After 3 months of closure instilled by COVID-19, world-renowned Tourist shortstop, Paris’ Eiffel Tower will open itself to the Tourists from today.
Visitors to the city’s most famous monument will have to take stairs till July 1 to reach the summit to ensure a safe distance between people to limit infection risk. The very top of the iconic building will not be accessible to the general public as of now.
This had been the longest closure for the 10-tonne metal landmark since World War II. The venue will start off with limited visitors at first with mandatory face masks for all over the age of 11. The first visitors will be passed in from 10:00 AM local time, which would be a symbolic gesture as France begins to conditionally open up to tourism after the virus shutdown. Booking was open since June 18th.
“To ensure that ascending and descending visitors do not meet in the stairs, the ascent will take place from the East pillar and descent by the West pillar,” said the operator, with a limited number of visitors per floor at a time.
Ground markings will be put in place to ensure people maintain social distancing, with “daily cleaning and disinfection of public spaces at the tower.”
The world-famous structure receives about seven million visitors every year, around three-quarters of them from abroad. One of the world’s most visited countries, France and its tourism industry took a hard hit under lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic, with hotels, restaurants, museums, and theatres closed for three months.
Most famous landmarks in the French capital such as the Louvre museum will reopen on July 6, whereas the Palace of Versailles reopened earlier this month. France had lifted restrictions at European borders as of June 15, and the tourism industry hopes that foreign visitors will start pouring in again as the summer season kicks off.
