Changes in Paris since Covid

One thing I noticed when I went in September 2021 was a lot more bicycles on the road and bike lanes than there had been in during my November 2019 trip or any of my prior trips. Also, the traffic routing around Place de la Bastille had been redone.

Many restaurants that we could easily book a week out, now book up so we need to make plans several weeks out. This is an issue in the US too where it is harder to book restaurants than before.

There is no 'after COVID' yet. Most of my French friends have gotten COVID in the work place in the last 4 or 5 months. Because mask requirements have been dropped including on planes, people are now getting COVID traveling. We have been to France twice during COVID with no illness. We have 3 sets of friends who tested positive when they got home form their European trips in the past month.

I agree with JHK. Nov/Dec 2021 I noticed more bike lanes being installed throughout Paris than from previous trips. My usual haunts were still in business, so I was happy about that. Except for a candy shop on Ile Saint-Louis was gone & another business was in its place. It was my go to candy shop that I would visit the day before I departed for gifts for family & friends. However, I found a new chocolatier shop near the apartment I stayed at that will become my new go-to.

Enjoy your trip.

The thing I noticed was the timed entries for museums. Like Janet I've been twice, once in Sept/Oct 2021 and also April 2022. The timed entries at, say, the Louvre have cut down on entry lines but it has not deterred visitors as it seemed as crowded as ever in the Italian rooms and under the Pyramid.

The timed entry with other museums such as Orsay and Marmottan also sped entry.

In the summer of 2019 the Museum Pass changed so that you were restricted to one entry per museum which had an impact on how I used the pass. It also changed so that although they are called 2/4/6 day passes, they are actually 48/96/144 hour passes so it is possible to use them on parts of 3/5 or 7 days. For instance, if your first entry is at noon on day 1 and you have a 2-day pass, you can still enter a museum at 10A on day 3. Now that a timed entry is needed even with the Museum Pass, it's lost it's value to me. Each person needs to look at the numbers to see if they are still a good value even with the timed entries.

I've noticed that a number of restaurants have gone to QR code menus instead of having paper menus.

Contactless payment is everywhere.

I'd gotten by without having cell service in Paris but these last 2 trips I found it essential - I store my museum tickets, train tickets, and other venue tickets on my phone in various apps. I'm not particularly a tech person but I've forced myself out of my comfort zone and am using my phone and apps for more and more.

Yea, I shouldn’t have said “after Covid.” Not sure how to describe this new world.

I interpret "after COVID" as after the appearance of COVID. No need to apologize.

I have been in a "wait and see" mode for quite a while. I was seeing too many "Pandemic's over!" in too many places. I expected the current surge in new cases.

But I was mostly worried if it would be enough to swamp the Medical Systems. And (so far) it doesn't seem to be. Though I'm seeing too many stories about Medical systems on the verge of "burn out" from coping with the stresses too long with too little support.

ex:

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2022/09/hospital-executives-who-expected-to-rebound-from-covid-this-year-say-theyre-stunned-by-losses-instead.html

We are getting the third, now Omicron specific, booster on Tuesday in advance of our trip. So far we have evaded it but then we do mask on transport and crowded stores.

We were in Paris last week and although it was our first time, you would never know a thing called Covid existed. No masks anywhere - metro, train stations, crowded Louvre, crowded restaurants. London was the same. We've barely thought about Covid since we arrived nearly 3 weeks ago.

I’ve been in Paris for a week now and some people do wear masks on the bus and métro. JHK is right, way more bikes than before. When crossing a street you have to pay serious attention to bikes in both directions as well as cars. Other than that, i’ve noticed no difference since pre-covid other than prices are up and some stores are gone.

Thanks for all the responses. I’m there now and having a great time. I am wearing a mask in crowded places and mostly avoiding the biggest tourist spots. If I catch Covid, I won’t be able to join my RS tour to Nice in two days!