Elevator to the second floor, elevator to the top, or the public stairs: here's what each ticket actually gets you, and why the destination you pick at booking is the one you keep.
By ToursXplorer Editorial Team
Almost from the Eiffel Tower's opening for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, visitors could ride its elevators to the floors above Paris, a technical triumph for its time. Every evening the tower is adorned in gold and sparkles for five minutes on the hour, its beacon sweeping over the city.
Every Eiffel Tower ticket names a floor before you pay for it, and that choice sticks. Here's what each visit actually includes, what the stairs can and can't do, and where the advertised "skip the line" tickets really stand.
The elevator here rides directly to the second floor, skipping the stairs entirely, while a guide covers the tower's history and points out the city spreading below. Time is built in on the observation deck before the group disperses or continues at its own pace, so the visit never feels rushed despite its shorter reach. For travellers who want the view and the history handled within a contained visit, rather than building an extra ascent into the day, this is the lighter of the two elevator options.
A private guide manages this whole itinerary, from a guided elevator ride to the top of the tower through to free time for photographs at its base, before moving on to a one-hour cruise on the Seine departing close by; hotel pickup is included throughout. Recorded commentary on the boat points out the landmarks along both banks, so the two activities read as one continuous outing rather than separate bookings. Travellers with limited time in Paris who want the summit and a river view handled in a single, organised block are the natural fit here.
Several of Paris's lit landmarks pass by on this small-group Segway ride after dark, from the dome of Les Invalides to the Pont Alexandre III and the Louvre pyramid, before the route finishes at the Champ de Mars with the Eiffel Tower illuminated ahead. A guide leads throughout, with a safety briefing and practice time before the route begins, and stops built in for photographs. There's no ascent on this one: it suits travellers who want the illuminated view from the ground as part of a wider night tour, with the small group keeping the guide accessible for questions along the way.
Individual tickets go either to the second floor or to the top, and the destination is chosen when the ticket is bought: a second-floor ticket cannot be topped up at the Tower to go to the top. A ticket to the top gives access to all three floors, with the visit starting on the upper floors and a second elevator from the second floor to the top, ending on the first floor on the way down. Tickets are booked for a date and time, are valid only for the floor, date and time shown, and cannot be exchanged, modified or refunded. There is no 'skip the line' ticket for the Eiffel Tower: tickets sold as 'priority access' are the same as the official e-ticket, which avoids the ticket-office queue and uses fast-track queues at the esplanade security checks and for the elevators or stairs. The public stairs go from the ground to the second floor, 674 steps; the stairway from the second floor to the top is not open to the public. Stairs tickets to the second floor go on sale online 60 days in advance and are time-stamped; stairs-then-elevator tickets to the top are sold mainly at the Tower's ticket offices on the day, and online only in very limited quantities. Visitors with reduced mobility can go to the first and second floors by elevator but not to the top, for safety reasons, and the stairways are not open to them. Access to the top may be restricted in severe weather or at peak periods. Visitors go through security checks; large items of luggage and pets, except guide dogs, are not allowed in the Tower, and there is no left-luggage facility.
Deciding between the second floor and the top is really a decision about time and certainty: the second floor is reachable by elevator or by the public stairs, while the top always needs a second elevator ride and can be restricted in severe weather or at peak periods. Whichever floor you choose is fixed at the moment of booking, so there's no changing your mind once the ticket is issued. The gardens and esplanade beneath the Tower are free to enter, through the security checks, which is worth knowing if you only want to see the structure from below.
Skip a top ticket if the summit is the only reason for your visit and your dates are not flexible: access to the top may be restricted in severe weather or at peak periods. Skip the public stairs if you want to reach the top: they stop at the second floor, and the stairway beyond that isn't open to the public. And don't expect any ticket marketed as 'priority' or 'skip-the-line' to be something extra: it's the same product as the standard e-ticket.
It depends on whether you want the second floor or the top, since the floor is fixed the moment you buy. A guided elevator visit to the second floor covers wide city views in about two hours.
Neither side is better outright: the second floor is a shorter, more flexible visit, while the top adds height and takes more planned time. The Tower advises at least 1 hour 30 minutes for the first and second floors, and 2 hours 30 minutes if the top is included. A guided second-floor visit and a guided summit visit both run about two hours, giving you commentary either way.
There is no such ticket: tickets advertised as 'priority access' are the same as the standard official e-ticket, which simply avoids the ticket-office queue and uses fast-track lanes at the security checks and for the elevators or stairs, rather than offering a separate faster route.
Yes, because tickets are booked for a fixed date and time and cannot be exchanged, modified or refunded, so there's no last-minute flexibility once purchased. The floor is also fixed at booking: a second-floor ticket can't be topped up at the Tower to reach the summit. Stairs tickets to the second floor go on sale online 60 days ahead, though stairs-then-elevator tickets to the top are sold mainly at the Tower's own ticket offices on the day.
Queues are usually shorter in the mornings and in the evenings, depending on the season, the weather and the day of the week, which favours those times for either ascent. The Tower also sparkles for five minutes every hour in the evening; separately, one evening visit ends at the Champ de Mars with a view of the illuminated Tower, without going up.
Yes, for the grounds: the gardens and esplanade beneath the Tower are free to enter, through the security checks, even if you don't go up. Going up to any floor needs a ticket for that floor, date and time.
Visiting time isn't limited, but the Tower advises planning at least 1 hour 30 minutes for the first and second floors, and 2 hours 30 minutes for a visit that includes the top. Guided options follow their own formats: about two hours for a second-floor elevator visit, and up to four hours for a private summit visit combined with a Seine cruise.
These visits were drawn from our catalogue to cover the main ways travellers reach the tower's floors: elevator to the second floor, elevator to the top, a private combined option, and a ground-level night alternative. The rules and timings referenced come from the Tower's own official information. ToursXplorer sells some of the trips in this guide and earns a commission when you book them. The options are described by type so you can compare them, whoever you book with. About ToursXplorer
Last checked October 2026. Rules checked against: Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): Prices & Times; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: I bought a ticket for the 2nd floor and now I want to go to the top; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: Does a ticket for the top allow you to visit the 1st and 2nd floors?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: Can I change the date and/or time of my ticket?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: Skip the line tickets; Do any tickets grant priority access?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: How can you walk up the Eiffel Tower on foot?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: stairs tickets; stairs and elevator to the top; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: Can visits be made by people in wheelchairs?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): Prices & Times: safety instructions; FAQ: Do any tickets grant priority access?; Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (official Eiffel Tower website): FAQ: Can you walk beneath the Eiffel Tower without paying for a ticket?.
