Eiffel Tower to reopen on July 16

People who want to head back to the top of one of the city's best-known landmarks can start buying tickets on June 1, with the first visitors expected back on July 16, the operators said on Thursday, DPA news agency reported. 

Special health procedures will remain in effect at that point due to the pandemic.

The tower had to shut to visitors late last year as the pandemic forced the closure of multiple spots where crowds might gather and spread the disease. 

A reopening had been expected in December, but health conditions have not allowed it so far.

It was the second coronavirus closure suffered at the tower, which was also shut down for parts of the spring of 2020, when the virus first started spreading through Europe.

In a normal year, the tower gets 7 million visitors. It has stood in the French capital since 1889.