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Visitor and tourist attractions in France

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Top sites Natural environment Historic monuments Wildlife parks Theme parks Wine & dine Tourist sites by region

France is Europe's leading tourist destination, and not surprisingly as such it is a country that boasts a wealth of tourist attractions. On this page, you will find some of the most important and interesting of these, together with some links towards sites offering further information.
Tourist attractions in France

This guide covers continental France and Corsica, but does not include French overseas departments and territories . In no way is it a complete guide - that would require an encyclopaedia ; its aim is to provide an informed general overview for tourists and visitors, to help you plan your stay or your coming holiday in France.


Top sites: the most visited tourist attractions in France

The top twenty-four most visited paid-entry tourist sites in France, 2007 (source French national statistical office)

  1. Eurodisney, Paris 14.5 million visitors
  2. The Louvre, Paris 8.3 million visitors
  3. The Eiffel Tower Paris 6.8 million visitors
  4. The Georges Pompidou centre and museum of art, Paris 5.5 million visitors
  5. Château de Versailles, near Paris 5.3 million visitors
  6. Orsay museum of the 19th century Paris 3.2 million visitors
  7. La Villette science museum, Paris 3 million visitors
  8. Pompidou Centre (Modern art museum) 2.6 million visitors
  9. Parc Astérix, Plailly north of Paris 1.6 million visitors
  10. Futuroscope theme park, Poitiers 1.6 million visitors
  11. Arc de Triomphe, Paris 1.5 million visitors
  12. Natural history museum, Paris 1.4 million visitors
  13. Mont Saint-Michel, Brittany 1.2 million visitors
  14. Le Puy du Fou theme park Vendée 1.2 million visitors
  15. Musée de l'Armée, Paris 1.2 million visitors
  16. Lille zoo, Lille 1.0 million visitors
  17. Musée Carnavalet, Paris 900,000 visitors
  18. Sainte Chapelle, Paris 900,000 visitors
  19. Aquarium, La Rochelle 800,000 visitors
  20. Mer de Glace rack-and-pinion railway, Chamonix, Alps 800,000 visitors
  21. La Palmyre zoo, Charente Maritime 700,000 visitors
  22. Musée Grévin waxworks, Paris 700,000 visitors
  23. Château de Chambord, Loire Valley 700,000 visitors
  24. Boat trip round old Strasbourg 700,000 visitors
Natural environment :

France boasts the most varied natural environment of any country in Europe; it varies from the lush agricultural countryside of Normandy and Brittany, or the rolling prairies of Champagne or Beauce, to Alpine peaks, northern spruce forests, the dry hinterland of Provence, the steppe-like plateaux of the Causses, not to mention a very varied coastline including the North Sea, the Channel, the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean.
It would take an encyclopaedia to make an exhaustive list of all the opportunities for nature tourism, and the thousands of natural attractions in France. The country has six National Parks, 43 regional parks which are more or less the same as national parks in all but in official status (parcs naturels régionaux), hundreds of areas listed and protected under the European Natura 2000 programme, and even - off the beaten track - hundreds more sites that would be classified as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, but do not even get a mention in guidebooks in France.
The six national parks in continental France are:
The Cévennes national park (Languedoc)
Les Ecrins (Provence - Alps)
Le Mercantour (Provence)
Les Pyrénées (Hautes Pyrénées)
La Vanoise (Provence)
Port-Cros (Coastal park, Var, Provence)
Among the principal regional parks are:
The Auvergne volcanoes
The Grandes Causses (Aveyron - Lozère)
The Morvan hills (Burgundy)
The Ballon des Vosges (Lorraine - Alsace)

More information:
National Parks website (official site)
National parks in Provence
Wild France - France's rich natural heritage areas
Long distance footpaths and hiking routes in France

Winter sports in French mountain areas:

A guide to Ski resorts and ski areas in the Alps
A guide to Ski resorts and ski areas in the Pyrenees


Historic monuments :

Lying at the heart of Western Europe, France has one of the richest historic heritages of any country in the world. Every region has its selection of monuments, including ancient cathedrals, fortified castles, magnificent chateaux and palaces, historic towns and city centres, and a range of other sites including prehistoric caves, Roman remains and medieval bridges. France has 32 sites classed as UNESCO world heritage sites, the latest (listed in 2008) being the military architecture of Vauban, a collection of 14 sites around France, including the citadel at Besançon, and the fort at Blaye, on the Gironde estuary.
While the richest concentration of historic monuments can be found in Paris, the vast majority of historic monuments lie in the regions. Here is a short themed selection:
The prehistoric caves of the Dordogne
The roman remains of Provence and Languedoc
The romanesque churches of the Saintonge (Charentes) and of Auvergne
The great gothic cathedrals of northern France (Paris, Chartres, Reims, Amiens, Rouen, Beauvais, etc.)
The châteaux of the Loire Valley
The military fortifications of eastern France
The bastide towns of south west France.
The scenic railways of the Massif Central

Excluding the monuments in and around Paris, the most visited historic sites in France include the Mont St.Michel (Brittany), the Châteaux de Chambord, Amboise and Chenonceaux (Loire valley), the Palace of the Popes at Avignon, the Hospices de Beaune (a mediaeval hospital) in Burgundy, the mediaeval city and ramparts of Carcassonne (Languedoc), and the site of Rocamadour in the Lot.

Wildlife parks in France :

Among the most interesting of France's many wildlife parks, are
  • The Parc de Thoiry, west of Paris, over 150 species in a safari park covering over 300 acres.
  • Zoo Parc de Beauval, in the Loir & Cher department, in the Loire valley area. Over 4000 animals, including koalas aned orang-utangs. the largest wildlife collection in France.
  • Planete Sauvage, south west of Nantes. A large wildlife park, with safari tours.
  • Réserve Africaine de Sigean, near Narbonne in the Languedoc. 3,800 animals in a huge area of natural mediterranean environment, one of Europe's oldest safari parks
  • African Safari park, at Plaisance du touch, just outside Toulouse, in the Midi Pyrenees region.


Theme parks in France :

France has getting on for 100 different theme parks, if you include all categories from the amusement parks such as Eurodisney, through wildlife parks and aquariums, to living history open-air museums such the Alsace Ecomusée. Among the most popular of thes are:
Eurodisney, Marne la Vallée, Paris
Parc Astérix, near Paris
Puy du Fou, historical theme park, Vendée
The Futuroscope park, near Poitiers
Vulcania, the volcano theme park, Auvergne
France Miniature, at Elancourt, west of Paris (replicas of France's major monuments)
The Bioscope environmental theme park, Alsace
Ecomusée d'Alsace, near Colmar, France's largest open-air museum
Sigean African safari park and nature reserve Languedoc.
Nigloland theme park, near Troyes, southern Champagne.

Other attractions:
The Tour de France cycle race (July)

Wine, dine , culture :

France is world famous for its "gastronomy", its fine restaurants and wines. It sometimes surprises visitors from outside France, that they can find top quality restaurants even in small provincial towns, and that many of these offer first-class menus at a fraction of the price one would pay for something similar in Britain or the USA. There are several directories that approve and list the top restaurants, and the most famous of these are the Michelin guide and the Gault & Millau guide. However, there is no directory that lists all the good restaurants in France, since some of these are found in the most unexpected out-of-the-way places, and while the food they offer is not "haute cuisine", it is tasty, well prepared and nourishing.
Restaurants and eating out in France
Some good restaurants in the Auvergne
Some good restaurants in Brittany

France abounds in cultural opportunities, with a wealth of concerts and other music events throughout the year. visit the France for music-lovers page for more details

By region :

Follow these links for a more detailed list of major tourist attractions, the main things to see and do in the French regions::
Paris tourist attractions
Alsace tourist attractions
Aquitaine tourist attractions - includes Bordeaux & Dordogne
Auvergne tourist attractions
Brittany tourist attractions
Burgundy tourist attractions
Tourist attractions in the Centre region, including Loire châteaux
Tourist attractions in Champagne
Franche-Comté tourist attractions
Tourist attractions in Languedoc-Roussillon
Tourist attractions in the Limousin region
Tourist attractions in Lorraine
Tourist attractions in Midi Pyrénées region
Tourist attractions in the North of France, Nord–Pas-de-Calais
Tourist attractions in Normandy
Tourist attractions in the Pays de la Loire region
Tourist attractions in Picardy
Tourist attractions in Poitou Charentes
Provence tourist attractions
Tourist attractions in the Rhone-Alpes region

A brief introduction to the regions of France


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