Hello and welcome to Travel Time. If you’re planning a trip to Paris, you might have to wait. On Monday the Louvre shut its doors after staff staged a strike over unmanageable crowds and chronic understaffing. Gallery attendants, ticket takers and security all walked out during a routine meeting, saying the crush of visitors has become unsafe and unsustainable.

The shutdown comes after a weekend of anti-tourism protests across Europe, from water-gun drenched tourists in Spain to chants of “Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists” in Mallorca, Venice and Lisbon. At the Louvre, more than nine million people pass through each year, with about twenty thousand pausing daily to see the Mona Lisa. As one visitor put it, “You don’t see a painting. You see phones. You see elbows. You feel heat. And then, you’re pushed out.”

Plans to give da Vinci’s masterpiece its own room aren’t ready yet, so staff refuse to manage the overwhelming foot traffic. For now, thousands of ticket-holders are left outside the glass pyramid, and the strike shines a spotlight on the real cost of mass tourism. Until next time, keep exploring responsibly.
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