France’s 10 most visited tourist sites
Who takes his pin from the big game of tourist attraction between the Disney rides and the Egyptian antiques of the Louvre, between the Hall of Mirrors of Louis XIV and the tower of Gustave Eiffel, or between the dinosaurs of the Museum of Natural History and the modern art collections of the Centre Pompidou?
Here is the hit parade of the 10 most visited sites in France (sources Atout France, Mémento du Tourisme 2015). But this classification only takes into account paid sites, thus omitting buildings such as Notre-Dame-de-Paris Cathedral (13 million visitors per year).
1 Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée (Seine-et-Marne): 14.8 million visitors (figure 2015)
Opened on 12 April 1992 (the site will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2017), the Kingdom of Mickey still competes at the top of French destinations that attract the most French or foreign visitors. The Seine-et-Marne site includes two theme parks, 7 hotels, a golf course, two congress centres and an entertainment centre.
2 The Louvre Museum, Paris: 9.1 million visitors (figure 2014)
Joconde, Venus de Milo and other Sacre de Napoléon inhabit the second most visited site in France but the first cultural site. The Paris Louvre Museum now has a little brother in Lens (Pas-de-Calais) and soon in Abu Dhabi.
3 Palace of Versailles: 7.7 million visitors (2014 figures)
The symbol of the absolute monarchy desired by Louis XIV remains a major attraction of the French Republic. The only "Great Waters" in the Castle’s gardens attract 1.2 million fans.
4 Eiffel Tower, Paris: 7.1 million visitors (2014 figures)
Its silhouette is the «silhouette» of Paris in the eyes of the whole world since it was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. To climb to the top of this venerable lookout, the sports visitor has no less than 1,665 steps to climb.
5 National Museum of Natural History, Paris: 3.6 million visitors (2014 figures)
Less is known, but the Vincennes Zoo is one of the many sites that the Museum encompasses, with the Galerie de l'Evolution, the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes or the large greenhouses. It is this ensemble that realizes this number of visitors.
6 Musée d'Orsay, Paris: 3.5 million visitors (2014 figures)
Located on the banks of the Seine, this museum houses the largest collection of Impressionist paintings in the world. The crowd is often compact, but the building is used to being one of the capital’s major railway stations.
7 The Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris: 3.4 million visitors (2014 figures)
One will recall the controversies that led to its construction in the 1970s (it was inaugurated in 1977). Today, this museum, which has been so criticized for its industrial architecture, is one of the most visited museums in the world for its contemporary art collections.
8 Universcience, Paris, 3.2 million visitors (2014 figures)
The site is a public establishment resulting from the rapprochement between the Palais de la découverte (near the Champs-Élysées) and the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie (including the Géode) in the east of the capital. The popularization of science is no exception to the attraction of tourism.9 Omaha Beach American Cemetery, Coleville-sur-Mer (Calvados): 2.1 million visitors (2014 figures)
Millions of visitors arrive every year in this small Norman town to gather in front of the 9,387 white marble steles overlooking the beach of Omaha. C
10 Le Puy du Fou, Les Épesses (Vendée): 2.1 million visitors (2015 figures)
We know that the French are passionate about history. The Vendée region is no exception. The demonstrations of knights, gladiator fights or falconry show are still the success of the second French leisure park, followed by the Parc Astérix in Oise (1.7 million entries in 2015) and the Futuroscope de Poitiers (1.6 million).
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