Visting the Eiffel Tower with Kids

The most visited monument in the world – the Eiffel Tower welcomes 7 million visitors a year. If you are planning to be one of them here’s what you need to know to make visiting the Eiffel tower with kids or without fun.

Eiffel Tower facts

  • Built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution.
  • It’s 324 meters high.
  • The Eiffel Tower is made of iron, not steel.
  • It weighs approximately 10,100 tons.
  • Its construction took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days.
  • Since the 1980s, it had regularly been renovated, restored and adapted.
  • It welcomes almost 7 million visitors a year.

Visiting the Eiffel Tower with Kids

The first time I visited Paris was with my parents back when I was a teenager and of course climbing the Eiffel tower was a must. On my later visits I avoided it like a plague. It had something to do with the monument being too touristy and well, just not worth my time when Paris offers so much.

It does. I believe Paris could keep me busy for a lifetime.

This Summer we took our kids for their first time tast of the French Capital and of all the things on offer they were adamant we visit the Eiffel tower.

With a deep sigh, we said okay and I am so glad with did, because even though it’s touristy, even though there’s always a crowd, even with the corona measures, it holds a special allure. 7 million people a year can’t be wrong.

The views from the Eiffel Tower are stunning and convey just how vast and incredible Paris is. Also, if you are short on time, it allows you to see it all at once.

Eiffel tower tickets: on-line or on site?

Since we were visiting Paris in August 2021, with all the covid restrictions we weren’t sure if we were actually going to make it, so I did eye the tickets on-line but was too scared to purchase them.

At the same time, we weren’t sure about the weather, so in the end we bought them on-site.

I don’t recommend doing that once this special situation changes, because you might not get the tickets or you might only get the tickets to walk up the tower.

If you are adamant about using the elevator to get you up then definitely buy the tickets on-line.

How much are the tickets for Eiffel tower?

This depends on:

  • how you want to get to the top, walking up is cheaper than going up with an elevator.
  • where you want to go: to the second floor or all the way to the top.
  • how old you are.

To get an idea, we paid 28 euros: 2 adults, 1 youth ticket and 1 child’s ticket to walk up to the 2nd floor.

Walking up the Eiffel Tower?

Yeah, you’ve read it right. Because there was a line for the elevators and no queue to walk up the Eiffel tower we decided to try our luck walking.

I was worried it would be strenuous for the kids and with the amount of walking around the city just too much, but it wasn’t as hard as it looked.

There are 674 steps from the bottom to the 2nd floor.

If you decide to walk 2nd floor is as far as you can get. But trust me it’s enough, you don’t see much more if you go all the way to the top. It probably just gets scarier.

The official website says that it will take you about 30 minutes up the stairs, but we needed only about 15 and we stopped to take photos and admire our surroundings. All the way up the stairs countless fun facts and positive messages encourage you to keep going.

The monument itself is impressive. Gustave Eiffel said: “Being the most striking manifestation of the art of metal structures by which our engineers have shown in Europe, it [the Eiffel Tower] is one of the most striking of our modern national genius.

When to visit the Eiffel Tower?

Their official website says that the busiest period is between the end of June and the beginning of September. But I bet it’s always busy, so try your luck. Buy tickets on line, it’s better than waiting around. Deciding to walk will also help you get up faster, pun intended.

For more details it’s best to consult the official website https://www.toureiffel.paris.

Visiting the Eiffel Tower with Kids?

Stop on the 1st floor where you’ll find animations dedicated to families, including the fun and educational tour for kids, the museographic path and a coffee shop.

With kids or without don’t visit the tower without a bottle of water and some snacks you can enjoy with Paris beneath your feet.

Read where we went after Paris. To the beautiful castle Chenonceau.

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