A visitor to the Louvre museum on July 6, 2020, the day the museum reopens after several months of confinement - ISA HARSIN / SIPA

  • Foreign tourists have not returned, but the major Parisian cultural sites are once again welcoming the public.
  • The majority of visitors to the Louvre Museum or the Palace of Versailles enjoy the pleasure of seeing these sites in good conditions, with weak gauges.
  • However, the constraints of health security and the economic impact of the crisis are also being felt.

Attention, instant accomplice. Side by side, two strangers exchange their impressions of the work they have been observing for several minutes. Glances in the corner, nods, smiles behind the masks ... We are in the Louvre, not in a romantic French film. The museum has been welcoming the public again since Monday. And even if the hordes of foreign tourists have not returned, the most visited major Parisian sites have all reopened. To celebrate, 20 Minutes has decided to don the tourist hell trilogy: Louvre museum, Palace of Versailles and Eiffel Tower. In just one day ...

In the morning, in the rooms of the Louvre, not yet exhausted, the atmosphere is therefore calm. Regulars take the opportunity to come and rediscover their favorite paintings. “It's so nice, attests Rose-Marie, 60, accompanied by her husband. The difference is huge for us who are familiar with the place. I take advantage of this moment to review paintings that I adore but that I can never really contemplate. For others, on the contrary, it is a first. For them, the highlight of the visit remains the iconic Mona Lisa. “Usually, it's impossible to escape the herd in front of the painting. But there, we no longer even have to queue, just stand on the side and we can see it without any concern, says Sophie, 20, from the Oise with her friends.

9000 visitors, and me, and me, and me

In her great hall, Venus de Milo is almost bored. Does he miss the pile of selfie sticks that usually surrounds him? Further on, a cathedral silence overwhelms the Caryatids room: "A first," says an employee of the museum. Even during the peak of the year, we have never seen so few people. ” For some, it is still too much. Like Michel, 50 years old: "I'm a little disappointed, I thought I would be quieter than that ..." Walking the Louvre alone remains a fantasy. With a quota of 9,000 visitors per day, many will still take advantage of the summer to visit the museum in such conditions.

Louvre Museum / Antoine Mongodin
D-1 Paris pic.twitter.com/hjVEux0gD8

- Paname Paris (@ParisAMDParis) July 5, 2020

Barely time to catch his breath and hop, direction the Palace of Versailles. In the gardens, the inhabitants of the city walk their young children while Parisians devote a day of rest to visit the places. Again, the low attendance is a happy surprise. “The last time, at 8:30 am, the queue went beyond the entrance gates, said Elodie, 28. It is a place that you would never visit in summer because it is impossible to access. There it is fluid, you can move around without being carried away by the crowd. This morning, there were barely ten of us in the Hall of Mirrors! "

It's beautiful but it's high

In passing, a few rare foreigners make a stop on a promenade bench by the Grand Canal. The park's forests are almost infrequent and you can easily isolate yourself completely. At the bend of an alley, we meet Brice 22 years old: “With the borders closed and the absence of tourists, it's really time to come. To take over the place, it's so much better. The weather is good in Versailles but we must already set out for the last stage of the marathon: the Eiffel Tower between us!

🇫🇷 Good news! My summit reopens on July 15 🙌
Ready to climb to 276 m in height and (re) discover the most exceptional view on @Paris? 👇 # tourEiffel

- The Eiffel Tower (@LaTourEiffel) July 9, 2020

At the feet of the Iron Lady, several couples pass through the security gates as the day ends. "We played the romantics," smiles a Parisian couple. In fact Madame had never climbed! And since there are practically only locals, we wanted to take advantage of this special moment too. ” After a day of mopping, we do not have the strength to go up to see with our own eyes ... Anyway, only the first floor is open. To access the top floor, you will have to come back, from July 15.

Return to Earth

Among all these enthusiastic testimonies, Jason, 38, showered our optimist: “Before, we always ended up being bored by the world or by noise. Now, we can fully of the site but behind this calm persists I find an underlying concern, unspoken but palpable. Claudia nods, "It's true, we continue to be wary, we keep our distance, we can see that the situation is not restored, and it's good not to forget it. And then, if for us visitors the situation is pleasant, we must have a thought for those who work in tourism, in culture or in art and whose situation is very worrying. "

We then remember the bitterness of Christelle, artist crossed at the Louvre: “I give drawing lessons in public places and there it is no longer possible… And it will no longer be possible for months. I do not have the status of intermittent of the spectacle, and in the eyes of the State, we do not work. We are not even unemployed, in fact we are nothing. We are completely put aside. A striking return to reality that supports living culture, and its professionals heavily affected by the health crisis.

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  • Eiffel Tower
  • Castle of Versailles
  • Louvre Museum
  • Paris
  • Tourism
  • Deconfinement
  • Heritage
  • Culture