This was the second time I went up the Eiffel Towe...

This was the second time I went up the Eiffel Tower. Both times we pre-purchased tickets to go up to the summit, which it the third level. It requires an extra elevator ride from Level 2. It was a skip the line ticket, which I highly recommend as the general entry line was massive! The first time was with a tour guide in July 2015. It took about an hour for our little group to line up and wait for the ride up to Level 2. Then we went straight up to Level 3 where the guide talked to us for about 10 minutes. He then left us and we could leave whenever we had enough. At that time it was not as crowded on the tower and there was a lot of opportunity to get some great photos. On my recent trip it was the opposite. We did not wait long for the ride up but once we got to level 2 and line up for Level 3 it was very crowded. Once we got to level 3 (The Summit) it was over crowded. Very hard to get a picture taken. The same thing happened on Level 2. It seems they re letting more people on at the same time. That ticket we purchased online directly on the Tour Eiffel website without a tour guide. Having said all that I still think it is definitely worth going up the towers to either level 2 or 3 or both as the views are spectacular. Seeing the white city sprawled out into the distance around the tower is impressive and beautiful. My first day in Paris going up the tower lift gave me the first glimpse of the city and it took my breath away. As the lift went up the views unfolding were unexpected in the sense of how massive the city really is and how beautiful the buildings are to behold. Must do experience for everyone.