This statistic presents the ranking of the most visited French cities (excluding Paris) by French tourists in 2016, according to the number of nights spent in hotels. That year, around 3.5 million overnight stays were spent by French tourists in the city of Marseille, in pole position in this ranking. Lyon was not far behind with more than 3.4 million hotel nights spent there.

In a survey conducted by BVA in 2015, most of French people chose New York City as the foreign city they would like to visit on holiday. The Big Apple remains popular in France, despite being one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world in 2018. New York City’s famous architecture, as well as the Statue of Liberty or Central Park, keep attracting thousands of French who want to discover the city that never sleeps.

The French dream of distant cities

It appears that when it comes to popular foreign cities, French tourists seem to have a clear preference for cities which are far from home. In this ranking, New York was followed by Sydney and Montreal. This trend follows another a ranking from 2015 about the most attractive countries for holiday. According to the French, the United States was ranked first, before Canada and Australia. However, the French are still able to dream of their European neighbors. Florence, Barcelona and Rome were among the most popular cities according to French tourists. Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy or Portugal were also among the destinations French people considered going to for summer holidays. Proximity, organization and price explain why, even if the French dream of holidays on the other side of the world, they tend to spend their holidays in Europe or even in their own country.

Reasons for travelling in France when you are French

Some regions in France, because of their pleasant living environment or their closeness to the sea, are among the most popular for French tourists. Corsica, Brittany and Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur are three very famous tourist destinations in the country. It also seems that French tourists like to spend their holidays with family of friends, which could explain why most French people plan holiday trips in their own country.

The number of visitors to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, bounced back in 2022, following a sharp drop with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Overall, attendance at the renowned monument totaled around 5.85 million in 2022, and then 6.32 million in 2023. Built between 1887 and 1889 as part of the preparations for the Worlds’ Fair, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic symbols of Paris and France. The Eiffel Tower: a French icon With its recognizable silhouette, the Eiffel Tower is the most famous attraction of the city of Paris. However, the number of tourists visiting the monument has been oscillating since 2011. In 2016, a year after the Paris terrorist attacks, the monument received only 5.84 million visitors, compared to almost seven million the year before. Since then, the number of tourists appears to be increasing reaching over 6 million visitors in 2018 and 2019. Most of visitors of the tower are French tourists. The tower is not only a symbol of Paris, it is also a lucrative business which had a turnover generated by ticket sales of more than 66.1 million euros in 2015. Tourism in Paris Despite its popularity, the Eiffel Tower is not the most visited cultural venues of Paris. In 2017, Notre Dame, as well as the Sacré Coeur and the Louvre Museum, attracted more tourists than the Tower. Paris keeps being one of the most attractive city destinations for French and foreign visitors. The French capital was the city with sixth highest international visitor spend in the world with more than 15 million international overnight visitors in 2016.

The three tourist attractions that registered the most admissions in 2017 were Disneyland Paris (with nearly 15 million visitors), the Louvre Museum (eight million visitors) and the Versailles Palace (approximately 7.7 million).

As one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world, a city known for it's romantic landscape and notorious history, Paris was the city with the most visitors (1.7 million) recorded staying at Airbnb sites in France in the year 2016. The second destination for which Airbnb recorded it's most arrivals was Nice, with around 270 thousand visitors in 2016, followed by Lyon and Marseille.

In 2023, London was the leading European city tourism destination based on the number of bed nights. That year, bed nights in the United Kingdom's capital exceeded 78 million, denoting a sharp annual increase but not fully recovering yet from the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Paris and Istanbul followed in the ranking in 2023, with roughly 52 million and nearly 30 million bed nights. What are the most visited countries in Europe? While the French capital came in second among leading European cities based on bed nights, France topped the ranking of the European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals in 2023, ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Meanwhile, when looking at European countries with the highest tourism receipts that year, Spain recorded the highest figure, with over 90 billion U.S. dollars, followed by the United Kingdom. How many international tourists visit Europe every year? In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe grew significantly over the previous year, totaling over 700 million. This figure, however, remained below pre-pandemic levels. Overall, either before and after the impact of COVID-19, Europe was the region with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide.

As of February 2025, Île-de-France, the region that includes Paris, recorded the highest number of hotel rooms in France. As of that month, hotels in that region offered a total of nearly 166,000 rooms. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur followed in the ranking, with over 85,000 and 74,000 hotel rooms, respectively.How many hotels are there in Paris? In 2024, the number of hotels in Paris exceeded 1,600. While three-star hotels accounted for the highest number of establishments that year, four-star hotels recorded the highest number of hotel rooms in Paris, with over 33,000 rooms. How many tourists visit Paris and Île-de-France? The City of Lights, as the French capital is nicknamed, is one of the most visited European destinations by international tourists and is also very popular among domestic travelers. In 2023, the total number of tourist arrivals to Paris and Île-de-France, including inbound and domestic visitors, reached almost 48 million, increasing over the previous year but remaining slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

The number of tourist arrivals to Paris and the Île-de-France region grew by roughly eight percent in 2023 over the previous year. Despite the annual increase, domestic and inbound tourist arrivals in Paris and Île-de-France remained slightly below the figures reported before the COVID-19 pandemic, totaling 25.8 million and 21.8 million in 2023, respectively. What are the leading inbound travel markets in Paris? When looking at the share of international tourist arrivals in the French capital and its surrounding region, the United States accounted for the highest figure, representing roughly 12 percent of travelers in 2022. That year, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy also ranked among the leading inbound tourism markets in Paris and Île-de-France. The hotel market in Paris In 2023, there were over 1,600 hotels in Paris, with most establishments rated as three-star. That said, while the number of three-star hotels has fluctuated since 2019, the number of four-star hotels has increased gradually, peaking at 490 in 2023. That year, four-star establishments recorded the highest number of hotel rooms in Paris.

A May 2024 analysis looked at the most popular city destinations on social media worldwide based on a series of criteria, such as the number of Instagram posts related to that specific destination or the increase in Google searches. Based on the analysis, Nice in France took the top spot in the ranking, with an index score of 8.42 out of 10. London in the United Kingdom and Paris in France followed behind, with an index score of 8.17 and 8.06, respectively.

Madrid was the most visited city destination in Spain in 2023, having welcomed nearly ** million overnight visitors. The Catalonian capital followed second in the ranking that year, with roughly *** million tourists spending at least one night in the destination. How did Madrid rank in tourist visits and accommodation? In 2022, Madrid attracted over 4.5 million domestic and 4.6 million international tourists for stays exceeding one day, despite experiencing a more than 10 percent decrease compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Spanish capital has consistently ranked among the top ten European cities with the highest number of nights spent by tourists in paid accommodation, securing the 8th position that year. Which regions attracted the most international tourists? Spain's international tourism rebounded strongly from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, surpassing 100 million visitors in 2022. Catalonia led as the most visited region, attracting over **** million international tourists. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role as the primary source of international tourists, contributing over ** million travelers, followed by France with around ** million visitors.

Forecast: Bed Places Number in Tourist Accommodation Establishments in France 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

• 3 million French people move every year, i.e. 10% of households
• 1500 removal companies in France, 90% of which have fewer than 20 employees

Among the most popular cities, this represents around 350 companies from Movement Paris and 100 companies from Movement Bordeaux. Source: official-demenagement.com/ and INSEE 2016

All cities with a population > 1000 or seats of adm div (ca 80.000)Sources and ContributionsSources : GeoNames is aggregating over hundred different data sources. Ambassadors : GeoNames Ambassadors help in many countries. Wiki : A wiki allows to view the data and quickly fix error and add missing places. Donations and Sponsoring : Costs for running GeoNames are covered by donations and sponsoring.Enrichment:add country name

This graph presents the cities where students were looking for accommodation the most in France in 2023. It reveals that 13.3 percent of students looking for accommodation were looking in Paris, while 8.9 percent of them were searching for a flat to settle in Lyon.

This statistic shows French residents' favorite cities for domestic holidays in the summer 2015. It appears that Ajaccio sparked the most interest among French travelers, with more than 30 percent of the respondents quoting it.

In 2015, Dubai was the city with the highest number of tourists staying at least one night per capita. That same year, international overnight visitor spending in Dubai reached 28.5 billion US dollars. The city, which is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, was also one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world in 2018. In 2016, 14.87 million people visited Dubai from abroad.

Europe and Asia: top destinations

According to the source, most of the 20 tourist cities with the highest number of visitor arrivals per capita were Asian or European cities. After Dubai, Amsterdam and Prague were the second and third cities with the greatest number of tourists spending at least one night per capita. With respectively, 2.7 and 2.5 visitors per capita, the two European cities were followed by another one: London. Singapore, ranked fifth with 2.1 visitors per capita, was the first Asian city in the list. Thus, New-York the first North American city of this ranking was 17th. It appears that Europe remains one of the most popular tourist destinations. Asia was also a very attractive destinations for international visitors with Hong-Kong being the leading city destination in 2017.

Focus on tourism in Europe

Since the nineties, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe keeps increasing. France is the European country with the largest number of international visitors’ arrivals, while Spain and Italy are also two of the leading tourist destinations on the continent. Travel and tourism have an important contribution to GDP in Europe, reaching 781.6 billion US dollar and 2018 and expected to attain 991.4 billion in 2028.

The number of visitors to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, remained stable in 2024 over the previous year, totaling *** million. Built between 1887 and 1889 as part of the preparations for the World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most iconic symbols of Paris and France. What are the most visited tourist attractions in Paris? With an attendance of almost **** million in 2024, the Louvre Museum took the top spot in a list of the most visited tourist attractions in Paris, ranking ahead of the Eiffel Tower and the Musée d'Orsay. That year, the average daily number of visitors to the Louvre Museum reached almost ******, experiencing an annual decline. How many tourists visit Paris every year? In 2024, the combined number of international and domestic tourist arrivals to Paris and the Île-de-France region totaled almost ** million. While this figure increased over the previous year, it remained slightly below pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, the number of inbound tourist arrivals in Paris' hotels exceeded ** million in 2024, decreasing slightly over the peak recorded in 2023.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Europe rose significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year across all the most visited destinations in the region. Overall, France was the most visited country by inbound travelers in Europe in 2023. That year, France - which also topped the ranking of the countries with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide - reported *** million international tourist arrivals, the highest figure recorded by the destination to date. Spain, Italy, and Turkey followed on the list in 2023. Europe is the most popular region for inbound tourism Europe is the region with the highest number of inbound tourism arrivals worldwide, with over *** million arrivals in 2023. Comparatively, there were nearly *** million international tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific, the second-most visited global region by inbound travelers that year. When breaking down the number of inbound arrivals in Europe by sub-region, Southern and Mediterranean countries reported the highest figures, both before and after the impact of COVID-19. Travel & Tourism Development Index France and Spain, among the most popular travel destinations in Europe in terms of inbound arrivals, were also among the leading countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI). The TTDI index measures factors and policies that support a sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism worldwide. In 2023, Spain ranked first with a TTDI score of ****, followed by France and Germany.

According to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Paris was the city with the highest direct travel and tourism contribution to GDP in 2022. That year, the direct travel and tourism GDP in the capital of France - the country with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide - amounted to roughly 35.65 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Beijing and Orlando followed on the ranking in 2022, with a direct travel and tourism GDP of around 32.6 billion and 31.1 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

In 2019 there were 35.4 million tourist arrivals in hotels in Paris. Despite the development of new hosting methods like the famous online platform Airbnb, Parisian hotels keep being one of the most favored ways to stay in the City of Lights. In 2018, the occupancy rate of hotels in Paris reached 78 percent.

Tourist arrivals in the French capital

The number of tourist arrivals in Parisian hotels has been increasing for the last ten years. After a small decrease in 2016, a consequence of the 2015 terrorist attacks which occurred in the French capital, the number of arrivals keeps growing. In 2018, there were more than 17.6 million international tourist arrivals in hotels in Paris, compared to 17.5 million French tourist arrivals. 3-star hotels represented the majority of hotel arrivals in inner Paris in 2018. That year, more than 6.7 million tourists stayed in 3 star hotels.

Being a tourist in Paris

Paris is one of the most visited cities in Europe and in the World. Monuments like the Palace of Versailles attract millions of tourists every year whether they come from abroad or from France. It appears that there is not much difference between an international tourist and a French tourist discovering Paris. In a survey from 2014, both French and foreign tourists mentioned discovering the city and visiting museums and monuments as their leading holiday motivations. However, foreign tourists seem to spend more than French ones. On average international visitors spend more on food and drink as well as on shopping than French tourists.