THE MOST POPULAR SITES IN FRANCE LIST
France attracted 79.50 million foreign tourists in 2011, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world.
Louvre Museum (8.5 million), Eiffel Tower (6.2 million),
Palace of Versailles (6 million),
Centre Pompidou (3.6 million),
Musée d'Orsay (2.9 million),
Musée du quai Branly (1.3 million),
Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million),
Mont Saint-Michel (1 million),
Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseille (800,000),
Château de Chambord (711,000),
FRANCE TOURISM
France has 37 sites inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List and features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon, and others), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage (such as Collonges-la-Rouge or Locronan) are promoted through the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (litt. "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"). The "Remarkable Gardens" label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the French Ministry of Culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens and parks.
Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income (4% from French tourists travelling inside France and 2% from foreign tourists), and contributes significantly to the balance of payments.
France attracted 79.50 million foreign tourists in 2011, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world.
France has 37 sites inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List and features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon, and others), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage (such as Collonges-la-Rouge or Locronan) are promoted through the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (litt. "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"). The "Remarkable Gardens" label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the French Ministry of Culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens and parks.
Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income (4% from French tourists travelling inside France and 2% from foreign tourists), and contributes significantly to the balance of payments.
Tourism in Paris
Paris, the capital city, is the most visited city in the world. Paris has some of the world's largest and renowned museums, including the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world, but also the Musée d'Orsay, mostly devoted to impressionism, and Beaubourg, dedicated to Contemporary art. Paris hosts some of the world's most recognizable landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, which is the most-visited paid monument in the world,[3] the Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame or the Sacré-Cœur. The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is the biggest science museum in Europe.[4] Located in Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is at the heart of the Cultural Center of Science, Technology and Industry (CCSTI), a center promoting science and science culture.
French Riviera
With more than 10 million tourists a year, the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), in south-eastern France, is the second leading tourist destination in the country, after the Parisian region.[5] According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, it benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.[6] Each year the Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90% of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime.
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, in Upper Provence
A large part of Provence is designed as the 2013 European Capital of Culture. Numerous of famous natural sites can be found in the region, as the Gorges du Verdon, the regional natural park of Camargue, the national park of calanques and the typical landscape of Luberon. Provence hosts dozens of renown historical sites like the Pont du Gard, the Arles' Roman Monuments or the Palais des Papes in Avignon. Several cities also attracts a lot of tourists, like Aix-en-Provence, Marseille or Cassis, on the Mediterranean Sea coastline.
Loire Valley
An other major destination are the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, this World Heritage Site is noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its castles (châteaux), such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, de Chambord, d'Ussé, de Villandry and Chenonceau, which illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the French Renaissance.
Notable French cities
Water mirror in Bordeaux.
The town square of Metz by night.
The Capitole de Toulouse by night
France has many cities of cultural interest, some of them are classified as "Town of Art and History" by the French Ministry of Culture.
Aix-en-Provence
Amiens and its cathedral
Annecy with the lake and the mountains (French Alps)
Avignon with the Popes' palace.
