Eiffel Tower reopens after bomb threat

The area under Paris' Eiffel Tower has been opened up to tourists again after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat and police combed through the famous monument looking for suspicious objects.

Police have not found a bomb or other suspicious package following the anonymous phone threat that spurred the evacuation of 2,000 visitors, NBC News has learned.

Around midnight in Paris, people were walking around and riding bikes under the tower. The tower itself usually closes at 11 p.m.

About 150 members of the police force, including bomb experts, responded to the call placed to the company that manages the famous landmark.

The Eiffel Tower and its immediate surroundings were evacuated following the bomb threat. The French media said two subway stations also were briefly evacuated, though transportation officials said subways are once again running.

An AP photographer on the site saw several busloads of police officers under the famous tower.

French media reported that the anonymous call was traced to a phone booth in a multicultural neighborhood in northeast Paris.

The 1,063-foot tower, built in 1889, is one of the world's most popular tourist attractions. Last year, 6.6 million people visited the landmark.

The Eiffel Tower was last evacuated on Oct. 10, 2005, due to a bomb threat. Before that, the landmark was last evacuated on July 22, 2003, due to a fire.

The subway stops affected included the Saint-Michel station near Notre Dame Cathedral. The station was the target of a terrorist attack in 1995 that killed eight and injured scores of people.

Bomb scares are frequent in Paris, and the city has experienced terrorism firsthand. Algerian Islamic insurgents bombed the Saint-Michel station on July 25, 1995, killing eight people and injuring 150.

It was the first attack in a campaign of violence that terrorized Paris subway commuters for a time. Gas cooking canisters loaded with nails, sometimes hidden in garbage cans, were used in many of the bombings.