The royal heartland of France, the region is littered with sumptuous chateaus and beautiful forests ...
France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States (51.1 million in 2006). This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the Summer. France features cities of high cultural interest, beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism).
Aside from casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year. Popular tourist sites include: : Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Centre Pompidou , Mont-Saint-Michel , Château de Chambord, Sainte-Chapelle , Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg , Puy de Dôme, Musée Picasso , Carcassonne.
France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. 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.
Paris
Paris, the capital city, is the most visited city in the world. Paris attracts tourists with museums such as the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, and attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and Disneyland Paris.
In the eastern parts of France there are skiing resorts in the Alps. Notable French cities are Avignon with the Popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault on the Loire River, Toulouse on the Garonne, Strasbourg on the border with Germany, and the beautiful city of Nantes.
All over France rental accommodations and hotels are available. For example, the English like to spend their summers in the Dordogne valley, the Spanish vacation in Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Basque coast, and the Irish often visit Lourdes. Tourists also travel to see the annual cycle race, the Tour de France.
France's Mediterranean beaches on the French Riviera, in Languedoc-Roussillon, or in Corsica, are famous. Away from the mainland tourists are French Polynesia (especially Tahiti), the Caribbean islands Martinique, Guadeloupe and others.
France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States (51.1 million in 2006). This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the Summer. France features cities of high cultural interest, beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism).Aside from casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year. Popular tourist sites include: : Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Centre Pompidou , Mont-Saint-Michel , Château de Chambord, Sainte-Chapelle , Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg , Puy de Dôme, Musée Picasso , Carcassonne.
France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. 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.
Paris
Paris, the capital city, is the most visited city in the world. Paris attracts tourists with museums such as the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, and attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and Disneyland Paris.
In the eastern parts of France there are skiing resorts in the Alps. Notable French cities are Avignon with the Popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault on the Loire River, Toulouse on the Garonne, Strasbourg on the border with Germany, and the beautiful city of Nantes.
All over France rental accommodations and hotels are available. For example, the English like to spend their summers in the Dordogne valley, the Spanish vacation in Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Basque coast, and the Irish often visit Lourdes. Tourists also travel to see the annual cycle race, the Tour de France.
France's Mediterranean beaches on the French Riviera, in Languedoc-Roussillon, or in Corsica, are famous. Away from the mainland tourists are French Polynesia (especially Tahiti), the Caribbean islands Martinique, Guadeloupe and others.
