The Eiffel Tower generally receives around seven million visitors a year.
Tourists and Parisians gasped on the stairs of the Eiffel Tower on Thursday as the iron monument reopened after its longest closure since World War II due to the coronavirus, the elevators still being closed for health reasons.
The initial crowds of dozens of people braving the blistering heat of early summer were far from the usual queues at the base of the tower in the center of the French capital.
But the moment of the reopening of the big building was symbolic, the country emerges from the closure of the virus.
The first visitors had to tackle the steep climb to the first or second level by the stairs, with elevators as well as the upper observation platform out of bounds due to problems of social distancing.
“I’m crying, but these are tears of joy. It’s a moving moment after these difficult months,” said Thérèse, who came from Perpignan, in the south of France.
“I’m going to climb, but slowly,” said the 60-year-old wearing the mandatory face mask. “And if I can’t, it doesn’t matter!”
‘More peaceful’
Those brave enough to take on the heat challenge climbed via the leg or the eastern pillar of the 10,100-ton monument, descending via the western pillar to prevent ascending and descending visitors from crossing the stairs.
It is not allowed to turn around and many people have interrupted their ascent to the first floor, more than 300 steps from ground level.
As security guards reminded people to wear their masks, Mexican engineering student Alex Mena, who lives in Belgium, said he had scheduled his very first visit to Paris to coincide with Thursday’s reopening.
“Coming to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower is like eating a cake without the cherry,” he said, even if he thought wearing a mask was “boring”.
Markings on the ground imposed social distancing, and the operator of the SETE site promised “daily cleaning and disinfection of the tower’s public spaces”.
Middle seats on three-person benches were prohibited, and visitors were offered hand sanitizer gel at regular intervals.
SETE General Manager Patrick Branco Ruivo said the top of the tower would not reopen until July 15.
In this case, only eight people will be authorized by elevator instead of the usual 45.
The 104-day closure cost the company 27 million euros ($ 30 million) in lost sales, Branco Ruivo said, and visitor numbers are not expected to return to normal anytime soon.
The Eiffel Tower generally receives around seven million visitors a year, three-quarters of them from abroad, but ticket sales will remain limited to avoid potentially dangerous crowds.
The absence of crowds was no problem for 25-year-old Chinese girl Iris Wang. “It’s more peaceful and calm,” she told AFP.
‘The time has come!’
France is one of the most visited countries in the world, and its tourism industry has been hit hard by the foreclosure to end the COVID-19 pandemic, with hotels, restaurants, museums and theaters closed for three months. .
France lifted restrictions on European borders on June 15 and the tourism industry hopes that foreign visitors will start flocking again at the start of the summer season.
At the Eiffel Tower, ticket prices for children have been cut in half for July and August.
“Parisians and French, it’s time to come to the Eiffel Tower, you won’t have to queue!” Said Branco Ruivo.
Parisian actress Sabine Beaufils, 57, did just that.
“It’s great! I haven’t been here for a long time,” she said, admiring the view from the first floor through her sunglasses, taking photos with her cell phone.
“Parisians do not come often, because of the queues. This time, no queuing, nothing! At 10:00 am we were inside, it’s extraordinary!” she enthused with a big smile.
While some of the tower restaurants have reopened, the Michelin-starred Jules Verne, which has its own lift to a dining room perched 125 meters (410 feet) above the ground, will only open on June 30 .
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
