The Prado in Madrid and Palace of Versailles were able to re-open on Saturday after coronavirus lockdowns in Spain and France were loosened.
ADVERTISEMENTOne of the greatest art museums in the world was able to re-open on Saturday after the lockdown in Spain was loosened.
But only a fifth of the paintings in the Prado in Madrid are now on display and far fewer people will be sold a ticket to observe social distancing.
France's Palace of Versailles also opened but without the multitude of tourists who normally visit. North Americans and Asians used to account for 30 percent of ticket sales.
Numbers will now be restricted to 400 visitors each hour for this Saturday and Sunday.
France's minister of culture said that the current circumstances presented an opportunity to French people to connect with their heritage.
"Obviously there are no international visitors. But it's precisely a great opportunity for our compatriots to discover or rediscover the heritage, including nearby, because we do not necessarily realize that everywhere in France there is a heritage of exceptional richness," Franck Riester said.
All of France's national museums could have opened on June 2 but they'll now be staggered.
The most famous, the Louvre in Paris, will not now re-open until July 6.
Before the pandemic it used to attract around 15,000 visitors every day.