Climbing the Iron Lady

Things my guidebooks tell me: How much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the first level of the Eiffel Tower, how much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, how much it costs to take the elevator from the ground to the third and top level of the Eiffel Tower, and how much it costs to climb the stairs from the ground to the second level of the Eiffel Tower.

Things the English version of the Eiffel website tell me: How much it cost to go to the second floor or the top by elevator, and how much it costs to climb the stairs to the second level.

Things that NOBODY seems to tell you: That even in the middle of the week in "off" season, you need to book your elevator tickets from the bottom to the top a month in advance, unless you want to take your chances standing in an hours-long line to maybe get a spot. Oh, and also that you can climb the stairs to the second level, where you can then buy an elevator tickets that goes just from the 2nd to the 3rd, with little-to-no line.

Yeah.

Merrow and I started off the day by sleeping in, which was much needed after 3 increasingly early mornings in Iceland. We had planned on this as our non-museum day, so our only real plans involved climbing the Eiffel and wandering around in the city. Now, Merrow was in Paris last summer and didn't make it up the Eiffel; they didn't check far enough in advance to book tickets. And in retrospect, I'm pretty sure she's mentioned that to me before, but it didn't register and so I didn't look at getting elevator tickets until this morning.

First available trip to the top in the elevator is September 27th. No, that is not a typo.

So we resigned ourselves to climbing to the second level (which was kind of on our plan anyway) and taking fantastic pictures from there. We finally got ourselves ready and made it all the way to the café on the corner where we stopped for lunch - wine, bread, and huge salads.

After lunch, we headed over towards the 7eme arrondissement and stood in the short line to climb up. Twenty minutes later we were ticketed, security screened, and ready to begin our butt workout.

Only 700-something stairs to go!

Going up and up, 360 steps to the first level, which has a restaurant, a café, and shops. Over my shoulder is a view of the Parc du Champ de Mars and the École Militaire from the first terrace.

Northeast view from the first terrace

We walked around the first floor for a bit, taking pictures from all directions, and then it was time to go up some more. Another 350-something stairs to the second level, which is actually two stories.

Merrow on the lower level of the second floor.
The red-roofed building in the back is Stade Émile Anthoine.

Looking southwest along the Seine towards the Allée des Cygnes.

As we strolled along the second level, we saw the exits for the elevators coming from the ground level, and the entrance to the elevators that go all the way to the top. And just outside that entrance, we noticed a ticket window. At which point we looked at each other and said "Can we really buy tickets to the top from here?" And the answer is yes, yes you can. We stood in a line that was maybe 5 people long, snagged our tickets, waited another couple of minutes for the elevator, and headed up.

Second level to the top baby!

There is a Champagne bar at the top of the Eiffel, and our plan was to have a celebratory glass there. In true French fashion, though, just as we got there the bar closed for 45 minutes. We decided not to wait around that long, that Champagne from the café on the first terrace would taste just as good. But we spent some time walking around, admiring the view, and checking out the exhibits on Eiffel history on the third level. I think my favorite was a pictogram of the tallest buildings in other countries, plotted against the height of the Eiffel and located in the approximate direction of said countries from Paris.

Clearly thrilled to have actually made it to the top of the Eiffel!

So much for not being able to reserve a time to go to the top until September 27th! I still don't understand why in all of my research I never found anything that said climbing to the second level and THEN taking the elevator to the third was an option. And it definitely was an option, when we bought our tickets we did not have to prove we had previously come up on the elevator, and we did figure out that the signage at the ticket window at the base of the Eiffel (kind of) showed that option. Poorly. In French. Still, we wound up feeling like climbing ninjas AND super sneaky elevator-goers, so I think it worked out quite nicely in our favor.

After about 20 minutes at the top, we elevatored back to the second and then climbed down to the first level. Where we immediately got our Champagne, found a quiet table that overlooked the edge, and chilled out for a few.

 

Happy Kate and Merrow...

...with tired feet.
And yes, we DID climb the Eiffel in sandals.

Back on the ground, with some more random Eiffel shots. I may be slightly obsessed with the Iron Lady.

We headed back towards the Métro stop in the 15th, and grabbed dinner at a sidewalk café before heading back to the apartment. We both had quiche. It was delish. Served with a green salad and, of course, wine. Because Merrow and I can't go anywhere without wine.

So that was our "free" day in Paris. Plans for tomorrow are to go get our museum passes. Six-day pass for me, 2-day for Merrow since she leaves early Saturday morning to meet C at the airport and head off on their own adventure. The museum passes are for consecutive days, so I'll be a whirlwind of museums for the next week. Can already see that I'm not going to accomplish half of what I'd like to do!