What time to arrive to Eiffel Tower
 

What time do I have to arrive to Eiffel Tower to not to be crushed by tourists ?
(April, 3 not precisely ...) and other attactions in Paris ?

Where can I go at night ? (I didn't mean it sound like I want every place listed, but just few...)
Thanks

Hi Ziana
You'll probably get different responses from different people...
Here's my experience. I was in Paris last week of Sept 03 and I arrived a little before 9am (it opens and 9:30a). I was the 1st person in line. However, they let the tour groups use the elevators first before they let in the "regular" public. But even with that, I didn't have to wait that long to take the 1st elevator; and no wait at all for the 2nd elevator (which takes you to the top). I really enjoyed that because for the first 15minutes, I had the observation deck to myself (plus just a few other tourists). By the time I left, which was around 11am, there was a long, long line all coiled up on the 2nd deck waiting for the 2nd elevator to go up.

I would also recommend going to Louvre early, ie, getting there 15mins before it opens. After I got in, I rented an audioguide, picked up the floorplan, and then walked straight to see Mona Lisa. There, I found myself in the room with 5 other people, and actually could stand there to admire it. When I walked past Mona Lisa's room later that day, it was so jammed packed that it would not be possible to enjoy it at all.

At night, the Seine is absolutely beautiful. You can either take a boat tour, or just walk along the banks near Ile de la Cite and Ile St Louis.

Have a great trip!

I've been to Paris in early April twice. Both times we went to the Eiffel Tower first thing in the morning. We were actually staying there, so around 8:30 we'd leave our hotel, get croissants and sit on a bench at the Champs de Mars just eating and looking. We went up the tower as soon as it opened and had no lines.

We also did it at night (a wonderful experience!). But, we arrived before dark, so maybe 4:00-ish and the lines were quite long to take the elevator from the 2nd level to the 3rd. We waited probably 20-30 minutes. It is much less crowded later at night, and definitely worth doing.

So, that's one thing to do at night. Another is the Arc de Triomphe, which I believe is open until 11pm. You can do a Seine river cruise at night, which is very nice. Also, some museums have evening hours certain nights, but you'd have to check the museum web sites for specifics.

You can certainly have a dinner that covers most of the evening, and just wandering around at night is lots of fun.

You might also check to see if there is an opera or ballet that you can get tickets to. We've wanted to see something (anything) at the Opera Garnier but had no luck so far. You would not need to speak French to understand those shows, though.

You may also be able to find movies, but if language is an issue you can look for (VO) next to the original, meaning it is in its original language. But be careful - that original language is not always English! ;)

Just don't go at any time that someone decides to jump off the tower.. That happened the day after I visited it this past summer and I think that made the lines a wee bit longer. Maybe he was an impatient patron. ;)

As early as possible - no lines (vs. 1 hr or more if you go later). This applies to the Louvre, Notre Dame and other big sites as well. Generally speaking, the best use your time is to hit a "biggie" first thing in the morning and then spend the rest of the day at your leisure. This strategy works best if you are centrally located - you beat all the tour busses and masses coming in from outlying areas.

If you're going at night - for that everyone-should-experience-it-at-night view of Paris - go late (10 p.m. or later) and your wait shouldn't be too long. (35-40 minutes, and that was at peak tourist season in late June last summer).

Arrive an the Eiffel Tower at early dinner time, say 6 pm, for lighter crowds. For the Louvre, find out which evening they stay open late, and arrive 2 hours before closing. Also, you might want to sign up for the English speaking tour given in the morning.

April 3rd is a Saturday. To avoid lines, try any time in the morning on a weekday.

Keith

In my experience, it wasn't getting up that was the problem; it was getting back down! Trying to get in an elevator to go down was awful. Some of stood patiently in line, others just cut right in at the front.

Did anyone else have that experience?

I shared a similar experience. It appeared as if they had more concerns about getting people up then they did letting them out. There really was no direction in going back down. I didn't mind plp cutting in line going up as I know they weren't going to go back down any sooner then I was. :D

Thanks to everyone for the directions.
Please, continue, it is so educational.

I have had it explained to me by tour guides that 'standing in lines' is not a global concept... in some countries, it is perfectly acceptable to mob up/elbow in, rather than patiently wait in a sequential order or line. There are tourists from other countries at the Eiffel Tower, so it may not be Americans or British (who queue) doing this, but visitors from another country (ie. Italy?) who customarily do this.

Then again, sometimes people are rude/selfish.

Any tour guide who told you that standing in line is not a "global concept" is BS'ing you with some sort of concocted justification for being rude and ignoring the feelings of others...and you believed it????

I've read quite a bit about Disneyland Paris on various Disney boards, and the comment is pretty universally made that Europeans do not queue like Americans. For example, at a US Disney Park, when a character (e.g. Winnie the Pooh) comes out to greet kids and sign autographs, Amercians line up and wait their turn; I've heard that at Disneyland Paris it is a mob scene every time and the cast memebers can't seem to figure out a way to make everyone queue. When we were at Disneyland in California last year, I remember only two occasions of folks (not just kids but accompanied by adults) agressively trying to move up in line, and both parties were speaking Italian. I think there must be something to what the tour guide said... Solution: Walk down!!!

O, I'll be fine, I am originally from one of those places where people pushing and shoving each other to this days.
I came to Germany and almost got heart attack when I saw bus on time and people quietly in line boarding one by one(at the time when at least 3 people could fit onto bus step):). I thought I died and went to Heavens.
I though still can't explain why people act like that. Luck of patience probably...

Just for JonJon's enlightenment:

I do believe others have experienced a cultural difference in the psychology of 'queueing' in Europe:
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache...n&ie=UTF-8
" . . . As an American, I learned only one thing in school: you don't take cuts. Austrians don't learn this lesson. They learn Latin instead. Europeans in general, except maybe the British, and even there I'm not sure, are not big on waiting their turn . . ."
" . . . When Swedes do get in those rare situations where they actually have to queue up, they're often not so good at it. Which is not to say that they cut in front of each other, they just don't know how to go about making a nice organized line, so it easily turns into confusion about who is where . . ."
" . . . I like Austrians fine, but they have no familiarity with the concept of waiting one's turn, waiting in line/queueing and you should see them at a buffet, wow. . ."

I thought they were supposed to queue okay in UK, don't they queue at bus stops? However, in my experience, French people themselves don't queue well. I remember attending a concert in the park once in Paris, and the folding chairs were not set out yet, and you had to get one yourself from an area where they were handing them out -- the French folks just sort of tried to push and make their way to the front without waiting their turn. It was just sort of like "Survivor, Champ de Mars"

I've been at Disney World, Universal Studios and plenty of other places and seen plenty of Americans line-jumping. I think people tend to notice it more when it's done by someone of a nationality different than their own.