Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock: A breathtaking view of Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower- a UNESCO world heritage site- is beginning to see flocks of adoring faces, after it was closed for the longest time since World War II. It was shut due to the lockdown measures undertaken by the French government.
Initiatives are being taken to ensure that visiting the monument is a safe affair. The official announcement disclosed that only the first and second floors would be open, with the third one staying closed. Since the top-level is only accessible via elevators where social distancing is not possible, the decision of not opening it has been taken.
Citizens aged 11 and above, are required to wear a mask. To ensure everyone’s safety, only a limited number of people are allowed inside, using one pillar route to go up and another to come down. The public areas are being thoroughly disinfected and sanitized daily.
Interesting Facts
The tallest structure in Paris, standing at 1,063ft, is truly a work of wonder. It is the most-visited paid heritage site in the world and was built in 1889 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. As France worked round the clock to flatten the Coronavirus’s spread, the monument was closed.
Since its inception, more than 250 million people have visited this site. Standing at the banks of the Sienna River, this architectural wonder has become synonymous with France’s allure.
It was engineered by Gustave Eiffel and was meant to be constructed as a temporary structure for 20 years. After recognizing its grandeur, the tower became a global tourist attraction, and it was later used for broadcasting signals too.
bellena/Shutterstock: Limited access to the most visited place in France
The human-made wonder houses two restaurants on the first and second floors (both Michelin-Star ones), respectively. There used to be another eatery on the top, but it was closed because engineers determined that it was causing the structure to sag.
There are impressive replicas of the Eiffel Tower that have sprouted in different countries with the most noticeable one being – Blackpool Tower in England. The Tokyo Tower in Japan also drew inspiration from this iconic building.
Since mid-May, France has eased the lockdown in a phased-out manner. After recording a substantial number of infected cases when the virus hit the country, France’s rate of new cases is on a steady decline.
Travelerpix/Shutterstock: Eiffel Tower is once again open for public!
Restaurants, bars, cafes, and hotels have now been reopened with requisite safety guidelines in place. As the West-European country is the most visited in the world, its hospitality sector is extremely vital to the economy, bringing in nearly $67.3 billion in yearly revenue.