How to Reach the Eiffel Tower in Paris
The Eiffel Tower sits on the Champ de Mars in the 7th arrondissement, and is reachable by metro, RER, bus, river boat, taxi or on foot. Which entrance you use depends on the ticket you booked, and that trips up more visitors than the journey itself.
{'label': 'View Eiffel Tower tickets'}Eiffel Tower Location Basics
The tower stands between the Champ de Mars and the Seine. Several stations sit within a ten-minute walk, and the nearest one is not always the best one depending on which pillar your entrance is under.
Address
Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris
Closest metro
Bir-Hakeim on line 6, roughly a ten-minute walk across the bridge
Closest RER
Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel on RER C, about eight minutes on foot
Best for first-timers
Trocadéro on line 9 — longer walk, but the approach view is the famous one
Reaching the Eiffel Tower by Public Transport
Public transport is the simplest option in Paris and usually faster than a taxi at peak times, because the roads around the Champ de Mars get congested.
- Line 6 to Bir-Hakeim: Comes out on the north bank. Cross the Pont de Bir-Hakeim and the tower is directly ahead.
- Line 9 to Trocadéro: Longer walk but you approach across the Palais de Chaillot terrace, which is the view everyone photographs.
- RER C to Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel: The shortest walk of any station, and useful if you are coming from Versailles or the south.
- Line 8 to École Militaire: Approaches from the far end of the Champ de Mars gardens. Quieter, about fifteen minutes on foot.
First visit? Take line 9 to Trocadéro even though it is a longer walk. The approach across the terrace is worth the extra five minutes.
Taxi, Ride-Hail and Driving
A taxi makes sense with young children, limited mobility or late at night. Driving yourself rarely does.
Taxi and ride-hail
Ask for the Pont d'Iéna side. Drivers cannot stop directly under the tower.
Traffic at peak
Roads around the Champ de Mars slow badly between 17:00 and 19:00.
Parking
There is no visitor car park at the tower. The nearest underground car parks are a walk away and fill in summer.
Accessibility
A taxi to the Pont d'Iéna side is the shortest step-free approach to the lift entrances.
Practical note: If you are running close to a timed slot, the metro is more reliable than a taxi. Traffic here is genuinely unpredictable.
Using the Right Entrance for Your Ticket
This is where most arrival problems happen. The entrance depends on your ticket type, not on which direction you walked from.
Lift ticket holders
Use the east or west pillar entrances. These are the ones with the longest visible queues.
Stairs ticket holders
A separate, usually shorter entrance. Many visitors do not realise it exists.
Guided tour groups
Meet at the point named on your voucher, not at the pillar — usually on the Champ de Mars side.
Security screening
Everyone passes a perimeter check first. Allow fifteen minutes for it in summer.
Allow extra time: The perimeter security check is separate from the ticket queue. Budget fifteen minutes on top of your slot time.
Check Your Ticket Before You Set Off
Your ticket decides which entrance you need, so check it before you leave rather than at the pillar.
Summit access by lift, reserved entry
Timed slot straight to the second floor, then the summit lift. The one most people mean by "Eiffel Tower ticket".
Second floor, skip-the-line entry
116 m up, and honestly the better view — Paris still reads as a city from here. Cheapest way past the queue.
Small-group guided tour to the summit
Maximum 15 people, all three levels, and the engineering story told properly.
Summit ticket with Seine river cruise
The cruise dock is a seven-minute walk from the north pillar, so this pairing is genuinely convenient.
Arriving Without Stress
Small things that make the difference between a smooth arrival and standing around.
- Screenshot your ticket: Signal at the base is unreliable when the area is busy.
- Arrive twenty minutes early: Security plus finding the right pillar takes longer than people expect.
- Check the entrance name: Match the wording on your voucher to the pillar signage before you join a queue.
- Plan the return: Bir-Hakeim and RER C get very busy right after the light show ends.
- Watch for pickpockets: The Champ de Mars approach is a known hotspot, particularly at dusk.
Ready to Visit the Eiffel Tower?
Pick your ticket, note which entrance it uses, and give yourself twenty minutes on top of the slot time for security and walking. The journey is easy — it is the entrance that catches people out.
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