The Eiffel Tower, today or on the day of your visit

In the morning. The Tower opens to the public in the morning. On 1 October 2026, for example, the site entrance opened at 9:15 am. The Trocadéro esplanade is quieter then than in the afternoon: it's a good time for a photo without the crowds. Our tips on angles are on the Trocadéro esplanade page.

Late in the day. At sunset, the sky changes colour around the Tower: it's the photographers' favourite time on the esplanade. Today's exact time is in the block above and on our sunrise and sunset at Trocadéro page.

At nightfall. The golden lighting and the beacon come on at the same time. There is no fixed time: sensors switch on the lights when night falls, and they take less than 10 minutes to come on fully, according to the official website.

At the start of every hour. Once the Tower is lit, it sparkles for 5 minutes, on the hour. The official website gives this example: if night falls at 8:35 pm, the lights come on within 10 minutes, and the first sparkle is at 9 pm. The block above works out the next one for you. All the details are on our Eiffel Tower sparkle page.

Late in the evening. Outside the summer months and school holidays, the Tower goes completely dark at midnight, lighting and beacon included, and the last sparkle is at midnight. During the summer months, when the monument closes at 12:45 am, it sparkles every hour until 1 am. At 1 am, the golden lighting and the beacon go off, and the Tower keeps sparkling for a few minutes.

The Tower's opening hours change from day to day. The official website does not publish long periods: it shows a calendar where you click a date to see that day's hours. Each date has a colour: normal hours, special hours or exceptional closure.

Example for 1 October 2026: site entrance from 9:15 am to 10:45 pm, monument closing at 11:45 pm, lifts from 9:30 am to 11 pm, stairs from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. These are the hours for one given day, not a rule: always check the date of your visit. Our seasonal guide is on the Eiffel Tower opening hours page.

A strike, an official event or a technical problem can close the Tower, sometimes on the day itself. In that case, only the official website toureiffel.paris is the reference. The website itself says that all its opening hours "may be changed without notice". Our block shows the published status, with the time of our last check.

The sky matters more than the temperature. In mist or low cloud, the view from the floors shrinks. The block above shows the current visibility, to help you choose when to go up.

Bad weather can also close the top level. The official website warns that "access to the top may be temporarily interrupted due to difficult weather conditions or very high visitor numbers". If the top is your goal, look at the sky before you book your time slot on our Eiffel Tower tickets page.

Several webcams film the Tower around the clock, including one from the Palais d'Iéna, right next to the Trocadéro. We do not embed any of them on this page: the ones we found do not allow their stream to be shown on another website. Our live block gives you the useful information (opening, visibility, sparkle), and the best option is still to come and see: the square is a few minutes from the Tower, and the view is free at any time.