Arc de Triomphe: Tickets, the Underpass and the Rooftop Terrace

The Arc de Triomphe has two prices a year and one way in, and the way in is under the roundabout. From April to September the ticket costs €22, and on a Wednesday in that season it falls to €16. From October to March it stays at the lower price every day. Nobody crosses the traffic circle on foot, so the route to the monument is worth learning before you arrive.

Which Arc de Triomphe ticket, and when it costs less

The price depends on the date, and since it is the same for every nationality, your passport changes nothing. The Paris Museum Pass is accepted without a time slot, and the rest of the visit is a simple queue in order of arrival. Entry is free for children under 18, for EU citizens aged 18 to 25, for disabled visitors with a companion, and on the first Sunday of the month from November to March.

A Wednesday in season gets the lower price, and nothing else is required, which makes it the easiest saving in the city. If Wednesday fits your week, take Wednesday; if it does not, do not rearrange the trip for it.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is always free; the museum hall and the terrace are what you pay for. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing.

Getting to the arch: the Passage du Souvenir

The arch stands in the middle of a traffic circle. You cannot cross it on foot. The way in is the Passage du Souvenir, an underground passage that begins at the top of the Champs-Élysées or on Avenue de la Grande-Armée. Either entrance leads you under the traffic and out beside the monument.

Metro lines 1, 2 and 6 and the RER A all stop at Charles de Gaulle–Étoile, which sits under the Place Charles-de-Gaulle. You come up almost beside the monument, so there is no need for a car or a taxi. Come down the Champs-Élysées if you want the grand approach, or along Avenue de la Grande-Armée if you prefer a quieter walk in.

When to come

Opening hours: 1 Apr–30 Sep 10 am–11 pm; 1 Oct–31 Mar 10 am–10:30 pm; Tuesdays from 11 am. Closed: 1 January, 1 May, 8 May, 14 July, 25 December. Last entry is forty-five minutes before closing. Everyone passes through security screening, and entry is by order of arrival, so there is no slot to reserve.

Every evening at 18:30 the flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is rekindled in a public ceremony that needs no booking. If the day is built around the terrace, plan the descent so that you are at the foot of the monument by that time. It costs nothing to watch.

The climb is 284 steps, about 240 of them in a spiral up to a museum hall halfway, and about 40 more to the terrace. There is a shop in the hall, and from the terrace you look across the whole city, with the long avenues running out from the arch like spokes, at the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc du Carrousel, the Grande Arche, Sacré-Cœur, the Invalides, the Panthéon and Montparnasse. Wear good shoes.

Getting aroundThe page on getting around covers how the trains and the tickets work, so nobody needs a car anywhere near the roundabout.Getting around Paris →

When you only have an hour

An hour is enough for the underpass, the Tomb and the terrace if you skip the museum hall. Cut as follows and the visit still holds together.

• Walk around the arch and see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is free.
• Choose a Wednesday in season for the lower price.
• The view of the Eiffel Tower from here needs no ticket for the Eiffel Tower.
• Come down before 18:30 if you want to see the flame lit.

3 daysIn the three-day plan the arch comes at the end of the day, just before the evening flame.Paris in 3 days →