After a three-month-long of lockdown amid COVID-19 pandemic, the visitors or Parisians will again get the chance of witnessing the beautiful city of Paris from the historical Eiffel Tower but only if they go up the stairs to admire the view.
Lifts in the Eiffel Tower will not be under operation till July 1, the tourists have to use the stairs instead of in order to maintain social distancing and minimize contacts to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread.
The extreme top of the city’s most famous monument will remain restricted to the visitors or tourists for the time being. Only the first and second floor can be accessed by visitors.
According to the Eiffel Tower website, the wrought-iron lattice tower will be ending its longest period of closure since World War II but a limited number of people will be permitted to enter the Paris landmark, face masks have been made compulsory for all the visitors above the age of 11 and the authorities will ensure crowd control measures.
However, the emblematic monument opening up and allowing tourists is a positive sign and a symbolic moment that the French capital is slowly recovering and the country is getting back to normal after the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The first row of visitors will be allowed to enter the monument at 10.00 am (0800 GMT).
The online ticket office for booking resumed its operations on June 18 and since then tourists have been eagerly waiting to book their tickets.
"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, '' the operator said. He also added that a limited number of people will be allowed to visit per floor at a time.
The topmost level which is least spacious will be remaining off-limits for the public for now. "Since the lifts taking visitors from the second to the top floor are small. It might reopen during the summer.”
To ensure social distancing, markings on the ground will be made so that people that maintain distance from one another along with "daily cleaning and disinfection of public spaces at the tower,” the statement said.
The website says that the iconic monument in the City of Light and Love was completed in the year 1889 and every year around seven million tourists come to witness the beauty of the Eiffel Tower with three-fourth of visitors from abroad.
France being one of the most prominent tourist destinations and the most visited countries, it’s tourism sector has been badly hit by the coronavirus necessitated lockdown with hotels, restaurants, malls, museums, theatres ceasing its operations for three months in a row.
Some of the iconic and historical museums like the Louvre museum is expected to reopen on July 6, and the Palace of Versailles which had already reopened for its visitors in the initial weeks of this month.
Lockdown was lifted by France at the European borders on June 15. However, the tourism sector in France hopes to receive more visitors from abroad as the summer season starts.
There will be certain restrictions while tourists visit the Eiffel Tower but amidst all the limitations, the prestigious monument stands tall with a welcoming and charming attitude.
