Eiffel Tower Completes Its Gradual Reopening by Welcoming Visitors to Top Deck

The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris reopened its top floor deck on Wednesday, welcoming visitors back to the top of the structure that defines the city’s skyline after it closed for the longest time since WWII due to COVID-19.

The Eiffel Tower first opened on June 25, but initially only allowed visitors to climb to the first and second floors and required those 11 years old and older to wear masks. The summit, accessible by elevator, opened on July 15.

In order to facilitate social distancing, visits to the summit will be capped at 250 people at a time, according to organizers, and passenger capacity in elevators will be cut in half. Additionally, people climbing stairs will walk up by one pillar and go down another.

The same rule applies at The Louvre and Pompidou Centre where visitors are asked to travel in one direction for the duration of their time.

To keep the tower clean, public spaces and touchpoints (like railings and telescopes) are disinfected daily, and about 30 hand sanitizer dispenser areas have been set up utilizing a foot pedal.

The tower, which was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution and stands at 1,063 feet tall, has been closed for more than three months as France battled the coronavirus — the longest the tower has been shut since WWII.

France has recorded more than 210,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 30,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. But France is at the bottom of its curve with hospitalizations and the number of people in intensive care decreasing, The New York Times reported.

In May, France started lifting restrictions and on June 2, the country went further, allowing many restaurants, bars, and cafes to open along with swimming pools, beaches, and museums.

Earlier this month, another Parisian icon, the Musée du Louvre, reopened, requiring visitors to wear a mask inside as well as book time slots in advance. The adjacent Tuileries Gardens reopened on May 31.

Disneyland Paris has also opened.