Paris > Sightseeing > Eiffel Tower at Night

Eiffel Tower at Night

ABOVE: A night view from beneath the Eiffel Tower.

By Durant Imboden

Most tourists visit the Eiffel Tower in daylight. That's reason enough to delay your climb until the late evening, when smaller crowds and shorter lines make an ascent more pleasant. But an even better reason is to enjoy the tower's nighttime ambience.

After dark, the entire tower is cloaked in the warm glow of 336 light projectors and 20,000 sparkling strobe lights. And from the tower's observation decks, you can enjoy cool evening breezes as you view floodlit bridges, churches, and other landmarks in the glittering Parisian lightscape.

Planning your nighttime visit

The Eiffel Tower is open until 11 p.m. or midnight., depending on the time of year. Entrance fees vary, depending on whether you're climbing the steps or taking the elevator.

Officially, the steps close at 6:30 p.m. (last admission 6 p.m.) except from mid-June until late August, when they're open to 12:45 a.m (last admission at midnight). In practice, we were able to climb the stairs at dusk in early April.

Next page: More visitor information

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About our site, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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