Paris is back open to travellers and as magical as ever to visit. Photo / Getty Images
Paris is back open to travellers and as magical as ever to visit. Photo / Getty Images
Denise Stephens takes a look at what it's like to visit the French capital now
Tourists are returning to Paris as pandemic restrictions ease and the city opens up. When I visited in the weeks leading up to Easter, I enjoyed returning to familiar places but there were some changes due to anti-Covid-19 measures. Travelling to and from France also required completing more formalities, with requirements changing just a couple of weeks before my trip.
The journey there
A valid passport was all I'd needed on previous visits to France, but now I needed either proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or a pre-departure test, and an EU digital passenger locator form. My international vaccination certificate and the form were examined along with my passport when I checked in for my flight.
Face masks were required on Emirates flights, at Dubai International, and on all flights to and from France. To encourage mask-wearing, cabin crew distributed face masks and hand sanitiser at the start of each flight, and there were occasional reminders about masks during the journey.
On arrival in Paris, the border police only looked at my passport, although I had the other documents ready for inspection.
Rules you need to know
Masks are required in healthcare settings, including pharmacies. If you enter a pharmacy without a mask, the staff will remind you, sometimes very loudly, to wear one.
With the lifting of mask requirements on public transport from May 16, wearing a mask elsewhere is optional.
France recently relaxed measures against Covid-19, including suspending the passe vaccinale, a vaccine passport. It's possible that this could be reintroduced if a new wave brought high case numbers. If it is reintroduced, visitors will need an international vaccination certificate to obtain their passe vaccinale.
On the ground
There were still obvious signs of the pandemic, such as the Covid testing tent outside every pharmacy, but Paris is open for business. I was able to do and see everything that I would normally do. My first impression was that there were fewer tourists and the streets were less crowded.
Outdoor spots like the Tuileries Garden remain popular places to visit. Photo / Getty Images
Although masks were now optional, apart from public transport and healthcare, a reasonable number of people were still wearing them in other situations. I noticed this most in indoor spaces such as shops and museums. Black surgical masks seemed to be the most popular choice and were available in supermarkets and pharmacies. N95 masks were less common but also available in pharmacies and some supermarkets.
The main purpose of my trip was to visit my sister, who has some health issues, so I chose to wear a mask indoors and in crowded places to help avoid possible infection. I didn't feel out of place at all nor did I receive any negative comments about this.
Signs to promote mask wearing are common around Paris. Photo / Denise Stephens
During three weeks in Paris I spotted only a handful of people without masks on the Metro. I heard a singer far down a passage at Chatelet station long before I saw him, mask covering his mouth and nose. Along with the familiar multilingual announcements that warned about pickpockets, there were now announcements about the requirement to wear a mask, with a warning about the €135 fine.
Most museums that I visited had signs recommending that visitors wore a mask and stayed one metre apart from other visitors. Some recommended booking ahead due to limitations on visitor numbers, so it pays to check the website in advance. I was able to book museum tickets as late as the day before. All the museums I visited now had a marked visitor route. This was designed to help with social distancing and avoid crossing paths with others, but it made it difficult sometimes to go back for a second look at an interesting object.
While some popular museums and attractions are quieter than usual, you can still see all the sights in the City of Lights. Photo / Denise Stephens
While shops didn't require or recommend masks, apart from pharmacies, they all had hand sanitiser available. One luxury chocolate shop I visited had a sign prominently placed on the glass door, asking customers to sanitise their hands before entering. Department stores and supermarkets had entry and exit lanes separated by ropes but, apart from that, shopping was much the same as before.
Mask wearing is common in supermarkets and pharmacies, but Parisians are very much getting on with everyday life. Photo / Getty Images
The hotels I stayed at recommended that guests wear masks in public areas and provided hand sanitiser in reception and the restaurant. Some guests did wear masks, particularly in the lifts, but many did not. Staff in the bar and restaurant were masked, while the reception staff were behind plastic screens. The breakfast buffet was back, with one hotel helpfully pointing out the less busy times for guests who wished to avoid crowds.
While Parisians were getting on with daily life, a visit to St Sulpice reminded me of the toll from Covid-19. The side chapels of this beautiful 17th century church were filled with works of art, including paintings by Eugene Delacroix, but now one has been dedicated to victims of the pandemic. Their photos, young and old, covered the wall. This chapel was where people could mourn loved ones who died alone during France's long lockdowns. Candles burned beneath the wall of photos, placed there in memory of the lives lost to Covid.
Returning home
On my last day in Paris, it was my turn to queue at the testing tent outside the local pharmacy. France has dealt with large numbers of cases, so the testing process was very slick and no appointment was needed.
The first step was to scan a QR code (the one labelled "antigenique") outside the pharmacy, and fill in the details requested on the website. Then I went inside to pay for the test (€16.50, about $NZ26) and show my passport for identification. In return I got a receipt to take to the testing tent. Although there were four people in front of me, it was only a few minutes before the test was done.
The certificate showing a negative test result arrived via email in less than half an hour. I had already completed all the details in the New Zealand Traveller Declaration before leaving New Zealand, so I only needed to upload the test results to the saved record and submit it. The email with my New Zealand Traveller Pass arrived not long after. With the travel documents sorted by mid-morning, I was free to enjoy my last day in Paris.
I had to show the Traveller Pass and test certificate when I checked in at Charles de Gaulle airport that evening, and also again at the gate in Dubai before boarding my next flight. Landing in Auckland, I showed the Traveller Pass one last time and then went through the usual formalities before I was finally home.
With travel requirements liable to change at short notice, it pays to check for the latest information and read emails from your airline carefully. Check requirements for travelling to France at diplomatie.gouv.fr/en For details on international vaccine certificates and requirements for returning to New Zealand see covid19.govt.nz
