Top 10 Most Visited Sites and Monuments in France

The Top 10 of the most visited Sites and Monuments in France in 2011 puts Paris at the top end of the scale.

The list includes the number of paid admission entrances to French sites, museums, and monuments.

It does not include free admission sites such as Notre Dame in Paris and the Gothic cathedrals of France, the park of Versailles Palace, the shrines of Rocamadour and Lourdes, the old town of Sarlat, or the Cité of Carcassonne.

Top 10 Most Visited Sites and Monuments in France

France has a large number of sites and monuments. Although it is difficult to share them all, we have tried to highlight some of them!

1 Disneyland Paris

Marne-la-Vallée (East of Paris)

15,600,000 visitors

2 Musée du Louvre

Louvre

8,877,653 visitors

3 Tour Eiffel

Paris

7,086,273 visitors

4 Château de Versailles

Versailles

6,746,196 visitors

5 Centre Pompidou

Paris

3,611,693 visitors

6 Musée d’Orsay

Paris

3,144,449 visitors

7 Cité des Sciences de la Villette

Paris

2,654,000 visitors

8 National Museum of Natural History

Paris

2,065,750 visitors

9 Parc Futuroscope

Poitiers

1,850,000 visitors

10 Galeries nationales du Grand Palais

Paris

1,839,423 visitors

And the list goes on…

11 Cimetière Américain d’Omaha, Colleville = 1,607,498 visitors

12 Parc Astérix, Plailly = 1,599,300 visitors

13 Arc de Triomphe, Paris = 1,583,107

14 Puy du Fou (grand Parc + Cinéscénie), Les Épesses = 1,493,000

15 Musée du quai Branly, Paris = 1,457,028 visitors

16 Musée de l’Armée, Paris = 1,433,850 visitors

17 Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel = 1,335,683 visitors

18 Viaduc de Millau, Millau = 1,153,000 visitors

19 Château et musée des Ducs de Bretagne, Nantes = 1,146,954 visitors

20 Parc zoologique du Bois de Boulogne, Lille = 1,018,914 visitors

21 Sainte-Chapelle, Paris = 924,695 visitors

22 Tour Montparnasse, Paris = 865,846 visitors

23 Château de Chenonceau, Chenonceaux = 850,000 visitors

24 Domaine départemental de Vizille, Vizille = 840,859 visitors

25 Téléphérique de l’Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix = 836,827 visitors

26 Chemin de fer du Montenvers-Mer de Glace, Chamonix = 795,730 visitors

27 Bateaux promenades de Strasbourg, Strasbourg = 795,660 visitors

28 Château de Chambord, Chambord = 779,431 visitors

29 Panthéon, Paris = 742,855 visitors

30 Musée Rodin, Paris = 734,712 visitors

31 Parc zoologique de la Palmyre, Les Mathes = 712,282 visitors

32 Verrerie de Biot, Biot = 707,419 visitors

33 Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris = 697,108 visitors

34 Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile, Albi = 686,485 visitors

35 Musée océanographique, Monaco = 671,343 visitors

36 Parc Nausicaa, Boulogne-sur-Mer = 622,729 visitors

37 Zoo du bois de Coulange, Amnéville-les-Thermes = 617,023 visitors

38 Musée Claude Monet, Giverny = 611,007 visitors

39 Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris = 597,184 visitors

40 Musée Carnavalet, Paris = 596,711 visitors

41 Palais des Papes, Avignon = 572,972 visitors

42 Palais Garnier and musée de l’Opéra de Paris, Paris = 562,779 visitors

43 Petit Palais, Paris = 557,147 visitors

44 Visitor Center, Colleville = 536,182 visitors

45 Parc du Héron, Villeneuve d’Ascq = 532,000 visitors

46 Parc d’attractions et parc animalier Le Pal, Saint-Pourçain-sur-Besbre = 506,937 visitors

47 Parc d’attractions Nigloland, Dolancourt = 499,638 visitors

48 Parc d’attractions Walygator, Maizières-lès-Metz = 491,115 visitors

49 Gouffre de Padirac, Padirac = 437,862 visitors

50 Parc Phoenix, Nice = 420,079 visitors

51 Océanopolis, Brest = 420,000 visitors

52 Antilles de Jonzac, Jonzac = 397,500 visitors

53 Téléphérique du Brévent, Chamonix = 383,614 visitors

54 Parc zoologique et botanique, Mulhouse = 370,431 visitors

55 Grand aquarium, Saint-Malo = 367,000 visitors

56 Vedettes de Bréhat, Île de Bréhat = 360,256 visitors

57 Parc Saint-Paul, Saint-Paul = 355,000 visitors

58 Petit train de la Rhune, Sare = 344,573 visitors

59 Aquarium Mare Nostrum, Montpellier = 340,000 visitors

60 Vulcania, Saint-Ours-les-Roches = 338,000 visitors

Sources: Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication / Direction Générale des Patrimoines / Département des Études, de la Prospective et des Statistiques, Atout France

Other main tourist Sites and Monuments in France

(estimated visitors in 2011)

• City of Paris (Paris), 30,000,000
• Notre-Dame de Paris (Paris), 13,500,000
• Forest of Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne), 13,000,000.
• Saint-Ouen Flea Market (Seine-Saint-Denis), 11,000,000
• Sacré-Cœur Basilica of Montmartre (Paris), 10,500,000
• Armada of Rouen (Seine-Maritime), 11,000,000 (in 2013)
• Park of the Palace of Versailles (Yvelines), 7,500,000 (2007)
• Old Town of Lyon (Rhône), 6,000,000
• Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire Basilica of Lourdes, 6,000,000
• Old Town of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), 5,600,000
• Old Town of Bordeaux (Gironde), 5,500,000
• Strasbourg Cathedral (Bas-Rhin), 4,500,000
• City of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), 4,300,000
• Festival of Lights in Lyon (Rhône), 4,200,000
• Forest of Saint-Cloud (Hauts de Seine), 4,100,000.
• Old Harbour Town of La Rochelle, 4,000,000
• Rock of Monaco, 4,000,000
• Old Town of Avignon, 4,000,000
• Cité des sciences de La Villette (Paris), 3,900,000
• Park of Miribel-Jonage (Ain et Rhône), 3,500,000
• Old Harbour Town of Honfleur, 3,500,000
• Mont Saint-Michel (Manche), 3,250,000
• Carcassonne (Aude), 3,200,000.
• Old Town of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), 3,100,000
• La Braderie de Lille (Nord), 3,000,000
• Old Town of Rouen (Seine-Maritime), 2,900,000
• Les Baux de Provence (Bouches du Rhône), 2,500,000
• Borély Botanic Gardens in Marseille (Bouches du Rhône), 2,400,000
• Riquewihr (Haut-Rhin), 2,100,000
• City of Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), 2,050,000

English-French Vocabulary

(f) for féminin, (m) for masculin, (adj) for adjective and (v) for verbs

• monument = monument (m)
• old town = vieille ville (f)
• site = site (m)
• tourism = tourisme (m)
• tourist = touriste (m/f)
• to travel = voyager (v)
• to visit = visiter (v)
• visitor = visiteur (m) / visiteuse (f)