Things to do near the Eiffel Tower

Many Paris first-timers will make a beeline straight for the Eiffel Tower on arrival, eager to tick this latticework legend off their bucket lists. Not a bad idea, as it happens, given its usefulness as a jumping-off point for several other major Paris attractions. As Paris’s most-visited monument, it’s advisable to go at the very start or end of your day, when lift lines are shorter and the 647-step stairway to the second floor far less crowded. As a bonus, sunrise and sunset snaps will show you (and Gustav Eiffel’s masterpiece) in your best light. There’s a guided climb of the tower included with the Paris Pass, and you can check out our guide to the best times to visit right here.

The Eiffel Tower sits slap bang between two stunning central parks: the Champ-de Mars on the Seine’s left bank and Trocadéro Gardens across the river. The Champs-de-Mars is the great green space that sprawls out behind the Iron Lady. The manicured lawns here are just perfect for picnicking as well, of course, as grabbing those coveted Eiffel Tower selfies while wearing your favourite pair of funky socks. There’s even an old-school carousel! A short hop across the 19th-century Pont d’Iéna takes you to the Trocadéro Gardens where, as well as further splendid views of the Eiffel Tower, you can also ogle the grand Palais de Chaillot, the Warsaw Fountain, and many more spectacular statues and sculptures. There’s a popular skating rink and Christmas market here in winter, and a sandy beach complete with parasols and sunloungers in summer.

The famous Bateaux Parisiens cruises depart from beneath the Eiffel Tower nearly every day year-round, with daytime and evening cruises that let you experience Paris from the Seine. This is effectively the lazy Paris sightseer’s best way of ticking off bucket-list big-hitters like Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and the Grand Palais with pretty much zero effort. Along the way, you’ll also pass under several of Paris’s most swoonsome bridges, including the Beaux-Arts splendor of Pont Alexandre III, with its flamboyant Art Nouveau lamps, ornate cherubs and winged horses, and Pont Neuf, the Seine’s oldest surviving bridge, which dates back to the 16th Century.

Top tip: there’s a one-hour Seine cruise with Bateaux Parisiens included with the Paris Pass.

This monumental Neoclassical arch at the Champs-Élysées’s west end needs little introduction. A 30-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, its construction – in memory of soldiers who died in combat during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars – predates its wrought-iron Paris sibling by some 50 years. Pay your respects in the vault, where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier provides a suitably atmospheric introduction to the history of the Arc de Triomphe, before ascending (should your glutes and calves be up to the challenge!) the 284 steps to the summit for sweeping views across Place Charles de Gaulle and along the broad Champs-Élysées boulevard to Place de la Concorde. You’ll also be able to spot the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and, of course, the Eiffel Tower itself.

Shopping in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower needn’t mean tacky Iron Lady trinkets, Notre-Dame fridge magnets and croissant-shaped key chains. Far from it in fact: there are plenty of oh-so-Parisian shopping opportunities within shouting distance of the Eiffel Tower. Foodies should absolutely hit up nearby Rue Cler for their Champs-de-Mars picnic. Here’s where pungent fromageries jostle with fine boutique wine shops, patisseries serve up French fancies galore, and boulangeries billow with the inviting aroma of freshly baked baguettes. Pretty Avenue de la Bourdonnais comes with its fair share of tacky Paris souvenirs, but it’s also where you can find classic French fashions and homeware at reasonable prices. Last, but certainly not least, the upscale Champs-Élysées – perhaps Paris’s most famous shopping street – is, as we know, around half an hour’s walk from the Eiffel Tower. Mosey down for credit-card melting macarons, jewelry, designer fashions and more.

Quai Branly is one of those museums that’s almost as impressive from the outside as it is on the inside. That’s thanks to its towering green wall: a forest of foliage designed by celeb gardener Patrick Blanc that covers much of the building’s facade (and some of its interior), and looks like an enormous garden flipped onto its side. Inside the museum is no less remarkable, with an eye-popping collection of indigenous art and artifacts that runs the gamut from African tribal masks to Aboriginal paintings and even a massive medieval Moai head from Easter Island. Suffice to say that Insta addicts will be in clover here. Best of all, it’s included on the Paris Pass and a mere five-minute stroll from the Eiffel Tower.

Last but by no means least in our rundown of things to do near the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides is a sprawling complex of monumental buildings, all with links to France’s military history. No surprise then that, as well as the fascinating French Army Museum and an imposing cannon-filled cobbled courtyard, this is also where you can visit Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tomb. Don’t miss the flamboyant golden dome of Louis XIV’s aptly named Dôme des Invalides chapel, only the tallest church dome in Paris. Murals by 17th-century French painter Charles de la Fausse adorn its splendid interior.

Find more great things to do near the Eiffel Tower and elsewhere in Paris with the Paris Pass. Hit the buttons below to find out about the various options and to bag your pass!