Thinking of taking the stairs to Level 1 & then Level 2, then from Level 2 buy a Summit ticket.

Anyone with experience of the stairs?

What’s the que like at Level 2 for a Summit ticket?

Will be mid August.

Ta

Its mid August – massive queue and very hot. Id not bother. Buy a postcard instead.

Unless of course you intend to Strava it 🙂

I’ve walked up it, not a big deal. Was November mind, so reasonably quiet…

Walked up, I was 11 (29 years ago).

Also walked up aged 11. But not 29 years ago. It’s fine.

Paris weather same as London at the moment (ie cold and wet).

Walked up when I was 11 but that was 33 years ago.

I walked up as a teenager on a school trip. No big deal going up – people without a head for heights found the view vertigo inducing on the way down though – on the way up you’re looking at the steps and the sky in front of you but on the way down you see out over rooftops at each landing. Had to pretty much coax one of out party down one step at a time 🙂

I walked up 9 years ago (aged 22) in August. The 20th in fact. It was fine, it was a steady stream of people, which means it’s physically easy because you’re not charging up them three at a time. Quite a bit of stopping, but the views are nice after all. Wasn’t overly hot.

I walked up it last year, it was warm and dry and a bit of a struggle getting past the Japanese Tourist chain coming down..
Nice enough though. Worth it for the views, and the smells.

Anyone from here taken the stairs at the Eiffel Tower?

Not me, I haven’t got them & didn’t even know they’d gone!

walked up them when I was 11, 41 years ago 😥

Did it circa 15 years ago too. I wouldn’t bother.

Is it busy? Centre of Paris at the height of the holiday season? You do the math…

yes with mini THM – it’s was fun (and hot)

We booked a tour – you jump the queues from the bottom to 2nd level. But you still have to queue from there on. It was worth the spendies though…

https://www.cultival.fr/en/visites/behind-the-scenes-of-the-eiffel-tower-01092015

…we went in October though and the queues for top level were long then.

Roger Moore James Bond did it back in oooh, ’87 and he was getting on a bit and being shot at. You’ll be fine. 😀

I seen it in the distance in 1988 when our bus to Spain passed Paris. 😆

esselgruntfuttock – Member

Not me, I haven’t got them & didn’t even know they’d gone!

yep no lazy English people would notice 8)

yep age veteran category – kids not quite as tall as me but to the max moaning ffs it is less than 1000ft and very easy going – mrs antigee had cycled from that there Londres so her and the other ladies were allowed the lift so they could recover before drinking an entire departmént dry

Don’t bother OP,the French are all on holiday and it will be rammed with 11yr olds 😉

do it in the evening. its much much quieter

Did it in November last year, on the day before the Paris attacks. Was a nice climb, easy enough. Was kind of gutted you had to get the elevator to the top.

I came down the stairs in April. lots of 11 year olds going up, bit of a nuisance. There was a 60ft sailing boat on the first level which was nice. If you don’t like queuing, don’t go. If you don’t like the queues there, don’t then go on to Disneyland on the 25th Anniversary weekend. Makes the queues at the tower feel that you didn’t really get into queuing.

How did the sailing boat get up there? I don’t remember reading about the Seine flooding that deep.

Yes walked up, not really a problem. Queue for the top is still quite long though.

Don’t miss the view from Trocadero, get off metro there then walk to Tower. City is pretty deserted of locals at the moment, just the tourists. Also Macron seems to have decided the Army are no longer required to be patrolling the streets.

then from Level 2 buy a Summit ticket.

Have to be bought before you go up.

My experience in July:

You queue for security to get into the site.
You queue to buy tickets *before* entry to tower queue. This is a *big* queue.
You queue for tower extra security.
You queue in enclosed space for lift.
You *cram* in lift.
You shuffle across in queue from one lift to next.
You *cram* in lift two, with added Korean shoving from back to get everyone in.
You shuffle around upper deck in a queue of folk shuffling around in queue.
You queue for lift back down.
You *cram* in lift back down.
You can now move around on second level – shops (natch) particularly.
You can either queue for *cramming* in lift or walk down steps almost alone.
You queue at exit as there are so many folk on pavement waiting to cross road and queueing to get in.

Did I mention it was a lot of queuing?

It is the busiest paid attraction in the world apparently.

Que jumped & took the lift…

[/url]2017-08-13_12-31-00 by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

😀

Was kind of gutted you had to get the elevator to the top.

Reverse is true at The Shard, lift up, then a couple of flights from the first observation deck to the very top.
Hardly any queues to speak of.
Amazing views.

matt_outandabout – Member
then from Level 2 buy a Summit ticket.

Have to be bought before you go up.
My experience in July:

You queue for security to get into the site.
You queue to buy tickets *before* entry to tower queue. This is a *big* queue.
You queue for tower extra security.
You queue in enclosed space for lift.
You *cram* in lift.
You shuffle across in queue from one lift to next.
You *cram* in lift two, with added Korean shoving from back to get everyone in.
You shuffle around upper deck in a queue of folk shuffling around in queue.
You queue for lift back down.
You *cram* in lift back down.
You can now move around on second level – shops (natch) particularly.
You can either queue for *cramming* in lift or walk down steps almost alone.
You queue at exit as there are so many folk on pavement waiting to cross road and queueing to get in.

Did I mention it was a lot of queuing?

It is the busiest paid attraction in the world apparently.

sounds like a cracking day out that! 😆

Reverse is true at The Shard, lift up, then a couple of flights from the first observation deck to the very top.
Hardly any queues to speak of.
Amazing views.

Not of Paris though. It’s not that tall.

Much better but probably less height and cost £5 go up the Scott monument on Princess st Edinburg, although dont be trying to get right to the top if your vital statistics are > 34″waist or 36dd YOU MAY GET STUCK
Pick a sunny day and avoid August if you like it quiet

Ive done it – was easy enough with virtually no queues but that pre security situation

I’d say a better view is from Sacre Couer steps or the top of The Grand Arch or top of L’arc de triomphe but for the sake of ticking it off a list then the queue will be necessary

for the sake of ticking it off a list

My families list is now ticked.
I am just a grumpy old fart apparently…

I did 30 years ago….it was windy……and a bit scary

sounds like a cracking day out that!

Don’t recall any significant queuing last time we went up the Eiffel Tower….

Went 8 years ago, saw the queue for the lift and went up the stairs.

Can’t say I liked the downwards view from the stairs very much, but otherwise it was fine.

For Essel

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnwSg1y1wO8[/video]

I did exactly that a couple years ago.
Walking was quite fun actually.
We had no queues for tickets or to get up, despite being half term.
So many beggars, scammers and pickpockets around there though.

cokie – Member

So many beggars, scammers and pickpockets around there though.

This, big time. It’s a complete PITA. Also the people constantly pestering you buy their plastic tourist tat and wilted flowers.

For some reason the single word “nyet!” discourages them. Russians obviously not good buyers of cheap tat or badly drawn caricatures.

I remember walking up to the 1st stage (as my Dad wasn’t prepared to pay for any higher). It took quite a while, and i wasn’t so keen on the perforated steps. Not that many people, and no queues at all to the entrances.
But that was probably in something like 1976 or 77, when I was 8 or 9.
I went up last time in 1988 when i spent a week visiting all the le Corbusier buildings within the peripherique (except for the Maison Jaoul (only to discover 6 weeks later that Peter Palumbo owned it at the time and could have gotten an invite to visit), and the recently opened Parc de la Villette. Back to the Eiffel Tower – I don;t really like heights, so in the lift up to the 3rd stage, I helpfully mentioned to a woman who was more visibily nervous than I that I’d recently seen the Superman film where he pushes the lift car out through the top. She sorted of collapsed inwardly, and I felt much better in that someone else was worse then me. Sorry mystery woman that I upset.