Tourists and Parisians were queueing early Wednesday morning to be the first to get inside France's arguably most famous museum when it re-opened at 9 a.m.

After more than six months of closure because of COVID-19 pandemic, the Louvre Museum welcomed a group of visitors with a series of health protocols in effect: obligatory masks, disinfecting one's hands on entry and no more than one visitor per eight square meters.

For now, the museum can only welcome 30 percent of its pre-pandemic visitor numbers though officials say the current exhibit on Italian Renaissance sculpture is already mostly booked up for this week.

Some got quite emotional over the reopening.

"We were nearly crying, but with the big smile, a bigger smile than the Mona Lisa, to welcome visitors," said Sophie Grange, the Louvre's Head of Communication.

Grange said it's the ideal time to visit and really see the artworks since the numbers of visitors are being staggered throughout the day in line with the coronavirus restrictions.

The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of the coronavirus and to give citizens back some of their signature "joie de vivre."

Museums, theaters and cinemas are reopening along with outside areas of eating and drinking establishments that have been closed since the end of October, the longest time of any European country except Poland.

Read more: France reopens cafes, restaurants and museums as COVID-19 cases drop

(With input from AP)