Paris landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, and the Palace of Versailles have closed their doors as France heads toward a country-wide shut down in an effort to eliminate coronavirus. After the government of France banned gatherings of more than 100 people at a time, tons of Paris' most notable tourist attractions closed down indefinitely to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Eiffel Tower, France's most famous landmark, officially closed "for an indefinite period of time" as of 9:00pm on Friday night. The Louvre Museum, which boasts the title of the world's most visited museum with 9.6 million visitors last year, has also closed "until further notice" as of Friday.
The Musée d'Orsay, which holds the world's biggest collection of Impressionist paintings, followed suit. Both museums had initially restricted entry to 1,000 people at a time earlier this week, with the Louvre asking visitors to book their tickets online, but once the death toll had risen to 61 in France by Friday, they were forced to shut down entirely.The Louvre has also postponed two upcoming exhibitions: a show initially scheduled for May that was meant to showcase Italian sculpture from the likes of Donatello and Michelangelo. The Palace of Versailles, another major tourist attraction that averages nearly 10 million tourists a year, has also closed its doors. A number of other museums and attractions have also closed down, and public theatres, libraries and concert halls have also been told to close.