The coronavirus pandemic has not succeeded in stopping summer in the city. For the past 18 years, Paris Plages has been the mainstay of the city’s summer programme and it is back again this year. Every summer Paris transforms part of the banks of the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement (district) into a beachgoer’s paradise with its very own artificial beaches.
As in previous years, there are all kinds of activities spread across the two sites. These feature fences, outdoor gyms, concerts, swimming, pedal boats, boules and food and beverage stalls that promise a respite for Parisians who can’t escape the sweltering heat of the city. There was even a floating outdoor cinema to mark the opening on July 18. The filmmakers were able to board one of the 38 electric boats, each with up to six other people from the same social circle.
There are strict restrictions that oppose coronaviruses and sites are cleaned and disinfected at normal intervals. There is also reduced capacity in both places.
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A typical summer detail in Paris, and which fortunately will be missed this year, are the queues. You don’t want to worry about queuing for hours in a heat wave to succeed at the front of the Eiffel Tower. The tower, like the maximum sites, basically sells tickets through online booking, assigning an express time interval before all visits.
It has also brought a number of strict controls. These come with a mandatory mask for all visitors over the age of 11, a constant direction to and from the tower, 30 hand sanitizer distribution problems and significant relief in the number of visitors. Initially, providing only the first two levels, on July 15, the tours extended to the entire tower, if only through the elevator.
Similar measures are available at the Palace of Versailles. Visitors are welcome, however, you will need to make an eBook online in advance and bring your own mask as there will be none on the site. Most of the castle and its gardens are open, but visitors will have to follow a quick direction and stay at least a metre away.
Team effort
Ensuring the protection of Paris for visitors is an effort of the whole city. To get around daily, the RATP’s shipping network (bus, tram, metro, RER …) has implemented rigorous safety measures to maintain a sufficient service point in compliance with the required physical distance measures. Travellers must wear a mask or face a fine of 135 euros.
In June, the Paris Tourist and Congress Office presented “Solidarity Attitude”, a new letter of commitment for tourism professionals. It is a non-unusual normative package, which adds up to the implementation of adequacy measures, the education of workers in these measures and the adaptation of to respect social estrangement.
“Permanent communication has allowed us to paint in combination with solutions. Many projects have been carried out to continue presenting our visitors to Paris through virtual visits, and thus continue to highlight the richness of the capital’s cultural offer,” Corinne Menegaux, Director General of the Paris Office of Tourism and Conventions, told FRANCE 24.
“It is to reassure our visitors that all tourism professionals here have created the mandatory health situations so that the tours are carried out safely.
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Another cultural paradise
Paris would possibly be taking precautions, but the good news for visitors and locals is that it has not particularly reduced the number of cultural events presented. Instead, the capital has been looking for tactics to make this summer’s occasions for the public, even if that means having less participation than usual.
La Nuit aux Invalides is one of the wonderful soft displays in Paris for 8 years. His return in 2020 had been questioned, but since then they have reopened each and every night in the courtyard of Les Invalides. This year’s exhibition explores the 350-year history of Les Invalides, Paris’ largest landmark. Visitors must wear masks, wear hand sanitizer and continue to move in the designated direction.
This summer’s Atelier des Lumiéres is another iconic charm. Currently, with two exhibitions presented, you can immerse yourself in the artistic worlds of Monet, Renoir and Chagall, or explore the blue color with Yves Klein. The workshop has put in place security measures that make the mask mandatory for over 11 years, equipment is prohibited and visitors must remain at least one meter away.
August is shaping up as a hot month in the city, with a forecast of the first heat wave for this week. One of the pleasures of Paris is the number of outdoor pools to dive into, such as Josephine Baker on the right bank of the Seine and Butte aux Cailles in the 13th arrondissement. All brought strict rules, adding restrictions to the number of visitors and eliminating shared changing rooms. Visitors also wash the property very well before entering the pool.
However, the most productive way to escape the heat altogether is to descend to the subsoil of the city of Las Catacombs de Denfert-Rouchereau. Normally you will encounter long queues, but now everyone has to book a slot device online. Go down more than a hundred steps and place yourself in a dark maze of macabre that remains fresh at 14 degrees Celsius. They also followed strict practices to monitor the number of crowds and made it mandatory to use masks.
One of the main monuments that was reopened after the closure was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. In a general year, this national treasure welcomes more than 10 million visitors, but was forced to close last spring due to the pandemic. Despite everything, it has reopened its last sections, the crypt and the dome, so you can climb through the most productive and unhindered prospects of Paris.
“The summer of 2020 is absolutely atypical. All tour operators in Paris suffer significant losses due to the almost absence of foreign visitors. However, we now see that some of the foreign clientele has been replaced by a French, Parisian and provincial clientele,” he added. Guillaume Duchéne, marketing director of Bateaux Mouches, told FRANCE 24.
Fly Boats are the iconic river boats that cross the Seine and restrict the number of passengers on board and reduce visits, especially during the week.
“However, we were able to increase our cruising times a little bit… and consumers are coming!” Duchéne said. “It will have to be said that situations are ideal for Parisians to rediscover Paris from another angle.