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TOURISM

Eiffel Tower ticket prices skyrocket to fund renovations

Tourists who want to visit the French capital's most iconic monument are having to shell out almost 50 percent more for a ticket as of the beginning of November.

Eiffel Tower ticket prices skyrocket to fund renovations
Photo: AFP
Tourists are now expected to dig even deeper into their pockets to visit the Eiffel Tower, with tickets to get to the top by lift costing €25 (up from €17). 
 
On Wednesday (November 1st) the cost of getting to the top of the Dame de fer (Iron Lady) went up by a whopping 47 percent. 
 
And other visitors will be paying more too.
 
Those who want to go to the second floor by lift are now paying €16 instead of €11. 
 
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Paris: Work begins on Eiffel Tower's bulletproof glass wall

Photo: AFP

And for the bravest visitors who are willing to put in the leg work to get to the second floor, tickets have gone up to €10 from €7. 
 
The reason behind this nearly 50 percent increase in ticket prices is the desire to find cash to fund the renovation works planned for the monument.  
 
 
A total of €300 million will be spent on the monument over 15 years, a large portion of which will go towards the construction of a bullet-proof palisade around the tower.
 
But while the hikes might make a day trip to the sight pricey, it remains one of the least expensive towers to visit in the world, with tickets to New York's Empire State Building costing €30 and tourists paying €87 to reach the top of the highest tower in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubaï. 
 
 

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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