Paris (AFP)
The Louvre, facing the huge influx of summer visitors who have to wait a long time or sometimes can not access the museum, strongly encourages the use of online booking, which will become mandatory "before the end of the year".
With a pace of entry that should equal or exceed the threshold of 10 million visitors as in 2018, the most visited museum in the world is a victim of its success, including the presence in its walls of the Renaissance icon what is the Mona Lisa (Mona Lisa) of Leonardo da Vinci.
The Louvre experienced some difficult days in July because of the heat wave and the temporary displacement of the Mona Lisa from the State Hall to the Rubens Hall, due to renovations. Some angry tourists have lamented insufficient online information.
"The reservation smooths the public entrance on the whole day and the whole week," pleaded Vincent Pomarède, deputy general administrator at the Louvre, interviewed by AFP.
"Until now, this reservation system is not mandatory, free public and Paris museum pass holders are not obliged to book," he said.
"We will set up the compulsory reservation as have many other museums, and before the end of the year all publics will have to book," said the senior official.
"With the obligatory reservation, observed Mr. Pomarède, we can control the entry of the visitors.A visitor who can not enter at 10:00 will return at 10:30 am A visitor who can not return one day will return the next day".
"We are in an intermediate phase, generalizing the system, starting in October or November, accelerating what we wanted to put in place in early 2020," he said. Explain.
© 2019 AFP