In this post you'll find all the information you need to plan the perfect Eiffel Tower visit for you and your autistic / adhd child.
With careful planning and a flexible approach you can definitely visit the Eiffel tower as a neurodivergent family.
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WHY DID WE TAKE OUR AUTISTIC CHILDREN UP THE EIFFEL TOWER?
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic symbols of Paris. At over 81 storeys high it dominates the beautiful Parisienne skyline – its graphic lines visible from all over the city.
The tower features regularly in the French animated series Miraculous! – our youngest son Charlie is a big fan - and the boys were super excited at the thought of finally seeing the Eiffel Tower in real life.
BOOKING AFFORDABLE FAMILY TICKETS FOR THE EIFFEL TOWER
The Eiffel Tower is known to have extremely long queues, and in my pre-children days I have personally waited well over an hour for a ticket to climb. Queuing for this long is obviously a big no go for our neurodiverse family, indeed for most little people!
I quickly discounted using an organised tour to skip the queue, they’re extremely expensive. The cheapest prices start at £47 per person off peak. We wanted to climb in the daytime during the peak Easter period so the prices were much higher (c. £75 per person). Most of these tickets were non-refundable, which made me nervous given how difficult this trip had been to book. I really wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower - but I didnt want to pay over £300 to do it!
Queuing on the day way out.
Prebooking with a tour operator was too expensive.
What else could we do?
More research revealed that it is actually possible to pre-book Eiffel Tower tickets yourself...BUT... you need to be organised.
BUY TICKETS DIRECTLY FROM THE EIFFEL TOWER WEBSITE
Tickets are released on the Eiffel Tower website around 60 days in advance and for the peak travel periods sell out quickly, normally the same day. Having selected the number of tickets you need you are given a choice of floors (first / second / summit) and transit (lift / stairs / combo). You then choose a date, then (hopefully) your preferred time. Even though the tickets are non-refundable this seemed like the least risk, best option for us.
The standard tickets for a trip to the second level (April 2024) were priced at 58 euros for the 4 of us, the most affordable option I'd found - to the summit would cost more. This was the full price, although they do offer a disabled concession along with companion fares if you can provide the correct paperwork.
Unfortunately, I managed to completely forget about buying the Eiffel Tower tickets 60 days before my preferred date!
It wasn’t until I woke suddenly in night with the awful feeling that I should have done something that I realised what had happened. Argh, panic stations! It was just gone midnight around 54 days before our trip when I hurriedly logged on to the website. We were in luck - kind of.
We’d intended to visit early on the second morning of our trip when the boys were still feeling fresh. however the only tickets left for the entire week of our stay (!) were just to the second floor on the Friday afternoon at 3pm. Other than the odd 8pm or later ticket, every slot was sold out. I was grateful so there were any left at all that I booked them on the spot. I just hoped the boys would have enough left in their ‘tanks’ to enjoy the experience.
EIFFEL TOWER ACCESS INFORMATION FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN
The Eiffel Tower website has an accessibility page with some useful information – but it doesn’t explicitly mention autism or hidden disability.
It is no longer possible to just walk up to the base of the Eiffel Tower. To get anywhere near it visitors have to pass through a security checkpoint where they scan your day packs and purses etc...
This was new since my last visit so I had not prepared the boys for this, and when I saw the substantial queue for the security point on the main entry my heart sank. Spotting a gateway that looked like it could be an express lane, I went and spoke to the guard manning its entry. I tried to explain (in bad French) that the boys were disabled and showed him the UK issued Access Card that we carry for Charlie. It must have done the trick, because he kindly waved us through the empty checkpoint, allowing us to avoid the first queue altogether – we were very grateful.
There was more queuing inside, even with a timed entry ticket, although it was much, much smaller than the non-ticket queue. My husband went with the boys to let them run around the concourse, while I waited in the queue for the 3pm session. I called the boys over when I neared the front, and then we all had to shuffle forward to get our tickets scanned, B found this bit quite difficult and kept trying to run off in various directions. The more he feels restrained, the more he struggles and shouts, so I was relieved when we were finally inside the tower, although we still to wait for the lift to the second floor.
It was very cramped in the lift waiting space for the lift. Although we were mostly ok with this, for anyone with claustrophobia or crowd anxiety the lift would not be a suitable option. I would advise considering if you are physically able to take the stairs, perhaps just booking a ticket to the first floor if need be.
It was obvious that Freddie was also becoming overwhelmed by the proximity of so many people, and he needed to stand with his back to a wall and bury his head in my dress to take a sensory break. He also had a couple of fidget toys to play with.
From joining the timed ticketing queue, scanning tickets, and getting the lift to the second floor it probably took around 15 - 20 minutes. This is the absolute limit of what the boys can tolerate, and showed we were totally right to pre-book the tickets first.
EXPLORING THE EIFFEL TOWER WITH OUR AUTISTIC CHILDREN
WE STARTED ON THE EIFFEL TOWER'S SECOND FLOOR
The boys were very excited to finally get out of the lift on the second floor, but there were a lot of people milling around in the entrance area and this did feel a little overwhelming. J took Charlie out the first exit he saw. I took Fred to the toilets to give him some time and space on his own to manage the transition, he also likes washing this hands so this can help to calm him.
Next Fred and I visited one of the gift shops (his choice) and happily looked at all the shiny, glittery knick-knacks. They were pretty pricey, but I also knew Fred would find it impossible to leave the shop without buying something. I was delighted to spot a reasonably priced Eiffel Tower Christmas tree decoration. Fred he loves December’s festivities so much we call him Mr Christmas, so it was the perfect souvenir!
Now Fred was feeling calmer he was ready to make his way outside onto the viewing terraces, and we discovered that there were plenty of spaces to sit away from the crowds. We caught up with J and Charlie, who had mostly been running around and jumping off things, so he was also feeling calmer. As we were not bothered about seeing things in a particular order, and missed some stuff out entirely, it was easy for us to find quieter terraces or corners to admire the view away from the ebb and flow of the crowds.
The boys particularly loved the different views of the River Seine, finding the different compass directions on the floor, looking down on the new Olympic stadiums still being built and looking through the telescope viewers that you put a euro in to use. It was a gloriously sunny day and the wind was mild, everyone was enjoying themselves, life was good.
DOWN TO THE EIFFEL TOWER'S FIRST FLOOR
To avoid a repeat of the lift squash we opted to walk down the 347 stairs between the Second and First Floor - this was a great idea as we saw hardly anyone, and the boys got to spend time watching the lift go up and down through the grills. Fred really liked staring down and up into one of the lift shafts and waiting for the lift cabins to come past and this kept him occupied for some time.
The first floor felt certainly less busy than the second, and it was easy to find somewhere to sit and eat the comfort snacks we'd brought along. There was also a little cafe stand with no queue so we were able to get a quick coffee.
The boys favourite thing on this floor was walking over the famous glass floor and standing / dancing as they looked directly down to the concourse below. I honestly don’t know how they did it, it was so high I was genuinely terrified. Eventually they persuaded me to step briefly out onto the glass, pose for a photo before hoping quickly off.
LEAVING THE EIFFEL TOWER - GOING BACK TO GROUND LEVEL
By this time the boys were starting to wane and unfortunately didn’t have it in them to walk down the remaining 327 steps to the ground exit, so it was back to the lift. By now it was around 4:30pm and there were lots of people traying to leave. A little crowd had formed outside the lift entrance. Taking a gamble we made our way up the stairs to the nearly empty upper deck area of the waiting space; I was pretty sure that all the Eiffel Tower lifts had two compartments, stacked one on top of the other and I was right. When the lift turned up, there was much more space available in the upper cabin than the lower and thankfully we were able to get in the lift first time. Once back on the ground it didn’t take long to reach the exit – our amazing experience had come to an end.
FINAL THOUGHTS - VISITING THE EIFFEL TOWER WITH AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Going up the Eiffel Tower with the boys was a truly unforgettable experience, but it was not without its challenges.
The boys coped really well with the queueing and the crowds – due in part to the pre-visit preparation we had done with them. However it was still a full-on experience for them, and I think it was not ideal that it came at the end of the week. If I had the chance again, I would definitely mark the booking date in my diary and do my best to book a slot for earlier on in our trip.
However I have been told that the mornings are the busiest time, so arriving later in the afternoon at 3pm probably worked to our advantage, even though it still felt busy. If you have children that can stay up late then consider going as late as possible, even after dinner, as that is when it is at its quietest.
Like with all things, going somewhere new for the first time is always the hardest visit. I am sure if we were to ever visit again (which the boys already want to do!) it would be even better – and the boys would be happy following the same route around the attraction that we did this time.
We all absolutely loved our time up the Eiffel tower, and we made so many incredible memories. I hope you do to.
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