Entrance is by timed ticket and visits last a maximum of three hours. With travel into and out of Abu Dhabi still restricted, residents of neighboring Dubai, just a 90-minute drive away, cannot yet enter. “Of course, it has been a challenging time,” said the museum’s director Manuel Rabate, acknowledging that restrictions would limit visitor numbers. “Our purpose is really to make sure that all the visitors have the best experience on the safest experience,” he told AFP, adding that in difficult times, art could help people find “solace and appeasement.” Countries around the world have closed museums and canceled cultural and sporting events in a bid to slow the pandemic’s spread. The Louvre Abu Dhabi opened in late 2017 and attracted some two million visitors in its first two years of operation. Under a 30-year agreement, France provides expertise, lends works of art and organizes exhibitions — in return for one billion euros ($1.16 billion). The Louvre in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, is to reopen on July 6 after the government eased restrictions on museums and historic sites.