Arc de Triomphe Tickets 2026
The price is a calendar, not a number: €22 most of summer, €16 on Wednesdays and all winter. And since 20 August the lift has been out, so the 284 steps are the only way up.
Most Paris monuments have a price. The Arc de Triomphe has a calendar. The same adult ticket costs €22 or €16 depending on the month and the day of the week, and nobody standing at the ticket desk in August works that out in time.
There is a second thing worth knowing before you book. Since 20 August the lift has been out of service, so the 284 steps are not optional.
How much are Arc de Triomphe tickets in 2026?
Three prices, one ticket. 1 April to 30 September: €22, except Wednesdays, when it is €16. 1 October to 31 March: €16 every day.
That is the whole structure. There is no separate terrace ticket and no EU/non-EU split: the Arc de Triomphe charges everyone the same, which makes it cheaper than Sainte-Chapelle for a non-EU visitor in winter and the same in summer.
Free: under 18 · 18–25 EU nationals and legal residents in France · disabled visitors and one companion · jobseekers with proof issued in the last six months. Free for everyone on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December. Five months, not all year.
SNCF Grand Voyageur and Thalys cardholders pay €20 in high season, €14.50 on Wednesdays and through the winter.
Where to book
Our take: buy the plain admission ticket and use the free web app; the €22 already includes the museum hall and the terrace, and the guided tour is worth its extra only if you want the sculpture explained out loud rather than read.
The Arc de Triomphe guide — read the arch in 60 minutes
- The four sculpted groups in the order that makes sense, starting with the one on the right of the Champs-Élysées façade
- What is actually in the museum hall halfway up the stairs, and why it is the right place to stop
- Which monuments to pick out from the terrace, and the two directions almost everyone forgets to look in
What the ticket buys, and what is already free
The part of the Arc de Triomphe that most people come for costs nothing. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sits under the vault at ground level, and the official site states plainly that access to it is free. Every evening at 18:30 the flame is rekindled by the association that has done it since 1923, and it has not gone out since. You can stand there without a ticket.
What €22 buys is the climb: the staircase inside the pillar, the museum hall at mezzanine level, and the terrace. If you are not going up, you do not need to buy anything.
That changes the arithmetic for anyone weighing the Paris Museum Pass. The Arc is on the pass, and it is one of the few pass sites that does not also require a timed reservation, so it is the easy one to slot in on a day when your Louvre slot fell through.
The 284 steps, and what the lift notice actually means
The climb splits in two. A 240-step spiral staircase runs up inside one of the pillars, renovated in 2022, and delivers you to the mezzanine and the museum hall. From there it is roughly 40 more steps to the terrace. Reviewers on GetYourGuide in late August mention the narrow spiral and how few places there are to stop, which matches the shape of it.
The official site has carried a banner since August saying the lift is under maintenance until further notice and that the terrace is reachable by stairs only. GetYourGuide's product page dates it from 20 August 2026. Even when it runs, the lift only reaches the museum and shop level, so the last flight is always on foot.
Two consequences worth stating flatly. The monument is currently not usable by wheelchair visitors who want the terrace, despite the Tourisme & Handicap label it won in spring 2025. And pushchairs are not allowed inside: you leave them with the access control staff and collect them on the way out.
What most visitors get wrong
Never cross the roundabout. The official accessibility page says it outright: you cannot cross the Place Charles de Gaulle on foot. Access is through the Passage du Souvenir, the underground passage entered at the top of the Champs-Élysées or on the Avenue de la Grande-Armée. Visitors with reduced mobility are the exception, with a drop-off point on the Grande-Armée side by taxi or private car, no booking.
Nobody's cancellation policy protects you here. The Centre des monuments nationaux terms of sale say purchases are final and tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded. GetYourGuide's Arc de Triomphe ticket is labelled non-refundable too, so the 24-hour cancellation that usually makes resellers the safer buy is simply absent. The one asymmetry favours the official route: if the monument closes exceptionally, CMN e-tickets are refunded automatically to the card that paid, without a claim.
Do not buy an audio guide. The monument publishes a free web app at app.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr in five languages with three routes through the building, no download, and hands out a printed visit flyer in eleven languages at the museum room. Third-party audio tours for this monument are selling you something the CMN gives away.
Check the day before, especially in September. This is a working national monument and it closes for ceremonies. The official calendar for 2026 already lists an early close at 21:00 on 3 September, an early close at 18:00 on Wednesday 9 September, a shutdown from 18:30 to 19:30 on Friday 11 September, and a full closure on Saturday 26 September. Annual closures are 1 May, 8 May, 14 July and 11 November in the morning. In the June heatwave the monument cut its hours to 10:00–14:30 for six days.
Bags are the other trap. Maximum luggage is 40x40x20cm, there is no cloakroom, and flags, banners, selfie sticks, tripods, scooters and glass bottles are all refused at the security check. There is a drinking fountain inside, which matters on the stairs.
- Address
- Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris · enter via the Passage du Souvenir, never across the roundabout
- Hours
- 1 Apr–30 Sep: Wed–Mon 10:00–23:00, Tue 11:00–23:00 · 1 Oct–31 Mar: Wed–Mon 10:00–22:30, Tue 11:00–22:30 · Last admission 45 min before closing
- Closed
- 1 May · 8 May · 14 July · 11 November (morning) · plus dated closures for ceremonies
- Standard ticket
- €22 (1 Apr–30 Sep) · €16 on Wednesdays in that window · €16 (1 Oct–31 Mar) · same price for all nationalities
- Free entry
- 1st Sunday of Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec · Under 18 · EU nationals and French residents 18–25 · Disabled + companion · Jobseekers
- Always free
- The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the 18:30 flame ceremony, at ground level, no ticket
- The climb
- 284 steps: 240-step spiral, then the museum hall, then ~40 more · Lift out of service since 20 August 2026
- Audio guide
- Free web app at app.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr, five languages · Free printed flyer in eleven languages
- Paris Museum Pass
- Included, and no timed reservation needed
- Metro
- Lines 1, 2, 6 and RER A: Charles-de-Gaulle–Étoile · Buses 22, 30, 31, 52, 73, 92
- Book at
- tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr (official CMN billetterie)
Hours and prices can change — confirm on the official site before you go.
Last verified: August 2026
Is the Arc de Triomphe worth €22?
At €16 it is the best-value paid viewpoint in Paris, and that is not a close call. At €22 with a broken lift it depends on your legs.
The case for it is the view, and specifically one thing the Eiffel Tower cannot give you: the Eiffel Tower in the frame. The terrace sits on the historic axis, so you get the Arc du Carrousel and the Louvre in one direction and the Grande Arche de la Défense in the other, plus Sacré-Cœur, the Invalides dome, the Panthéon and Tour Montparnasse. Orientation tables with a digital device name more than twenty monuments for you.
The case against is honest too. It is 284 steps with nowhere much to rest, the security queue applies to everyone regardless of where you bought, and entry is by order of arrival rather than by slot, which in August means a line. If the stairs are a problem, the ground floor is free, the tomb is the historically serious part of the monument, and you have lost nothing.
Where this fits in a Paris day. The Arc closes at 23:00 in summer and 22:30 in winter, which makes it one of very few Paris sites you can climb after dinner. Pair it with Les Invalides if the military history is what draws you, or with Notre-Dame if you want the other late-opening climb in the city. For everything else worth an evening, see our top things to do in Paris.
Frequently asked questions
How much are Arc de Triomphe tickets in 2026?
€22 from 1 April to 30 September, except Wednesdays at €16. €16 every day from 1 October to 31 March. No EU/non-EU split: everyone pays the same. One ticket covers the museum hall and the terrace.
When is the Arc de Triomphe free?
The first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December only. Also free year-round for under-18s, 18–25 EU nationals and French residents, disabled visitors with a companion, and jobseekers. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is free for everyone, always.
Is there a lift at the Arc de Triomphe, or do you have to climb 284 steps?
The lift has been out of service since 20 August 2026, so the stairs are the only way up. Even when running, it is reserved for visitors who need it and reaches only the museum and shop level. The climb is a 240-step spiral, then the museum hall, then around 40 more steps.
Do you need a ticket to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
No. It is at ground level under the vault and access is free, as is the 18:30 flame ceremony. Your ticket pays for the climb and the terrace.
Is the Arc de Triomphe included in the Paris Museum Pass?
Yes, and it does not require a timed reservation, unlike nine other pass sites including the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle. The pass costs €85, €105 or €125 for 2, 4 or 6 days.
Can you cancel or refund an Arc de Triomphe ticket?
Not really. CMN terms of sale make purchases final and non-exchangeable, and GetYourGuide labels its Arc de Triomphe ticket non-refundable as well. If the monument closes exceptionally, CMN e-tickets are refunded automatically; a reseller booking has no equivalent promise.
Book the plain €22 ticket, or wait for a Wednesday and pay €16. Then walk down through the Passage du Souvenir and stand at the tomb at 18:30, which costs nothing and is the part you will remember. Planning more than this? Run the numbers in our Paris Museum Pass guide first.
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