‘Mona Lisa’ back at work, visitors limited at Louvre
PARIS – The “Mona Lisa” is back in business.
Paris’ Louvre Museum, which houses the world’s most famous portrait, reopened July 6 after a four-month coronavirus lockdown and without its usual huge throngs.
The reopening of the world’s mostvisited museum was a bright spot in what is otherwise shaping up as a grimly quiet start to the summer tourist season in France, with far fewer visitors than was normal before the pandemic closed borders.
Paris tour guide Katia Besnard Rousseau said she has had no groups to show around since France gradually started coming out of its strict two-month lockdown in May.
As the Louvre reopened, she and dozens of other guides demonstrated outside, forming a long line and holding up images of the “Mona Lisa” to highlight the hardship afflicting their industry.
“My whole season collapsed. There is no one around. It’s very dramatic,” said Besnard Rousseau.
“To live in Paris and not be able to guide is horribly frustrating. I really miss it.”
Inside the museum, face masks were a must and visitor numbers were limited, with reservations required. Among the trickle of returning tourists was Zino Vandenbeaghen, who traveled from Belgium to enjoy the unusual space at both the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
“It’s super,” he said. “The ideal moment to visit.”
About 70% of the giant museum – 45,000 square meters (484,000 square feet) of space, or the equivalent of 230 tennis courts – housing 30,000 of the
The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of State still advise against international travel and that, combined with travel restrictions and decreased business travel, have tanked demand for flights.
American Airlines doesn’t anticipate a quick rebound. It already expects that its international passenger traffic for summer 2021 will be 25% less than in 2019.
Hauser said the return of Condor’s flights to Frankfurt depends not only on the European Union lifting restrictions but also “the travel restrictions for Germans in the respective destination.”
The bottom line: Airlines need to have passengers in seats — in both directions — to make money. So flying those large planes overseas nonstop from Phoenix won’t make sense until these three issues are resolved.