Strange Days For Rare Foreign Tourists In Paris

Long walks, no crowds and maybe a church or two: Despite missing out on museums and brasseries, the few foreign tourists in Paris are discovering sides of a city they could hardly have imagined before the Covid crisis hit one of the world's most popular destinations.

For Ginevra Morello, a student from Milan, it meant a chance for her and a friend to check off an item on their bucket list -- have their portrait done by an artist on the Place du Tertre, the famed square perched at the top of the former village of Montmartre.

"Before there were so many people who wanted to do it, and now there are not so many people, so it's an occasion for us," Morello told AFP as birds chirped in the crisp sunshine -- a sound usually drowned out by chattering throngs on the cobblestones.

She would have liked to mark the occasion with a celebratory drink in one of the postcard-perfect cafes, which like restaurants are closed.

"It's a pity because I think the most beautiful thing in Paris is to visit the locals, the cafes and the bars," she said.

Instead, foreigners find themselves strolling the streets, admiring the architecture of monuments they cannot visit inside, and making sure they get back in time for the 6:00 pm curfew.

"It's a little sad that there are so few people -- you can tell that mostly it's the French visiting," said Paul Vida, an automotive quality control manager from Quebec, after touring the Sacre-Coeur Basilica.

His strategy: Just pick a place and go, without worrying if it's closed or not, and make sure to get back before curfew -- "otherwise it's a 135-euro fine!"

While shopping remains an option at smaller boutiques, the grand department stores like the Galeries Lafayette that usually draw tourists by the busload have been closed as a precaution.

But for many foreigners, the lack of fellow travellers makes taking in the sights all the more enjoyable.

"It's kind of private -- everything is closed and it's really quiet," said Christine Jouard, who came from Manila with her French husband to visit the city for the first time.

They were taking their time to find the perfect angle for a family picture in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees, a spot where hundreds of people usually jostle for a clear shot.

Jouard acknowledged that eating take-away meals on a bench was fine as long as skies stayed clear, but the weather can't help with one thing: "For bathrooms, it was really a struggle to find some place!"

Niall Carden, a 21-year-old Erasmus student from Ireland who studies in western France, concurred that "public toilets are limited, very limited."

"But the views!" he said on the nearly empty steps of the Trocadero gardens, gazing at the Eiffel Tower rising majestically across the Seine.

"I know, the pub life, the restaurant life is very sad, and even the fact that you can't go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, that's a bit frustrating, but you do have to appreciate the little things," he said.

"To be honest, it's quite quiet and a lot more peaceful. I kind of prefer it this way."

Last month, foreign clients made up just four percent of bookings at hotels currently open, according to the Paris Region association of tourism professionals.

That translates into an average revenue drop of 73 percent for hotels compared to the same month last year, the association said -- a figure that climbs to 88 percent for hotels in Paris proper.

People still willing to come despite the closures and curfew face the additional expense of producing a negative Covid test upon entry into France, and usually when going back home.

In return, they get a chance to see the city a way few ever will: In 2019, before the crisis hit, Paris and the surrounding Ile-de-France region attracted 50 million visitors, a figure slashed by two-thirds last year.

"It feels like I own Paris!" said Ivan Vdovicic, a 27-year-old optician from Switzerland, while enjoying an outdoor coffee at the Trocadero with a friend.

"It's a bit weird that there are so few people on the streets," he admitted. "That's why I'll be coming back to Paris when normality is back."