It’s no secret that the Eiffel Tower serves as the most iconic symbol of Paris, standing tall and elegant over the city’s unique skyline. However, beyond its famous silhouette, it offers much more than just serving as a landmark to take photos of!

Seeing it up close is truly another experience, and seeing the inside is even more so – the architecture, the history, and just the feeling it emits is something truly special.

If you want to take full advantage of the experience, I highly recommend checking out at least one of these 7 top Eiffel Tower tours available today! Let’s get started!

Be sure to see our reviews of Day Trips to Normandy, Louvre Guided Tours and Paris Catacombs Tours.

Best Tours of the Eiffel Tower

	Paris: Eiffel Tower Access by Elevator & Seine River Cruise	Eiffel Tower Guided Climbing Experience & Optional Summit Upgrade	Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor or Summit Access
Location:	41 Avenue de la Bourdonnais, Paris 75007	1 Av. Elisée Reclus, 75007 Paris	GetYourGuide shop at 62 Avenue Suffren, Paris
Start:	Between 10:45 AM & 8:45 PM	9:30 AM	11:30 AM, 7:30 PM, 8:30 PM
Duration:	3 hours	3 hours	1.5 to 2 hours
Includes:	Reserved entry ticket to the 1st and 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower, Standard access to the summit of the Eiffel Tower, Presentation (English only), Guide for the Eiffel Tower, Audio-guide for the sightseeing cruise, Unlimited time inside the Eiffel Tower, 1-hour Seine River cruise	Professional guide, Entrance tickets to the Eiffel Tower 1st and 2nd floor, Group of 20 people or less, Fully guided climbing tour via stairs to the 2nd floor, Summit Access by Elevator (if option selected)	Entry ticket to the second floor by elevator, Entry ticket to the summit by elevator (if option selected), Guided tour in English, Unlimited time in the Eiffel Tower after the tour, Ticket for a 1-hour cruise (if option selected)
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 7 Best Rated Eiffel Tower Tours For 2025

1. Paris: Eiffel Tower Access by Elevator & Seine River Cruise
2. Eiffel Tower Guided Climbing Experience & Optional Summit Upgrade
3. Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor or Summit Access
4. Paris: Eiffel Tower Summit Floor Ticket & Seine River Cruise
5. Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor Access or Summit Access
6. Eiffel Tower Lift Access with Optional Summit and Seine Cruise
7. Eiffel Tower with Reserved Access to The 2nd floor

Plan the Ultimate Paris Vacation: See our 5 Day Itinerary of the Best Things to do in Paris!

Eiffel Tower Tour Reviews

1. Paris: Eiffel Tower Access by Elevator & Seine River Cruise

You haven’t seen Paris until you’ve experienced it from these 2 iconic perspectives: both soaring high above the cityscape and down along the historic Seine River.

The Paris: Eiffel Tower Access by Elevator & Seine River Cruise experience is a smoothly-operated, well-curated few hours combining skip-the-line access to the Tower, allowing for a tranquil river cruise, offering different perspectives of the City of Light.

Plenty of tours out there just rush you through the sights, which kind of takes you out of the experience, in my opinion. Instead of taking everything in at your own pace, you’re on a set schedule, almost forcing yourself to digest everything quickly and then make sure you get photos, too.

What I loved about this tour was that after the brief introductory presentation, you’re free to head up tho the second floor and, if you’ve opted to, continue up to the summit!

I do recommend doing the summit option, as the views are quite a bit different, even though it’s from the same tower. It’s definitely a great way to take it all in if it’s your first day in Paris, where you can spot iconic landmarks all the way out to Sacre Coeur from here!

Following the tower visit, you’ll head back down to the ground for a 1-hour cruise on the Seine where you’ll see some of the biggest landmarks from a different perspective.

I always recommend a good Seine cruise, as it’s always so calming and entertaining at the same time, with guides who really know what they’re talking about. Not to mention, it’s much quicker and more convenient than walking, and you’ll get some of the best vantage points down on the river!

It’s crazy how much you’ll see and learn in just a few hours!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

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2. Eiffel Tower Guided Climbing Experience & Optional Summit Upgrade

Next up is the Eiffel Tower Guided Climbing Experience & Optional Summit Upgrade, which is one of the best budget-friendly options without compromising on quality. Sure, you could do the tower on your own, but then you’d be missing out on some tips and tricks, as well as a ton of interesting stories from your local expert guide!

Ascend the iconic landmark’s 704 steps, offering a more intimate, close-up view of its intricate ironwork and panoramic vistas of the city. There are a few different start times available to make it easier to fit into a busy schedule, and the meetup is very close to the Eiffel Tower, which is easy to access on foot or by Metro.

Our group had around 15 people in it, which was not too big and actually made it easy to chat and make some friends with other travelers! It was cool to compare notes and see everyone’s impressions of the Eiffel Tower, as for most, it was their first time going up!

Upon arrival to the base, you really do realize just how massive and heavy it is, as your guide regales you with a captivating introduction to the structure. We did have a wait of about 15 minutes, which wasn’t ideal, but also went nearly unnoticed, as our guide did a great job with their storytelling and sharing all kinds of historical facts and anecdotes.

As we climbed up to the 2nd-level observation deck, I took in breathtaking views (while my breath was actually being taken by me being more out of shape than I’d like to admit).

You can select to upgrade the experience by adding a visit to the highest level, which has even more all-encompassing views! You can also opt for a Seine River cruise, which I consider to be the best way to decompress after the thrill of the tower.

The boat is smooth and comfortable, with plenty of space and glass rooftops for unobstructed views of the beautiful architecture on both banks.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

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3. Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor or Summit Access

If you’ve just arrived to Paris, don’t waste any time going to see one of the can’t-miss landmarks in all of Europe! The Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor or Summit Access experience balances history, amazing panoramic views, and the unmistakable Parisian skyline.

Offering both 2nd-floor and summit access via the elevator, there’s no need to worry if you didn’t pack your hiking shoes along! Start off with a brief meet-up near the Eiffel Tower, where you’ll be given your tickets and an overview of what to expect on your tour for the next couple of hours.

Our guide was super friendly and clearly knew what they were doing, leading us through security and helping with elevator access so we didn’t have to worry about doing it ourselves. Once we were inside, we headed straight up to the 2nd floor, taking in the stunning vistas of Paris.

If you’ve selected the summit access upgrade, head up to the top for even more expansive views (perhaps partake in a champagne toast if you are celebrating!).

At this point, I’d seen quite a bit of the Eiffel Tower, but what really set this one apart was the convenience along with our enthusiastic guide. I can imagine it gets monotonous doing the same tour repeatedly, but she was upbeat and more than happy to answer all of our questions.

As with the others, you also have the option to include a 1-hour Seine cruise, which is a great way to see another aspect of Paris. Actually, the riverboats offer some of my favorite views of the Eiffel Tower – it looks more, well… towering.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Paris: Eiffel Tower Summit Floor Ticket & Seine River Cruise

You can’t just visit Paris and not have the quintessential Parisian experience! The Paris: Eiffel Tower Summit Floor Ticket & Seine River Cruise is a comprehensive itinerary that lasts around 3 hours, with easy-to-follow instructions.

Combining skip-the-line access to the Eiffel Tower with a serene Seine River cruise, you’ll gain a comprehensive perspective of the City of Light. Start out by meeting your guide in front of the Le Champ de Mars Cafe, where you’ll get your ticket.

Bypass the usual chaos that is queuing up to go inside the Eiffel Tower – the first time I ever went, we waited over half an hour, and the line wasn’t even that long. This experience is much more seamless, ensuring the time you spend is with a purpose, maximizing your sightseeing and exploring!

You’ll ascend directly to the second floor with your guide, who’ll make sure you have elevator access and have any questions answered. Please note that the guide isn’t actually providing commentary throughout – it’s more to make sure you know where to go and don’t have to wait in any lines.

While your guide will stay on the 2nd floor, you get to go all the way to the summit if you choose, for incredible views of the city!

Afterward, head down to your included 1-hour Seine cruise, or elect to use it at any other time during your trip. The cruise does start close to the tower, so it’s not a bad idea, but honestly it’s very calming and is a welcome activity just as well before dinner or midday.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor Access or Summit Access

If you have an insanely busy schedule planned for Paris but really want to do a proper tour of the Eiffel Tower, look no further. The Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor Access or Summit Access experience is a seamlessly organized outing that streamlines all the logistics for you so you don’t spend valuable time queuing up.

Thanks to pre-booked access tickets that take you to the second level of the famous landmark, when you arrive, you head right up to the good stuff. Start out by meeting your guide about a 5-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, where you’ll get your tickets and a briefing as to what to expect once there.

They answered all of our questions for us, and thanks to the small group size, it felt more like a close friend group right off the bat. We went on an evening tour which I’d never done before, but is one that I’d recommend, seeing as the crowds were much smaller and the view is so different once the sun sets.

Once we arrived, we got to go straight up to the second level with our guide, and had literally all the time we wanted to look around, see the architecture up close, and take amazing photos.

It does get a bit windy up there – especially at night – so make sure to bring a jacket and perhaps a hat or scarf during the chillier months! You can also select the option to go up to the summit for a different vantage point!

When you’re finished, head down to the first floor and enjoy the floor of glass – they have some pretty nice espresso here, too, if you’re a coffee drinker!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

6. Eiffel Tower Lift Access with Optional Summit and Seine Cruise

Paris is filled with famous attractions and historic locations – so much so that it’d be hard even for locals to see them all. However, the Eiffel Tower is undoubtedly the most popular tourist attraction, and there’s no competition by far.

With the Eiffel Tower Lift Access with Optional Summit and Seine Cruise, you not only get to see the magnificent Iron Lady, but the tranquil green Seine, as well.

After meeting up with your guide and the rest of your group around 5 minutes from the Eiffel Tower by foot, you’ll listen to a brief commentary about the attraction before heading to the 2nd floor.

You can also choose to go to the summit if you want to upgrade to an even more impressive view! One thing is for sure, though – if you value your time and want to use it seeing the fun stuff, you need to book a tour like this one.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and quick-thinking, ensuring that all of us were taken care of and headed in the right direction, despite the big crowds of people and chaos around us.

Not only that, but she was very engaging and interactive, sharing all kinds of fun anecdotes and interesting information about how the tower came to be, its creation, cultural impacts, and more. If you’re looking for more than cookie-cutter facts that you can find anywhere, this is not the tour for you.

Ultimately, if you want an educational, full-fledged visit that takes you in and out of the tower without hassle, this is one of the best.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

7. Eiffel Tower with reserved access to the 2nd floor

When you think of Paris, what do you envision? I guarantee there’s at least some blip of the Eiffel Tower in your scene, considering it defines the unique skyline of the City of Light.

There are plenty of ways to see it, though if you want to go about it the right way, I encourage you to check out the Eiffel Tower with Reserved Access to the 2nd Floor. With an expert, English-speaking guide there to lead the way through the queuing and crowds, you’ll be able to enjoy it in all its glory without the hassle.

This is another one of the shortest tours of its kind, though it’s perfect if you’re someone who tends to really pack their schedule full. It’s definitely something easy to do in a city like Paris, where there are virtually never-ending things to see and do!

While the meetup point admittedly wasn’t the easiest to find, it was very close to the tower and we instantly hit it off with our friendly, helpful tour guide.

She had our tickets ready to go when we met up and also gave us tons of helpful tips and tricks, like how to climb the tower quicker (which saved me some wheezing and quad soreness).

Perhaps not the entire time during your ascent to the second floor, but throughout, your guide will share interesting stories and facts about the construction of the Eiffel Tower, and the scandal is was for many Parisians at the time!

You’ll also hear about how they actually constructed it, how it came to be, and plenty of anecdotes you can’t get from a history book. Then, when you reach the second floor, enjoy full 360-degree views of the incomparable Paris.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

Paris Travel Guide

In TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards 2019, Paris was ranked as the #2 Top Destination in the World. This is no surprise for a city famous for its food, art, and architecture.

Whether you’re looking for gourmet meals, a romantic getaway, a place to immerse yourself in fine art, or a family vacation, France’s capital city is a great destination for you.

Airports & Entry

The two best ways to travel to Paris are by air and by train.

Air

Paris boasts 3 busy international airports which together form the world’s 5^th busiest airport combination and a major transport hub for Europe. Paris’ three international airports are Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris-Orly, and Beauvais-Tillé.

Paris is well served by a selection of budget airlines including Easyjet, Ryanair, French Bee, Transavia, and Norwegian. You can secure better deals by booking at least a month in advance and using a ticket price comparison website, like Omio. You can literally save hundreds of dollars by choosing the right flight. Because Paris is such a major transport hub, flights are very competitive.

Usually, you will find flying both the most affordable and easiest way to reach Paris. However, if you are traveling from a neighboring country, it is worthwhile checking into high-speed trains.

Train

Paris is linked to neighboring countries by a network of high-speed rail links operated by SNCF. Although these trains take longer than flights, they transport their passengers from city center to city center. Flying, of course, usually requires a transfer to an airport some distance away from the city.

For example, if you’re traveling from London to Paris, a Eurostar train that passes through the famous Channel Tunnel will provide a relatively hassle-free journey when compared to flying. Also, in most cases, that journey will be quicker than flying because of the extra time taken up waiting for connections at the airports. And it also gives you bragging rights for using one of the world’s most famous undersea tunnels.

When planning your journey, compare the costs of flights and high-speed trains and decide which is the best option for you. Often flying will be cheapest, but if the cost isn’t too much more, the train will be relatively more comfortable and involve fewer complications.

Planning Tips

Paris is an amazing destination that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Here are 5 tips to help you on your way.

Tip #1: Watch out for Mondays and Tuesdays

When planning your itinerary for your stay in Paris, note that many major attractions, such as the Palace of Versailles and the catacombs, are closed on Mondays. A few attractions are closed on Tuesdays instead, including the Natural History Museum and the Pompidou Center. There are various major attractions open every day, like the Eiffel Tower and Disneyland Paris, so go there on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Tip #2: Buy unique souvenirs and gifts

Paris is, of course, the center of fashion. However, there is one relatively unfashionable item of dress that you might want to pick up during your stay in France’s capital city. The béret is the cliché headwear of France, and you’ll see cheap versions “made in China” in every souvenir shop you pass.

But, if you want to buy the real thing, look out for clothing stores that sell bérets made in France. La Cerise Sur Le Chapeau is a well-known chain store around Paris that stocks French bérets.

However, if you’re looking for something distinctly Parisian that few people will own, how about a piece of the Eiffel Tower? Victor Lustig once sold the Eiffel Tower twice in an elaborate con, but this opportunity isn’t a scam like that.

During repairs to the tower, inevitably some parts need to be replaced. The removed rivets are turned into unique souvenirs only available in the Eiffel Tower’s official gift shop.

Tip #3: Stay safe while visiting Paris

Although Paris is considered a relatively safe city, don’t forget that Kim Kardashian had all her bling stolen while she was staying in a vacation apartment there. Just like any other busy city, you will find purse-snatchers and pickpockets in crowded locations, especially around tourist hotspots.

Just use common sense. Keep your passport and other valuable documents in a hotel safe. Keep your money in a money belt. Don’t wear ostentatious jewelry in public places.

If you see abandoned packages or luggage in a crowded public place, especially a Metro station, distance yourself from the package and call 112. Paris is not a stranger to terrorist attacks.

Tip #4: Book in advance, especially during the summer

Paris is a popular destination in summer and during Christmas and Easter. Ensure you book your hotel rooms and any tours you wish to join well in advance of your vacation. You often get better air flight deals when you book in advance, and that is especially true during the summer.

The best time to visit Paris for bargain prices and fewer crowds is during the shoulder season—just before or just after summer. The weather is still fine, but there are simply fewer tourists.

Tip #5: Learn a few French phrases before traveling to Paris

The French are a proud people, not least of all Parisians. They are rightly concerned about the dilution of their native tongue by English words and phrases from Hollywood movies and internationally popular songs.

So, if you’ve ever heard someone say that French people are rude, it’s probably because the person telling you expected them to speak English.

Almost all French people you’ll meet speak English. But if you greet them in French and use a few words and phrases like “merci” and “s’il vous plaît”, they will be more likely to treat you with respect in return. You don’t need to speak more than a handful of phrases, and you don’t even need a good accent. Parisians will appreciate your effort.

Restaurants & Eating Out

Paris is recognized by many as the heart of the culinary world. Many internationally-acclaimed chefs trained there, and the terms used in gourmet kitchens worldwide originate in Paris. You won’t have any problem finding good food in the capital of France.

Breakfast

Traditional croissants are a great breakfast treat in any Parisian café. The best area for traditional cafés is the Boulevard Saint-Germain, a tree-lined avenue in the 6^th Arrondissement. The Neo Café is highly rated. But if you’re in a hurry and want your breakfast on the go, grab a fresh pain-au-chocolat from one of the family bakeries (patisseries).

Bo&mie in the 2^nd Arrondissement is the top-rated patisserie in Paris and close to attractions such as the Louvre and the Pompidou Center. In the early morning, you’ll often see Parisians walking out from patisseries with freshly baked baguettes. They do love freshly baked bread rather than long-life bread found on supermarket shelves.

Main meals

If you want to find the most exclusive, Michelin-stared restaurants, explore the area around the Champs-Elysées. That’s where you’ll find many of the oldest restaurants in Paris. But, if you have a less discerning palate, the same area is where you’ll find McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks.

The top-rated French gourmet restaurant here is Pierre Gagnaire on Rue Balzac. Be prepared to spend at least €200 per person and you will require a reservation.

While in Paris, you should try at least one distinctively French dish, like coq au vin or ratatouille. If you’re feeling courageous, you could opt for snails or frogs’ legs…just so you can say that you did.

Snacks & sweets

For traditional street food, try the amazing crepes that you can buy from many street corners. You can eat these tasty pancake treats while you walk with savory or sweet fillings.

Before you leave Paris, ensure you sample some of its amazing desserts. The Crème Brulée is a delicious traditional sweet, and meringues are sweet and satisfying but also very messy.

Nightlife & Entertainment

Paris is famous as a getaway for romantic weekends, so of course you’ll find a rich variety of nightlife.

Pigalle

The most famous nightspot in Paris is undoubtedly The Moulin Rouge in the area of the 18^th arrondissement known as Pigalle. This historic cabaret club is where the Can-can dance was created and a favorite haunt for many famous celebrities over the past century, from Toulouse-Lautrec to Frank Sinatra. You can enjoy a cabaret here for around €145 ($160).

However, be aware that Pigalle is regarded as the red-light district. Watch out for overly friendly ladies and gentlemen inviting you into dance clubs in this district.

Champs-Elysées

The most exclusive nightclubs, restaurants, and live music venues are found in the 8^th arrondissement, around the Champs-Elysées. Many of the clubs here are impossible to enter unless you are a recognizable celebrity, royal, or billionaire.

You’ll need to dress up smart to get into any of the decent clubs here. And if you do enter, be careful whose drink you nudge and spill! But a word of caution — the exclusive clubs in this area also include a few strip clubs! They’re very different from the strip clubs in Pigalle, but still strip clubs. One to watch out for is the famous Whisper Club.

An example of a bar in palatial settings where you might be concerned about scuffing the silverware and smearing the crystal is simply called Le Bar in the George V Four Seasons Hotel.

This same area is also home to more touristy haunts which you won’t find so difficult to enter. However, these often contain more tourists than locals, so don’t expect a uniquely French experience. The club with the most laid-back reputation is the Dogstar Club. You might get past the bouncers without a $10,000 watch on your wrist and a designer cocktail dress.

Place Vendome

The 1^st arrondissement is literally the center of the city around the Louvre and where you’ll find boutique hotels with historic bars frequented by celebrities and the beautiful rich. Most of these hotels have strict dress rules to enter the bar, and you’ll need a healthy income to survive the night.

Bastille

The area around the Metro Bastille, on the borders of the 4^th, 11^th, and 12^th arrondissement, is where the younger and more relaxed crowd hang out. You’ll find decent nightclubs, cafés, live music venues, and dive bars frequented by local 20-somethings.

Check out the Niki Club on the Rue de Lappe for a casual night, or maybe the Black Star Club in Passage Thiere if you enjoy live rock music or jazz.

Marais

If you enjoy the LGBT scene, the Marais district in the southern part of the 3^rd arrondissement and northern part of the 4^th is where you’ll find welcoming cafés, bars, and live music venues where all genders and sexualities are made welcome. Café Cox is one bar legendary for its welcomes.

Getting Around

When you’re trying to find your way around, you might get confused by the way addresses sometimes emphasize the arrondissement, sometimes the name of the area, and sometimes the zip code. To simplify this a little, the last two digits of the zip code are the arrondissement number. So, the Eiffel tower is at 75007, meaning it’s in the 7^th arrondissement.

You might be surprised to discover it’s not in the 1^st arrondissement since it’s so central to the city. However, the way the arrondissements work is beginning in the Louvre — the 1^st arrondissement and true center of Paris (where the king’s palace is) — and then radiates out from there. The first layers are numbered from the north clockwise and wrap around the central arrondissements. The arrondissements get larger as you get further from the center.

Most of the main attractions are found in arrondissements 1 through 8, which form the core of the city. This means that it’s possible to walk from attraction to attraction. But if you want to go a little quicker, Paris boasts an affordable and efficient public transport system. And the best way to get around is on the Metro.

Metro

With 300 Metro stations, everywhere in Paris is within a 10-minute walk of a station. A Paris Visite Travel Pass provides unlimited Metro travel within a specified zone for a set period of time. The Travel Pass may also be used on trams, buses, and the RER underground train system. A 1-day ticket for Zones 1 to 3 costs €12 ($13).

Buses

There are even more bus stops than Metro stations and bus services run every 5 to 7 minutes. This means that buses are often more convenient for shorter journeys than the Metro. Since a Travel Pass allows you to swap between the Metro and buses, you can simply take the bus when it’s most convenient but use the Metro for longer destinations. To learn which would be most convenient for your planned journey, you can check the route maps on the RATP (Regie Autonome des Transports) website.

Hire bicycles

Like many capital cities in Europe, Paris has a public bicycle hire scheme. Around the city, you’ll find 1,800 Velib bike stations with 24,000 bicycles. You simply require a credit card with a chip to rent a Velib bike.

Taxis

There are over 16,000 taxis in Paris. Taxis are an expensive but convenient mode of transport. You can take a taxi from a taxi rank or hail one down in the street.

Car hire

While you can opt to hire a car in Paris, be aware that Parisian drivers have a bad reputation for safety. Also, the congested roads are difficult to navigate and parking places rare. If you really want to enjoy your time in Paris, walk or use public transport.

Accommodations

When choosing where to stay in Paris, you should consider why you’re there. If your main interest is in taking your family to Disneyland, Paris, then you’ll find accommodation near there more spacious and much more affordable than most places in the city.

However, if you want to visit the historical and cultural attractions, then you should confine yourself to the central areas between the 1^st and the 8^th arrondissements, where hotels are within walking distance of the main sites.

Below, I’ve divided the kind of accommodation by area. However, this is only a rough guide. You’ll find 5-star luxury hotels in the budget and family areas, and I’ve previously stayed in a very cheap family guesthouse about 2-minutes-walk from the Arc de Triomphe.

Budget

You’ll find a lot of budget accommodation around the 5^th and part of the 6^th arrondissements simply because these areas are a little further from the most popular tourist attractions and famous streets.

But if you don’t mind a little more walking, the area of Montmartre is still pretty central and boasts character-filled, winding streets. And with Metro stations dotted all around the area, it’s as convenient as any other central location if you plan to get around on public transport.

An example budget hotel in this area is the Hotel Marignan  on a quiet street in the Latin Quarter. This historic hotel has hosted many famous guests, such as EE Cummings, and is within walking distance of Notre Dame.

Family

The Rive Gauche area of the rest of the 6^th and the 7^th arrondissements is an easy walk from places like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

This makes the affordable hotels there perfect for families with young and impatient kids who just want to get there quick. Many of the hotels in this area vary between small boutique hotels and cozy, family-run hotels.

The aptly named Eiffel Rive Gauche Hotel is super close to the Eiffel Tower and would provide a great base for your family to explore the French capital.

Luxury

While a few of the most exclusive hotels are in the 1^st arrondissement, the main selection of high-class hotels is found along the Champs-Elysees in the 8^th arrondissement. You’ll notice this coincides with where the most Michelin-starred restaurants and high-class bars and clubs are, many of which are attached to or inside the luxury hotels.

In terms of distance, the 1^st and 8^th arrondissements are neighbors, with the Champ-Elysees running between the Louvre area in the 1^st and the Arc de Triomphe in the 8^th. Government officials and important people have long made their home in the 8^th arrondissement, and it is considered the cultural heart of the capital.

A great example of a luxury hotel in this area is the Hotel de Crillon, which looks more like a palace or museum than a working hotel.

Weather

Although it’s fairly inland, Paris still benefits from an oceanic climate with cool but mild winters and pleasantly warm summers. Generally, the city sees light rainfall distributed evenly through the year, though sudden heavy showers can occur.

Paris gets coldest in January, with an average daily high of 45⁰F and a low of 37⁰F. During spring, the temperatures warm so that by April it reaches an average high of 60⁰F and low of 45⁰F. Spring is a great time to visit Paris because the flowers are blooming all around the city and the summer crowds have yet to descend upon the city.

The hottest month of the summer is July, with an average high of 77⁰F and low of 60⁰F. That’s when the city becomes crowded with visitors from all around the world. By October, the average high drops to 61⁰F and the low to 49⁰F.

The fall is another great time to visit because the weather isn’t too cold but the crowds have diminished and the trees have donned their beautiful autumnal cloaks.

Attractions

The main attractions radiate out from the center of the city, which is the 1^st arrondissement.

Louvre

The Louvre Palace in the 1st arrondissement was the main residence of the Kings of France from the 14^th century onward. Today it is much better known as the home of the world’s greatest art museum, the Musée du Louvre. If you want to see such world-famous masterpieces as the Venus de Milo sculpture and the Mona Lisa painting, then you should head straight for the glass pyramid in front of the grand palatial building.

Notre-Dame

The great cathedral of Notre-Dame in the 4^th arrondissement is so spectacular and famous that I cannot justify leaving it out of this list. However, please note that the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris is closed for at least the next four years and maybe more.

After the devastating fire of April 2019, the cathedral and nearby surrounding area were closed to public access until sufficient repairs can be made to make the area safe once again. You can still admire its amazing Gothic architecture from a distance and maybe catch a glimpse of some of the restoration work in progress.

Eiffel Tower

The most visited attraction in the center of Paris is the Eiffel Tower in the 7^th arrondissement. Although this renowned iron tower was erected as a temporary structure in 1889, it is still standing strong and looks good for another few centuries of service. The fact that it was the world’s tallest building when built is eye-opening when it is compared to the Empire State Building in NYC or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, but it is still the best place for a panoramic view in Paris.

Arc de Triomphe

This triumphal arch in the 8^th arrondissement was commissioned by Napoleon but wasn’t built until 1836, long after his death. It stands on a huge roundabout at the northern end of the Champ-Elysees and is one of the most recognizable and photographed monuments in the capital. The Arc de Triomphe is also home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Flame of Remembrance that is kept alive in daily ceremonies.

Versailles

You have to leave the city and travel 12 miles southwest to reach the Palace of Versailles, where Louis XIV moved his court in the 17^th century. Now this famous palace is a grand museum full of amazing reminders of the power of the great Sun King. Look around the interior and exterior of the palace for the many sun-emblems reminding visitors who lived here. But the true highlight for many visitors is the beautiful formal gardens that surround the palace.

Disneyland Paris

Also outside the city, despite its name, is Disneyland Paris, 20 miles to the east. This famous theme park is the most visited attraction in France. If you’re visiting Paris with children, you’ll probably want to devote two days to Disney because there are two separate parks here: Disneyland Park opened in 1992 and Walt Disney Studios Park opened in 2002.

Inside both, you’ll find thrill rides for all ages as well as classic attractions, like actors dressed up as your favorite Disney characters and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.