We have only a day and a half in Paris with 2 children ages 10 and 12. I waited to late to book lunch at Altitude 95 and don't want to pay Jules Verne prices when with kids. What would be the best time of day to go stand in the lines for the Eiffel Tower? We'll be there in August. Thanks for your help.

I have heard from others that 9AM is best. Altitude 95 is already booked??!!

Definitely first thing in the morning. The lines are the shortest then. It opens at 9:30.

About dark is a nice time. Paris is really lit up. The crowds are mostly gone by then. Enjoy.

When hell freezes over?

We went at 8PM and the lines were long. By the time we got to the top it was sunset (10PM) and coming down everything was lit up. Absolutely beautiful!!If your kids can stand it, I would say get there about 9PM.

I was there twice last week in the rain and cold and I would say you should buy the ticket after dinner and go after 9:00 pm when its lit up. You can buy a ticket early in the day also and use it at night.

We've done both, and my 12 year old prefers the night trip because the tower is all lit up, as is the city. 9 p.m. is good, because it will take about an hour to get to the ticket office and you don't want to miss getting up to the 3rd floor (they stop selling tickets early). <BR><BR>If you can spare the time, go to the top of the Montparnasse Tower during the day to see the day view PLUS the Eiffel Tower in the view. It's great!

We went after dinner 7;30pmish and there was really no line last July. It was nice with the sun starting to set, no crowds, you can see for miles, if you stay long enough you can see thre lights start to come on - Brilliant!

We were staying at a hotel near Eiffel and passes it practically twice a day. Try and avoid weekends and daytime. Crazy queues. After sundown is a perfect time. And sundown was at 10:30 PM in the night (this was last week). I was there twice last week in the rain. There was practically no queue. And the view from Eiffel in the night is breathtaking!

Are the long lines to buy the tickets? or do you then wait in another long line to go up the tower?<BR>If I bought my ticket some time during the day, and wanted to go up around sundown, will I have to wait in another long line or just go up?

What time do they stop selling tickets to the top floor?

For Joe etc. The major line is going from Level 2 to the top. We had no trouble going up to the second level, but there is only one small elevator to the top. Expect to wait over an hour in busy times, but you can enjoy the view while you wait.

We still have two questions that have not been answered - 1. can you purchase your tickets and go up later in the day? 2. what time do they stop selling tickets to the 3rd floor?

1898

Betty,<BR>In response to your first question, no -- there are no advance sales of tickets. Tickets are purchased for immediate entry to the tower. In response to your second question, in summer, when the tower closes at midnight, they stop selling tickets to the third floor at 10:30 p.m.<BR>Go to the official Eiffel Tower website at www.tower-eiffel.fr for further information.

We did not wait more than 5 min a couple of weeks ago somewhere between 9 and 10am on a Thursday. I had no idea lines might be a problem (Duh.) Sometimes you get lucky.

Just got back. We visited the Eiffel Tower at around 9:30 at night and didn't have to wait at all. It was a fairly cool evening and maybe that kept some people away.

topping for john

<BR>Here is a live webcam, that you can check at various times of the day to see how the lines look:<BR><BR>http://www.abcparislive.com/eiffeltowerwebcams2.htm<BR><BR>YOu want to get the view that gives the closeup under the legs of the tower. You will see a digital clock on one pictures that gives the local time. Right now, it is 7:43 p.m.