Next week, Eiffel Tower has a date

Workers are preparing the Eiffel Tower for reopening next week, after the coronavirus pandemic led to the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II.

France’s tourism industry is opening back up, but the 1,063-feet tall wrought-iron tower won’t immediately welcome visitors the way it did before the country went into lockdown in March.

Only limited numbers of people will be allowed in when the Eiffel Tower opens again on June 25, according to a report by news agency AP. Elevators to the top will be out of service, at least at first, and only the first and second floors will be accessible to the public.

“At first, only visits by the stairs will be available,” Victoria Klahr, the spokeswoman for the tower’s management, said on Tuesday.

Everyone over 11 years old will be required to wear face masks, and crowd control measures will be in place.

“We are optimistic that visitor numbers will pick up, even if it will likely be local tourists who visit the monument in the first weeks,” Klahr said.

A stringent cleaning operation is in place and will continue daily from next week.

“There is a new protocol,” said Eiffel Tower hygiene consultant Alain Miralles. “The day cleaning teams will be able to clean all the points of contact every two hours, from the opening of the site to its closing,”

Tourists planning trips to the City of Light are advised to book tickets to visit the Eiffel Tower online once the ticket office reopens Thursday.

Paris tourism officials have expressed muted optimism about the city’s re-emergence as a travel destination. Since confinement measures were imposed in March, tourism levels have dropped by around 80% compared to the same month in previous years, they say.

“To visit Paris now is quite exceptional, as we of course don’t have many visitors and we don’t expect this summer to be at the same level as previous ones,” Corinne Menegaux, the director of Paris’s businesses and tourism office, told AP.

Hotel owners are also keen to welcome visitors again, though realistic about the challenges ahead and the competition among European countries, to draw tourists back in the coronavirus era.