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Eiffel Tower and Seine River Cruise Combo: Summit or 2nd Floor

An Eiffel Tower and Seine river cruise combo bundles your trip up the tower with a cruise of about an hour that leaves from its foot. What matters is the floor you pick, the tower's time slot and the boat's pier, 7 or 9 minutes away on foot.

Price
from about €45 (guided elevator tour + cruise); over €100 for reserved summit access
Piers
Port de la Bourdonnais (7 min on foot) or Port de Suffren (9 min)
Tower
open daily; 9:30 am–11 pm in mid-October
Official tickets
online about 60 days ahead, timed
Cruise
about 1h, upstream first, as far as the islands
Luggage
suitcases refused at the tower and at the Bateaux Parisiens pontoon

Updated October 17, 2026Facts checked against official sourcesContains affiliate links

Eiffel Tower + cruise: what you can book

9 offers · Prices checked on October 17, 2026

Platform

See everything on Headout →See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Tiqets →

Summit or 2nd floor: how the level changes the price

The Eiffel Tower sells four ways up, and the tower sets most of a combo's price. On the tower's website, the elevator to the 2nd floor costs €23.50 for an adult; the elevator to the summit, which means changing cars on the 2nd floor, €36.70. By the stairs, the 2nd floor comes to €14.80, and stairs then elevator to the summit to €28. Ages 12 to 24 pay roughly half price, children aged 4 to 11 around €6 for the 2nd floor by elevator, and under-4s go free with a zero-euro ticket. A new fare grid comes into force in mid-January: these figures only hold until then.

The summit has two drawbacks worth knowing before you pay for a pricier combo. It can close in high winds or when crowds are heavy, and the line for the second elevator comes on top of the first. In our view the 2nd floor is enough for most visitors: it is the best height for reading the city and picking out the Seine, the bridges and the route the boat will take afterward. The summit is worth it on a first visit, on a clear day.

Read the combo's product page to see what is included: some cover only the 2nd floor, others the summit, others leave the summit as an option, and guided tours spell out how high the guide goes. The listing's title is not enough.

The 60-day rule and the slots that sell out

The tower releases its tickets online about 60 days ahead, for a set date and time, and slots sell out quickly in busy periods: school vacations and summer. On moderately busy days the tower also sells same-day tickets on site, but with no guarantee. Stair tickets are often still available at the last minute: that is the fallback for people happy to walk.

This is exactly where a combo earns its keep. The platforms buy slots in advance and resell them with a guided tour or reserved access: when the official site shows sold out for your date, a combo may still have one, at a price higher than the two tickets added together. If you are booking more than two months ahead, compare: the official ticket plus a cruise bought separately often costs less.

In mid-October the tower is open from 9:30 am to 11 pm, with last admissions around 10:45 pm; the stairs may close earlier at certain times of year. The tower's slot is the fixed point of the day; the cruise fits in before or after it. The details for boat tickets on their own are on our Seine river cruise tickets page.

Eiffel Tower and Seine river cruise combos compared

Headout has the widest range for the tower: a guided elevator tour with a cruise, around €45, a small-group version limited to the 2nd floor, and a ticket that adds a city tour. GetYourGuide sells reserved elevator access with a cruise, a ticket with an audio guide and the cruise as an option, and reserved summit entry with a cruise. Tiqets has reserved summit access with a cruise, and a 2nd-floor ticket with the summit as an option whose cruise leaves from the Alma, with Bateaux Mouches.

The table below puts two combos of the same type side by side on two platforms. The gap comes first from the level and the format (reserved summit on one side, guided tour on the other): compare what is included before you compare prices.

Price check Eiffel Tower + cruise on more than one platform Difference: €75
PlatformListingRatingPriceWhere
Headout Combo: Eiffel Tower Guided Tour by Elevator with Seine River Cruise 4.3 (3,116) €44 Lowest See on Headout
Tiqets Eiffel Tower: Reserved Summit Access + Seine Cruise — €119 See on Tiqets

Lowest adult price per person in euros, checked on October 17, 2026. Times, menus and options can differ between platforms; check before you pay.

A few pointers to help you choose. A guided tour saves you time at the entrance and gives you context, but you go at the group's time. Reserved access without a guide leaves you free once you are up there. A listing with the "cruise as an option" lets you add the boat or not. Cancellation terms depend on the listing and are shown before you pay. To compare the platforms themselves, see GetYourGuide, Tiqets or Headout.

See everything on Headout →See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Tiqets →Prices checked on October 17, 2026

From the foot of the tower to the boat: Bourdonnais or Suffren

Two pontoons wait at the foot of the tower, one on each side of the Pont d'Iéna, and the classic mistake is to head down on the wrong side. The Port de la Bourdonnais, about 7 minutes' walk from the tower (600 m), is upstream of the bridge: it belongs to Bateaux Parisiens, which boards at pontoon 3. The Port de Suffren, about 9 minutes away (700 m), is downstream of the bridge, under three big French flags: that is Vedettes de Paris.

From the tower, cross the quai Branly toward the Seine, then find the Pont d'Iéna: it separates the two pontoons, and the company name on your ticket tells you which side to go down. In a wheelchair or with a stroller, Suffren has the easiest access: a step-free ramp leads down from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim. At Bourdonnais bags are checked and suitcases refused, and the tower has no left-luggage office: leave your bags at the hotel.

If your combo uses Bateaux Mouches, the boat leaves from the Port de la Conférence, at the Pont de l'Alma, on the Right Bank, about 18 minutes' walk from the tower. The company name on the product page tells you the pier; it is the first thing to check. Access to every quay is covered on our Seine piers page and in our Bateaux Parisiens and Vedettes de Paris reviews.

Île de la Cité and Île Saint-LouisÎle aux CygnesPont amontPont NationalPont de TolbiacPasserelle Simone-de-BeauvoirPont de BercyPont Charles-de-GaulleViaduc d’AusterlitzPont d’AusterlitzPont de SullyPont de la TournellePont MariePont Louis-PhilippePont Saint-LouisPont de l’ArchevêchéPont au DoublePont d’ArcolePetit-PontPont Notre-DamePont Saint-MichelPont au ChangePont NeufPont des ArtsPont du CarrouselPont RoyalPasserelle Léopold-Sédar-SenghorPont de la ConcordePont Alexandre-IIIPont des InvalidesPont de l’AlmaPasserelle DebillyPont d’IénaPont de Bir-HakeimPont RouellePont de GrenellePont MirabeauPont du GariglianoPont avalupstream · Bercy →← downstream · JavelRight bankLeft bankBnF libraryBercyJardin des PlantesÎle Saint-LouisNotre-DameHôtel de VilleConciergerieInstitut de FranceLouvreMusée d'OrsayTuileriesConcordeNational AssemblyGrand PalaisInvalidesPalais de TokyoTrocadéroEiffel TowerStatue of LibertyMaison de la Radio Bercy Austerlitz1 cruises Rapée Arsenal · Bastille1 cruises Jardin des Plantes Henri IV Hôtel de Ville Notre-Dame1 cruises Pont Neuf2 cruises Pont des Arts Louvre Orsay · Solférino10 cruises Champs-Élysées Invalides Pont de l'Alma18 cruises Debilly1 cruises Eiffel Tower35 cruises Suffren9 cruises Île aux Cygnes Beaugrenelle Grenelle Passy9 cruises Javel5 cruises Javel Bas

PierBridgeIsland

Schematic: positions follow the river kilometre, not to scale. Right bank above, left bank below.

Which order: the tower first or the boat

Both orders work, but not at the same times of day. In the morning, go up the tower on a 9:30 or 10 am slot, when the city looks sharpest, then walk down to the pontoon: from April to September the Bateaux Parisiens cruises leave about every 30 minutes from 10 am to 10:30 pm, and from October to March from 10:30 am to 10 pm, roughly every hour. At Vedettes de Paris, the guided cruise leaves about every 30 to 45 minutes from late morning to late afternoon; in the evening it becomes an apéritif cruise with music and no guide.

The other order, the nicer one in our view: the tower in the late afternoon, the cruise at nightfall. You see the city from above in daylight, then the tower lights up while you are on the water. Allow an hour on the boat, 15 to 20 minutes at the pontoon beforehand, and your walking time.

Either way, the boat first heads upstream, past Les Invalides, Orsay, the Louvre and Notre-Dame, turns near the Île Saint-Louis and comes back. So the tower is behind you as you set off and straight ahead on the way back: save the photo for the end. The full route is described on our one-hour Seine river cruise page.

In the evening: the sparkle and the lit tower from the water

The Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of every hour after dark, until at least 11 pm; on some evenings, especially in summer, it carries on later — check the tower's website for the day.

No company times its departures to the sparkle. In practice, a boat that leaves 20 to 25 minutes before the hour comes back within sight of the tower around the hour. Nightfall varies a lot by month: around 6 pm in December, after 10:30 pm in June. The table below gives sunset and the likely first sparkle, month by month.

Sunset in Paris and the first Eiffel Tower sparkle
MonthSunset (1st)Sunset (15th)Dark (15th)First sparkle
January17:0417:2117:5718:00
February17:4818:1118:4319:00
March18:3318:5519:2720:00
April20:2120:4221:1522:00
May21:0521:2522:0323:00
June21:4521:5622:3823:00
July21:5821:5022:3023:00
August21:3021:0721:4222:00
September20:3420:0420:3621:00
October19:3019:0219:3420:00
November17:3117:1117:4518:00
December16:5716:5417:3118:00

Local times computed for Paris (NOAA algorithm, ±2 min). The Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 minutes at the top of every hour from nightfall, the last time at 23:00; in summer darkness comes so late that the first sparkle waits until 22:00 or 23:00.

If you want to dine on the water after the tower, see our Seine dinner cruise and Eiffel Tower sparkle pages. Some combos put the tower, a dinner cruise and a cabaret into the same evening; they are covered on Moulin Rouge and Seine cruise. The other museum + boat pairings are gathered on our museum and cruise combos page.

Our picks

Our pick

1

Best value

A guided elevator tour and a cruise from the foot of the tower, for a price close to the two separate tickets.

2

Small group

The 2nd floor with a guide and a smaller group, for people who want to ask questions.

3

Summit guaranteed

Reserved access all the way to the top, then the cruise: useful when the official site shows sold out.

4

No guide

Reserved elevator access and a cruise, free to roam once you are up.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to book an Eiffel Tower and Seine cruise combo in advance?

Yes for the tower: its tickets are released about 60 days ahead and slots go quickly in busy periods. The cruise is more flexible; depending on the listing, its ticket is dated or open.

Is the summit worth the extra?

On a first visit on a clear day, yes. Otherwise the 2nd floor gives you the best view for reading the city. The summit can close in high winds or heavy crowds: check what the listing provides in that case.

Where does the boat leave from?

From the Port de la Bourdonnais (Bateaux Parisiens, pontoon 3, upstream of the Pont d'Iéna) or the Port de Suffren (Vedettes de Paris, downstream), 7 and 9 minutes' walk from the tower. If the combo includes Bateaux Mouches, it leaves from the Pont de l'Alma.

Can I do the tower and the cruise on different days?

Often, yes: the tower is on a fixed date, but many cruise tickets are valid for a longer period. The combo's product page states how long each part is valid.

Can I bring a suitcase?

No. The tower has no left-luggage office and Bateaux Parisiens refuses any bags other than small ones. Drop yours at the hotel first.

Keep exploring

Private & combosPrivate cruisefrom €80 Private & combosProposal cruisefrom €399 Private & combosBachelorette & birthdayfrom €80 CombosMuseum + cruise combosfrom €29 CombosLouvre + cruisefrom €44 CombosCatacombs + cruisefrom €90 CombosMoulin Rouge + cruisefrom €13 CombosOrsay & museums + cruisefrom €29