The Eiffel Tower has been forced to close as employees at the Paris monument went on strike over long queues.
One of the most famous landmarks in the world was closed at 4pm after staff agreed to walk out over booking procedures that staff claim have created “monstrous” waiting times.
From last month, the Eiffel Tower has allowed half of its tickets to be booked in advance.
However unions that represent the tower’s 300 employees have complained that different ticket holders are being allocated separate lifts, increasing waiting times.
Lifts allocated for visitors who have pre-booked have at times empty while walk-in customers have seen waits of around three hours to gain access to the elevators.
One tourist told FRANCE 24: “This has to be the Frenchest story of them all. The Eiffel Tower is on strike.”
Visitors to Paris took to Twitter to share their disappointment.
Ivana Jovicic wrote on Twitter: “My life’s a joke. Wait 21 years to go to Paris and the f****** Eiffel Tower is closed.”
Last year more than six million people visited the ‘Iron Lady’.
