HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
Tourists in Paris lament construction works
Tourists can finally flock to Paris after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic but many are frustrated by the construction works spoiling views of famous sights such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.
Monuments including the Louvre museum and Grand Palais are covered with scaffolding, wooden fencing or billboards as the City of Light gears up to host the Olympics in 2024, sparking disappointment in tourists looking for the perfect snap.
It's a shame this area is under construction because it's also the most emblematic part of Paris, said Spanish tourist Eva Caro, as she wandered around the Trocadero esplanade overlooking the Seine river.
Every year millions of tourists head to Trocadero as it offers a picture-perfect view of the Eiffel Tower -- used as a backdrop countless times by celebrities and fashion models.
But the lengthy renovation works on the esplanade, which are nearing their end, pepper the horizon with fences and make the hunt for the ideal photo for social media more challenging.
Finally after Covid, we get to come here ... I don't know if this is a temporary construction or whatever but it's bugging me, said Tami Agmon, a doctor on holiday from Israel.
As the sun beats down on the dozens of tourists massed on the square, some climb a barricade to try and capture the iconic monument built by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exposition in 1889.
I think it's dangerous to have to go up (on the wall) because we could fall and it would ruin the trip, said Caro, who climbed up to get a snap with her hands making a heart around the Iron Lady.
-'Very disappointing'-
French tourist Francine Cabrier, who has come from the Alps where she works as a city hall employee, is even more annoyed.
Frankly, it's very, very disappointing. It's a shame! To take a photo you need to be much farther away. It's a waste! she told AFP.
Across the Seine at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, scaffolding around the monument in the midst of a makeover forced tourists Maria Paz Lindeman and Ernesto Silva to lean down for a low angle shot.
We were just wondering which was the best side to not see so much scaffolding... There's no place where you can take the perfect picture, said Lindeman, a Peruvian schoolteacher.
It's a similar story in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, which is undergoing extensive renovation works after the 2019 fire that almost burned the Gothic monument to the ground.
We were at the Eiffel Tower and our pictures were ruined a little bit because of the construction going on there but nothing as much as over here! said American tourist Steven Engelberg.
-'Paris is Paris'-
Parisian monuments have opted for different techniques to ease the eyesore -- the Madeleine Church is covered with a billboard featuring Mont Saint Michel, while the National Assembly -- parliament -- opted to reproduce its own facade.
At the foot of the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde, tour guide Thierry Collegia told AFP he faces questions about the extensive construction works.
I mainly tell them that it's because of the 2024 Olympics, said Collegia, adding that mostly tourists were delighted to be back in Paris.
And there are so many monuments in Paris to admire that if some are undergoing building work, it's not such a big deal, he added.
Paris is clocking up visitor numbers that resemble those before the Covid-19 pandemic brought trips to a stop.
Some 12.1 million people visited the capital between January and May 2022, only three million fewer than during the same period in 2019, according to City Hall.
Colombian lawyer Gloria Ramirez, 56, said she did not regret crossing the Atlantic.
We would have come anyway even if we had known about the construction works. It's not a problem -- Paris is Paris, she said.
(2022/06/23 15:55)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 07/01 14:10 Mucky business-- Thai prisoners clean Bangkok sewers after pandemic delay
- 07/01 14:03 China's image slips further in developed world-- survey
- 07/01 13:52 US Supreme Court limits government powers to curb greenhouse gases
- 07/01 13:46 'Your body belongs to Christ'-- US anti-abortionists see divine hand in court ruling
- 07/01 13:39 Biden touts Switzerland -- woops, Sweden -- in NATO expansion
- 07/01 13:36 Pink 'soul refresher' unites wilting Indians and Pakistanis
- 06/30 22:15 US Ryder Cup captain Johnson says PGA is path to his team
- 06/30 22:07 Serena conqueror's doubles partner fumes after pull-out
- 06/30 22:02 Singer R. Kelly gets 30 years in jail over sex crimes
- 06/30 14:45 Cuban boxing star Andy Cruz caught trying to escape island nation
- 06/30 14:36 Indonesian zoo breeds dozens of endangered baby Komodo dragons
- 06/30 14:23 Queen Elizabeth II meets Scotland's leader after referendum announcement
- 06/29 14:47 Russia to put WNBA star Griner on trial in July
- 06/29 14:26 Hamilton calls for action after Piquet's racist slur
- 06/29 14:15 'Motivated' Serena brushes off retirement talk despite Wimbledon defeat
- 06/29 14:10 'We're still here'-- Wimbledon set for all-Ukrainian clash
- 06/29 14:02 Jewel thieves in brazen Dutch art fair heist
- 06/29 13:56 Roman-era mosaic back in Israel as centrepiece of new museum
- 06/28 16:29 French athlete assaulted just before race, still wins in eyepatch
- 06/28 15:04 Undisputed crown will prove I'm pound-for-pound boxing king-- Inoue
- 06/28 14:52 Beachgoers brave rockets in East Ukraine
- 06/28 14:48 G7 leaders mock Putin in jokes about stripping off
- 06/28 14:42 'Elvis' puts the King back in spotlight in N.American theaters
- 06/28 14:13 'Deepest shipwreck'-- US WWII ship found off Philippines
- 06/27 15:09 Djokovic, Nadal lead title chase at all-change Wimbledon
- 06/27 14:54 Trans Rohingya refugee fights prejudice with beauty
- 06/27 14:50 Working 24/7 to save baby manatee orphaned in Colombia
- 06/27 14:45 Israel uncovers rare early mosque in Negev
- 06/27 14:41 Teaching helped me survive, says Indian quadruple amputee
- 06/27 14:25 Robot hives in Israel kibbutz hope to keep bees buzzing
- 06/24 17:52 'Two minutes without breathing'-- Coach tells of pool rescue drama
- 06/24 17:43 In the tunnels of Azovstal, traces of Ukraine's resistance
- 06/24 17:34 Greek state TV mocked for gasoline theft 'tips'
- 06/24 17:28 Swahili smash for Osaka's new venture
- 06/24 17:21 Magic conjure surprise with Banchero No.1 NBA Draft pick
- 06/24 17:15 Eurovision chiefs insist Ukraine cannot host 2023 show
- 06/23 17:38 Fiery Scottish Viking festival lifts curbs on female participants
- 06/23 17:32 Vienna returns as world's 'most liveable city'
- 06/23 15:55 Tourists in Paris lament construction works
- 06/23 15:29 New UK statue unveiled to post-war Caribbean migrants
- 06/23 15:23 Putin's health-- pivotal yet shrouded in uncertainty
- 06/23 15:14 Ziggy Stardust-- 50 years of Bowie's alien revolution