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With many foreign tourists not expected back
for months, and strict social distancing measures in place, the
post-outbreak Louvre that opens on July 6 is likely to be a more
serene experience than usual.
Workers this week were putting the final touches on preparations
at the former palace on the banks of the Seine that, according
to managers, is the world's most visited museum.
There will be disinfecting hand gel dispensers, a booking system
that allocates time slots to visitors, a one-way system, as well
as signs reminding visitors to keep one metre (yard) apart and
wear masks.
And managers anticipate that initial visitor numbers will be
only a fifth of pre-outbreak levels.
The museum's director Jean-Luc Martinez said its sheer size -
45,000 square metres of galleries containing 30,000 works will
reopen - means it will not be hard to respect physical
distancing.
"It's not somewhere where you're going to be crushed up against
each other," he said.
Before the outbreak, the Louvre had around 1 million visitors
each month in the summer season. Three quarters of them were
foreign tourists.
Many visitors traditionally made a beeline for Leonardo da
Vinci's "Mona Lisa", often resulting in a crowd several people
deep in front of it.
Martinez said the COVID-19 lockdown had cost about 40 million
euros ($45 million) in lost ticket office revenue, cancelled
events and shop sales.
He said the Louvre would weather the storm, although it was
likely to need two or three years to get back to normal.
"This palace is more than 800 years old, the museum has been
open for more than 200 years. Of course this crisis is an
unusual moment, but the Louvre will remain," he said.
(Reporting by Johnny Cotton, Noemie Olive and Elizabeth Pineau;
Writing by Johnny Cotton and Christian Lowe; Editing by Giles
Elgood)
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