With 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007, France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead od spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States ( 51.1 million in 2006). This 81.9 millionn figure excludes people staying less then 24 hours in france, such as Northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain of Italy during the Summer.

The Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most visited sites of FranceFrance features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon…), 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”). France also attracts many religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées that hosts a few million visitors a year, or pilgrims on their way to St. James.France, and especially Paris, have 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.Disneyland Paris is France’s and indeed Europe’s most popular theme park, with 15,405,000 combined visitors to the resort’s Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2009. The historical theme park Puy du Fou in Vendée is the second most visited park of France. Other popular theme parks are the Futuroscope of Poitiers and the Parc Astérix.

The Château de Chambord is one of the many French royal residences of the Loire Valley.With more than 10 millions 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. 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. 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.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.

  • 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