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Eiffel Tower to hike ticket prices by 20 percent from June

Paris city hall on Friday voted to increase the Eiffel Tower adult admission price by 20 percent from next month to help pay for urgent renovation work.

Published: 24 May 2024 21:04 CEST
Eiffel Tower to hike ticket prices by 20 percent from June
Eiffel Tower ticket prices to rise by 20 percent (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Visitors currently pay €29.40 ($31.90) for a ride by lift to the top of the Eiffel tower, a price tag that is set to rise to 35.30 euros on June 17.

The Paris city council also backed a recapitalisation for Eiffel Tower operator SETE, and lowered the annual fee it charges the operator for running one of the world’s most famous monuments.

Lower visitor numbers during the Covid pandemic combined with spiralling renovation costs have pushed SETE deep into deficit.

Staff at the Eiffel Tower went on strike earlier this year, protesting against what unions said was insufficient investment.

The Eiffel Tower booked a shortfall of around 120 million euros during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Unions argued that previous recapitalisation of 60 million euros was insufficient given the need for major maintenance work, including a fresh paint job.

The masterpiece by architect Gustave Eiffel has been repainted 19 times since it was built for the 1889 World Fair.

Eiffel recommended at the time that it should be painted every seven years to keep inevitable rust at bay.

But the 300-metre (985-feet) iron structure — 330 metres tall when the high-frequency antenna at the top is included — has not been given a full paint job since 2010.

Visitor numbers recovered to nearly six million last year, having dropped to 1.5 million in 2020 because of Covid restrictions.

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PARIS

Famous Paris cinema shuts in sign of Champs-Elysées decline

The UGC Normandie cinema on the Champs-Elysées in Paris closed its doors on Thursday after 90 years - with critics seeing another sign of tourism and fashion sucking the life from one of the world's most famous shopping boulevards.

Published: 13 June 2024 17:23 CEST
Famous Paris cinema shuts in sign of Champs-Elysées decline

Once a preferred spot for gala premieres, the UGC Normandie was one of several grand cinemas on the Champs-Elysées that made the area a hub for film buffs in the 1960s and 70s.

But the street long ago lost its cool among Parisians, becoming increasingly dominated by flagship fashion stores and tourists taking snaps of the Arc de Triomphe.

The UGC cinema chain said it faced a “very sharp increase in rent” at the location, which is owned by the Qatari royal family.

Two other famed cinemas on the boulevard, the George V and Gaumont Marignan, have closed since 2020.

“The cinema is disappearing in somewhat terrible circumstances for the whole culture,” said a former employee, 22-year-old Yann Raffin, adding that he feels both “sadness” and “anger”.

“This avenue is transforming into an avenue reserved for the ultra-rich,” he told AFP.

The last screening on Wednesday night was “La La Land” with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, a fitting tribute to Hollywood musicals of a bygone era.

Its director, Damien Chazelle, appeared on screen with a special message for the sold-out crowd.

“This room was an extension of my own life, it was a friend and an ally,” said Mehdi Omais, 40, a film journalist, visibly moved.

“It’s heartbreaking to see it close and to see this avenue becoming a cemetery of cinemas.”

An auction of the chairs and decor was due on Thursday, including the huge letters on the outside, with proceeds going to a charity that organises screenings for hospitalised children.

Paris remains a film-going hotspot and still has more cinemas per head than anywhere in the world, with swanky new theatres opening elsewhere in the city.

They include a state-of-the-art Pathe cinema near the Opera Garnier, designed by architect Renzo Piano who created the Pompidou Centre and The Shard in London.

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