift tins early on. 
• I still think that Visiting late in the day is the best time to visit. As it means you get to see the Eiffel Tower by night all lit up and enjoy the twinkling lights.

Visiting the Eiffel Tower at Sunset 

As I mentioned we had high hopes for visiting the Eiffel Tower at sunset. On the time of year, we visited sunset was due to be around 9.45 pm. So I purchased tickets for 9 pm. Thinking that would give us enough time to get up to the top. It was only two lift rides… right? Wrong. 

It s a tricky thing to work out but at a bare minimum, I would leave two hours before this sun is due to set. I didn’t want to be in a situation where I was having to keep the kids entertained because they had got bored. And in so doing so probably missed the best part of the sunset standing in a queue.

If you want to enjoy the first floor and perhaps have something to eat at one of the snack outlets. Then I would leave myself three hours. Although we did not ascend the Eiffel Tower elevator until 9 pm we spent two hours there and still did not do everything we wanted. The only bonus is that w got to see the Eiffel Tower by night. Where the whole tower is lit up and at thirty-minute intervals it all flashes and twinkles, in the Eiffel Tower light show.

Related Blog Posts

If you are considering a trip to Paris then you may also be interested in some of these other articles

• This was our first night in Paris, find out what else we packed into our weekend stay – 2 Day Paris Itinerary
• If you are looking for another monument which will give you amazing views of the Eiffel Tower then this one is for you – Arc de Triomphe
• Picking up all the iconic buildings and considering a trip to the Palace of Versailles then here are some tips to help you – A day trip to Versailles
• The third monument we picked up on our second day – Visiting the Paris Pantheon.
• Paris is not the easiest city break with kids so this will help you make it easier for all of you – 13 Tips to make your trip great.
• Combining the city with some of the theme parks? Both Parc Asterix a complete guide and Disneyland Paris are within an hour’s drive of the city centre. Top tips for planning a day trip to Disney and also our Ultimate guide to Disneyland Paris rides.
• If you would like to know how we combined a city break with the theme parks and a trip to Versailles read our 10 Day Parisian Itinerary.

 

Have you been to the Eiffel Tower? I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. 

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