Why do you think France is so popular?

@maximax8 (31046)
United Kingdom
June 2, 2012 9:54am CST
France gets the highest number of tourists in the world. Its capital city is called Paris and thousands of tourists love to go there. I have been there a few times because my home country is next door to France. The population of my home country is around 60 million people and when I lived in Kent everyone seemed to pop over to there every so often. I have been to French Polynesia and it is an overseas territory of France. A tropical piece of France is even nicer than mainland France I found. Why do you think France is so popular? Have you ever visited France and if so what did you like about it? If not which area of France would you visit if you won a free trip to there?
3 people like this
12 responses
@AmbiePam (94125)
• United States
3 Jun 12
I've never been and never want to go. I've heard it's beautiful, but it's people have a bad attitude. And I've talked to people who actually went, not just rumors.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
6 Jun 12
It is interesting that you have spoken to some French people. Yes, some of the folk have a bad attitude. I found Paris very expensive and the people in a rush.
@veganbliss (3895)
• Adelaide, Australia
3 Jun 12
I heard these statistics also. Our own tourist industry is just starting to pick up again after a long decline due to the Aussie Dollar. I've never been to France, so I wouldn't know where to go if I were to win a free trip there, but I think they have a very large number of vegan & raw-food restaurants there... ahh! The French "long lunch"! My best guess is that the Frech are very organised & have put a lot of government money into tourism to really develop it early on. I have heard that the French go "all out" to cater for every individual need of the tourist & have done so for a very long time. For a long time, France has been promoted & accepted into the hearts & minds of people all over the world as the ideal relaxing holiday destination. It seems they always seem to deliver on the love-beauty-art-food-sunshine front every time & it keeps people coming back. People do so out of habit as well & like to talk about it. We also need to think about why most people like to take holidays in the first place. Primarily, most tourists like to take holidays as an ideal way to spent time with their families, develop relationships (eg. corporate, lovers, etc) or to seek relationships (?). France seems to be the logical choice in people's minds for this. Having said all of that, there is no reason why England, Australia, America or any other country in the world cannot spend some time & money to develop their own tourism industries. Tourists must know what to expect when they visit a country & know that they will be well catered for from the moment they arrive. They need to be given a driving reason to visit a place & leave it satisfied that it meets their needs & is well worth the hassle & expense in order to positively spread the word & return themselves some day.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
6 Jun 12
Thanks for your excellent response to my discussion. Yes, France has a highly organized tourist industry and it raves about Paris and all it other areas. Yes, if you went there you would love its vegan restaurants and raw food places. I agree that France has been promoted and accepted all around the world. Recently I read that Myanmar is just in its early stages of tourism and it hasn't got enough accommodation for all the tourists flooding in.
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
2 Jun 12
I think France is so popular because of its reputation. "Paris is the city for Lovers" "France is so beautiful" "The Left Bank is for Artists" Need I say more? Personally, I was not real impressed by Paris, I might've like traveling outside of Paris, but I didn't get a chance to. I think France is so popular with tourists because of the "romance" of it than the "reality" of it.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
6 Jun 12
You are completely right about the reputation Paris has. It is full of a romantic atmosphere. Personally I prefer Bruges over in Belgium.
1 person likes this
@youless (112595)
• Guangzhou, China
4 Jun 12
I think France has an attractive history. There are many beautiful buildings in France. And there are many great artists available in France in the past and now. It is a fashion city. It has many famous brands like Chanel. And French food is also world famous. So I think many people like to visit France and it is one of the most popular places for travel. I love China
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
6 Jun 12
When I flew on an around the world ticket with Qantas/Air France, we had to stopover in Paris twice, going to and from London, but we never left the airport. So I have been there for a few hours each time, but never saw anything. I had initially planned a week in Paris but had to change plans due to a lack of funding midway through the trip. I would love to visit France as well as lots of other countries along the Mediterranean sea. The history and the quaint villages really appeal to me. I am guessing most other travellers visit for the same reasons.
@bounce58 (17385)
• Canada
15 Jun 12
I think it's all the connotations that people fall in love when they go to France. Or all the movies that say people who are in love do go to France. This idea has stuck to people's mind all over the world, that people tend to equate this with travel. I almost did go to France many years ago for work. Unfortunately, it was cancelled a few weeks before I had to fly. Maybe in a few years...
@albto_568 (1268)
• Costa Rica
4 Jun 12
I believe that France, and especially its capital Paris, have an aura, to call in some way, a romantic aura, given by the movies and so many stories, set in that place. France, was, in some point, one of the most important cultural centers of Europe, famous for it artistic avant garde, its literature, and architecture,and, of course, it is still too important, I am sure, there are many cities, as beautiful as Paris, but, in some way, I guess they have no this fame, as the "City of Love" I have never been to France, but, when I go, I would like to stay in Paris, and the mediterranean coast.
@ryanong (9665)
• Vietnam
3 Jun 12
Oh traveling to paris is my dream you know and i haven't completed my dream yet... I really don't know since i had that dream, ...may when i was in high school and i studied french. However i still keep that dream till now and till when i can do it.
@shivanisd (387)
• India
3 Jun 12
I've been to France as a part of my college educational trip. I've also studied french for 5 years so I know a lot about French culture. It was one of the reasons I was selected for the trip. Although I cant speak it very well. I've visited Lyon, Paris and Nice in France and other places in Europe. To be frank, I didnt like Paris at all except for the Eiffel tower and the view from above. It was too cold and the place just looked kind of unfriendly. But I loved the beaches of Nice and also Lyon was very serene and peaceful. I also visited Perouges which was beautiful. I think France is popular bcuz of the eiffel tower and of course the sophisticatio and culture of the people. The people there are proud but sweet. Some fo them dont like it if you talk to them in english lol. Which country are you from?
@sishy7 (27167)
• Australia
3 Jun 12
I've never been anywhere in Europe myself. But my sister went around Europe when she was young, and she actually fell in love with Paris... She's into fashion, and I think that must have been the reason. She said everyone was just so fashionable there, and it did not bother her at all that they insisted in speaking French even though my sister had no clue what they were saying... If ever I have a chance to go to Europe, I'd prefer to go to England and visit MUFC.
@rony018 (109)
• Bangladesh
3 Jun 12
France is a country of cultural wealth. They are enriched with arts,paint etc.They have lots of museum and arts gallery.Even historical Ifel tower situated their.I think it is the key reason to go to huge tourist here every year.
@dede28 (52)
• Romania
3 Jun 12
What I think about France is that it would not be a good idea for me visit there. I dont like french people. To me, most of french men are so snob and swelled head.