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Starting this week, renowned European museums that meet the necessary Covid-19 safety requirements will begin reopening. These museums must ensure: continuous disinfection of visitor areas, limited visitor numbers in accordance with social distancing rules, a recommendation for visitors to wear masks, and online ticket sales only.
Had it not been for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world-renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, would normally welcome 12,000 visitors per day at this time of year. This year, due to government social distancing regulations, the museum is limited to a maximum of 2,000 visitors per day starting this week. The Van Gogh Museum and the Rembrandt Museum in Amsterdam will also reopen in the first week of June with similar strict regulations. Besides museums, several art galleries will also reopen this June.
Despite numerous restrictions, the decision to reopen is a welcome sign for a new beginning. The director of the Rijksmuseum, Taco Dibbits, stated that while the pandemic situation varies from country to country, they all have their own ways of ensuring a safe experience for visitors, and “now is the time to bring Dutch people back to museums, which they love so much.”
Similarly, the Sistine Chapel – home to Michelangelo's 1508-painted ceiling, one of Europe's greatest cultural masterpieces – will reopen this week. Visitors will have their temperature checked and will be required to wear masks before entering. The chapel will also only welcome about 20% of its previous capacity to adhere to social distancing rules and ensure visitor safety. The Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy, will also reopen to visitors from June.
The Guggenheim Bilbao museum, designed by Frank Gehry in northern Spain, will reopen after being closed since March. Initially, it will only be open from 2 PM on most weekdays.
Denmark's Louisiana Museum – one of Europe's most beautifully situated modern art galleries – reopened on June 5th. The museum is primarily serving visitors who purchased tickets online in advance.
The Louvre Museum in Paris is scheduled to reopen on July 6th, but the glass pyramid in front of the museum had already begun reopening in the first week of June.
However, the governments of the aforementioned countries also announced that this reopening decision is temporary, as everything will have to close again whenever the Covid-19 pandemic peaks. Nevertheless, after a long period of frozen entertainment activities, this is welcome news for Europeans, especially those who love exploring museums.
