The Eiffel Tower web site listed these prices for elevator:

1st level = 4e
2nd level = 7.3e (from ground or 1st?)
3rd level = 10.4e (from ground or 2nd?)
Stairs to 2nd = 3.5e

So if I want to take the elevator all the way to the top, is the fee 10.4e or is it 21.7e (4 + 7.3 + 10.4)? Also does this mean waiting in time 3 times; once for each of the elevator?

How about getting tickets? Can I get all the necessary tickets at the ground level or only at each level?

I want to go all the way to the top, just not sure whether I want to do the ground to 2nd using stairs or elevator. That will depend on cost (family of 4) and how long is the line.

Thanks in advance for your help.

carcassone:

The prices are from ground level to the different platforms. You decide which level to go to and buy the tickets before entering the tower.

You do have to change elevators at the 2nd level for the top, but Idon't think that you have to change at 1st level.

My preference is the 2nd, level, as it is an open spacious platform, in contrast to the top, which is a rather small enclosed gallery which can give you a claustrophobic feeling with the large crowd visiting.

Hope this helps, enjoy your trip.

Phil.

carcassone-

If you want to go to the top (3rd level), it will be € 10,40. That ticket entitles you to visit all 3 levels of the Eiffel Tower.
You buy your ticket (just once) on the ground level - just tell the ticket agent you want to go to the top. As Phil says, you have to stop on the 2nd level to change elevators. Therefore, you will have to wait in line just 2 times. Try to go early in the morning and go straight up to the top. On your way down, you can stop at both the 1st & 2nd level (I believe the post office is on the 2nd level, if that interests you) and take your time walking around.

OK, so to get to the top, I pay 10.4e for the 3rd level elevator. What happens if the line at the ground level is huge and I decided to walk to the 2nd level? Will the 3rd level elevator ticket covers that or do I need the ticket for the stairs?

Sorry for the dumb beginner questions.

I haven't done that before, but I believe if you pay € 10,40 you should be able to do whatever you want. However, the time it takes for you to climb up the stairs to the 2nd level may be longer than the time it takes for you to wait for the elevator. Also, on the 2nd level, there is another line for the elevator to get up to the top. The only way to avoid spending much time in line is to get there early.

You can actually buy a "stairs" ticket and walk up to the 2nd level, and then buy a seperate ticket for the elevators to the top. That 2nd ticket should be about 3-3.5 euro, so you can indeed go up to the top for <10.4e, and avoid waiting in the lines at the bottom for the elevators. But of course, that means you have to walk...

They don't care how you get down. So, even with just a "stairs" ticket, you can ride the elevators down.

Follow up on my own post for future reference with couple tips.

If you're going to the top (3rd level), once you get to the 2nd level, you have to queue up for the elevator to the top. There are two lines for this, one looking out (NE?) at all the famous landmarks, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre-Dame, Napoleon's Tomb, Plaza de Concord, Montmartre, etc. The other line looks out towards the West is much less interesting. It took us 45 min to queue up for the elevator to the top but since we were in the line overlooking the landmarks, we used the time to take pictures while staying in line.

When we were there the tower lit up at 9pm. From 9pm to 9:10pm and again from 10pm to 10:10pm, there were blinking white lights that made the tower twinkle like a beautiful diamond tree. I'm not sure if they do this on the hour for 10 minutes everynight but definitely worth being there for.

Yes, they do it on the hour for 10 minutes. It's really cool when you are headed up in the elevator and the lights start going off.

There is an open air platform on the 3rd floor.

There are ticket agents at all four pillars of the tower. Two sell walking tickets to the first two levels and two sell the elevator tickets all the way to the top (but I was there in July and can't remember which is which).

The most important thing is to get there before 9am!!! At that time there is no wait (I went to the top at both the end of June and again at the end of July and found this to be true at both of those times). By the time I got back down from the top at 10:30am there was a line for tickets and another line for the elevator. By mid afternoon there are many hundreds of people milling about and I can't imagine how long the wait might be.

Of course, it's all your preference but I would go up in the Eiffel Tower at night. As surfergirl said, it is really cool when you are going up and the lights start blinking. Even though you know they are going to blink, when they come on everyone gasps, both the people on the ground and those on the tower.

We took a picnic dinner to the tower and then just waited until the lines were shorter. Since this was August it gets dark late but we didn't have to wait more 10 minutes on the ground (it was around 10 pm). The line (which was the last one) going up from the 2nd to the 3rd level was a little longer (maybe 20 min) so we decided to not go all the way up but especially at night, the people in that line were so busy taking pictures I don't think they noticed the time. As advised by those on this forum, I thought I would get claustrophic on the 3rd level so decided the 2nd level was fine. One of my daughters bought the stair ticket and she made it up quickly. We all took the stairs down which was pretty easy.