An alternative (in 2009) to queuing at the Eiffel Tower

A news article from AFP:

10 July 2008

Visitors to Paris’ Eiffel Tower will no longer have to queue for two hours as pre-paid internet tickets will be available from 2009.

PARIS - The Eiffel Tower, the world%26#39;s most visited landmark, is to bring in online ticketing in a bid to slash waiting times of up to two hours for its seven million annual visitors, operators said Wednesday.

Pre-paid Internet tickets for groups will be on sale from 2009, when the tower turns 120, and the area between its four iron feet, where tourists are currently made to queue in the wind, will be entirely refurbished.

The renovation plan, set for completion in 2015, also aims to attract more school groups, disabled people, and Parisians - who currently make up just two percent of visitors.

Other improvements will include a champagne bar on the third floor of the tower, which soars 324 metres above the Paris skyline, and a wider range of shops for tourists.

Designed by the engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built for the 1889 universal exhibition in Paris and was initially dismissed as an eyesore by many Parisians.

The Eiffel Tower was intended to be taken down after 20 years, but the authorities decided to let it stand, first for use as a radio communications tower and then as a landmark in its own right.

[AFP / Expatica]

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... just as long as they stay away from that moronic platform extension idea...!

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So the pre-paid internet tickets will only be for groups? Have I understood that correctly? Cheers!

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Disabled were allowed in the past to skip the line and go to the front desk and buy reduced tickets...but they were not allowed to go past the 2 nd floor.

I wonder how that will change?

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Thank you for the information Metromole. It should make things better for everyone even if the online tickets are in fact only for groups.

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The on-line booking facility will not make much difference since at present there is no queue for Group bookings. The companies offering these tickets require a considerable premium for the facility.

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