A Savvy Visitor's Guide To The Eiffel Tower – How To Skip Those Long Lines

Who doesn't long to be tall, thin & oh-so popular? When you hear "Paris" what's the first thing that comes to mind? The Eiffel Tower, bien sûr. It's the quintessential symbol of the City of Light and the most visited monument in the world. As Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans' famous children's book character sings, "What would Paris be without the Eiffel Tower?"

It's difficult to imagine that this monument, built in 1889 for the Exposition Universelle, celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution, was only supposed to stand for twenty years. Thank goodness that by 1909 the tower proved valuable for radio communication and so was allowed to stand. Let's look at the history of the Tower, the best ways to visit, and most importantly to us, how to skip the long lines.

How to Skip the Long Lines at The Eiffel Tower

With something like 9 million visitors every year, line-ups at the Eiffel Tower are daunting. As you know by now, we hate standing in line and do everything we can to avoid it. Luckily, that's easy to do at the Eiffel Tower, if you plan in advance.

Bypass the long lines at the Eiffel Tower by booking a priority-access guided tour. You meet your guide at the base of the tower and she whisks you past the crowds, into the elevator, and up the tower. We strongly recommend that you arrange a tour as soon as you start planning for your trip. Don't put it off, because these activities sell out. To start your planning, read our reviews of our the top Eiffel Tower skip-the-line tours.

Visiting The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is open every day of the year, so you can visit whenever you're here. We've gathered all the information you need to visit the Tower, including how to get to there using the Metro, the hours it's open, security information, and the best times to visit.

Eiffel Tower Restaurants

The Eiffel Tower is more than just a mega-popular monument. It's also home to two classic French restaurants, one of them the Michelin-starred Jules Verne. Here, a magical, romantic afternoon or evening is created for you as you dine on some of the classics of French cooking while gazing at the sights of Paris beneath you.

There have been positive changes in the Eiffel Tower restaurants in the past couple of years. We'll tell you all about them.

Eiffel Tower Information for Visitors

We've compiled more information about the Eiffel Tower that will help you plan your visit, at the same time making the monument even more interesting. Did you know that the Eiffel Tower actually moves in the wind and grows under a bright sun? (Don't worry though, you wouldn't have known this if we hadn't mentioned it.)

History of The Eiffel Tower

You know that a great monument like the Eiffel Tower is going to have a great story. For instance, we were amazed to discover that the award for the first-place design (won by Gustave Eiffel, of course) was only $800. Learn about the 1887 protests by leading authors and writers trying to stop the tower from being built. Marvel at the bungee jumps, parachute jumps, radio signals, and balloon launches.

Facts About The Eiffel Tower

250 workers. 2,500,000 rivets. 2 years 2 months 5 days. 220,000,000 visitors. 300 meters…

In addition to an interesting history a great monument is going to have fascinating stories, amazing facts, intricate details and more information than you probably ever need to know — but are secretly dying to find out. Three different colors of paint?

The Eiffel Tower's Arrondissement

Nothing beats the 7th Arrondissement of Paris for human scale, for walkability, for markets, and for great restaurants. It's the quartier the Eiffel Tower calls home — a pleasant family neighborhood with kids in strollers and playing in parks in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. So, before or after your visit to the Gustave's creation, take some time to wander through this delightful quartier.

Rue Cler, found in the 7th, is also a food lover's paradise — a pedestrian street filled with delicacies only found in France. One of France's most famous chefs, Christian Constant, has a virtual restaurant empire along Rue St Dominique, with Les Cocottes, fresh food simply cooked; the bistro-style Café Constant; and Le Violon d'Ingres, Michelin one-star with fabulous food. Pop into one of Chef Christian's restaurants and you may well find us dining there.

After sunset, the Eiffel Tower is bathed in golden light. And every hour on the hour a light show ignites on the tower.