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 the Media 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!” Nevertheless, the future does not seem bleak as – thanks to the availability of vaccine – little by little people are gaining confidence.

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