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 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.

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.

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 ** 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 ** million and nearly ** 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 ** 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 *** 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

This table contains 45 series, with data for years 2014 - 2014 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada) Countries visited (15 items: United States; Mexico; United Kingdom; France; ...) Travel characteristics (3 items: Visits; Nights; Spending in country).

• 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

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.

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 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 ** percent of the respondents quoting it.

In 2015, when asking the French in which of the regions of France they would like to spend their summer holidays, ** percent answered Corsica. This island, located in the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the ** regions of the country and benefits from a Mediterranean climate alongside with beautiful landscapes. It is one of the most popular holiday destinations among French tourists, but the island also welcomes a large number of visitors from other European countries such as Germany or Italy.

Summer vacation means sea destination

Corsica is a region that seems particularly attractive for summer holidays. In another survey conducted in 2015 about the preferred city destinations for summer vacation in France, Ajaccio and Bastia, the two most populous Corsican cities, were on top of the ranking. It seems that when it comes to summer holidays, the French have a strong preference for the sea over the mountains or the countryside. Beside Corsica, other coastal regions like Brittany or Provence-Alpes- Côte d’Azur were among the favorite of French tourists.

Summer in France

French workers have a minimum of ** paid vacations days, while French children enjoy a summer break of nine weeks. During summertime, French cities are unusually calm, with French citizens leaving the town for the countryside or the sea. Every year, a large majority of French people plan to go on vacation and most of them choose to spend their summer holidays in their own country. In 2013, more than ** percent of holiday trips in France were domestic.

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.

In 2024, the United States was the leading inbound travel market in Milan based on the number of tourist arrivals. That year, Milan's travel accommodation establishments reported around 558,000 arrivals from the United States. France and Germany followed in the ranking in 2024, with roughly 372,000 and 341,000 arrivals, respectively.

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 ***** billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Beijing and Orlando followed on the ranking in 2022, with a direct travel and tourism GDP of around **** billion and **** billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

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.