As from Thursday, tourists would again be able to admire the view of the French capital from the Eiffel Tower. This coming after a three-month closure due to the coronavirus.
However, visitors would have to wait till July 1 to take lifts to the city’s most famous monument. This is to practise social distancing between people to limit infection spread.c Till then, the very top of the iconic monument remains off-limits to the public for now.
According to Eiffel Tower’s website, the 10-tonne metal landmark will reopen after its longest closure since World War II in time for the summer season, but with limited visitor numbers at first, and mandatory face masks for all over the age of 11. The monument, completed in 1889, receives about seven million visitors every year, around three-quarters of them from abroad.
The first visitors will be allowed in from 10:00 am (0800 GMT), a symbolic moment as France begins to tentatively open up to tourism after the coronavirus lockdown. It was gathered that eager tourists have been able to grab their tickets since June 18, when the online ticket office opened.
France is one of the world’s most visited countries and its tourism industry has taken a hard hit under a lockdown to halt the COVID-19 pandemic, with hotels, restaurants, museums, and theatres closed for three months. France lifted restrictions at European borders as of June 15, and the tourism industry hopes that foreign visitors will start trooping in again with the arrival of the summer season.