This article was first published 14 years ago
Why Paris is a tourist's delight
Last updated on: July 28, 2011 13:45 IST
There are very few places in the world that are as closely identified with tourism as the French capital, Paris.
The city is not only known as the most romantic place on Earth, but is also famous for its museums, cathedrals, the Eiffel Tower and several other attractions.
Tourism is a major revenue generator for Paris. The GDO of the great French city is said to be in excess of $700 billion, and although it is feeling the chill of economic slowdown, Paris continues to remain a major tourist attraction.
The hotel-and-restaurant businesses in the Paris region are one of the biggest generators of revenue for the city.
Paris' museums and monuments are among its highest-esteemed attractions; tourism has motivated both the city and national governments to create new ones.
The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, welcomes over eight million visitors a year, being by far the world's most-visited art museum.
The city's cathedrals are another main attraction: Notre Dame de Paris and the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur receive 12 million and eight million visitors, respectively.
The Eiffel Tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over six million visitors per year and more than 200 million since its construction.
Let us take a picturesque tour to understand why the city is so loved by so many tourists.
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Thousands of revellers at the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.
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View of the equestrian statue of King Henri IV of France, inaugurated in 1818, on the Pont Neuf bridge.
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Photographs: Reuters
Newly-weds Doctor Kenneth Ma and Jacqueline from Hong Kong pose in a Cindirella carriage in front the Eiffel Tower.
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Photographs: Reuters
Tourists and local residents gather on the Champs de Mars.
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Photographs: Reuters
View of Paris' antique booksellers or bouquinistes along the banks of the river Seine.
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Photographs: Reuters
View of the Pont Alexandre III bridge on the Seine River and the Grand Palais exhibition hall.
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Photographs: Reuters
A 'bateaux mouches' tourist boat makes its way up the River Seine.
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Photographs: Reuters
Statue of French naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck is seen in front of the minaret of the Paris mosque, right, and the Paris Natural History Museum, left.
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Photographs: Reuters
The Eiffel Tower is illuminated during the traditional Bastille Day fireworks display.
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Photographs: Reuters
General view of the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum.
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Photographs: Reuters
General view of a giant Ferris wheel inside Paris' Grand Palais.
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Photographs: Reuters
Decoufle, new Artistic Director for Crazy Horse.
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Photographs: Reuters
Millau Viaduct, designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, crosses the cloud-covered valley of the river Tarn in Millau.
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Photographs: Reuters
The horses of the bridge Alexander the third are seen at sunset.
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Photographs: Reuters
Visitors descend a spiral staircase at the Forum des Halles shopping mall complex.
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Photographs: Reuters
French fighter planes stream the red, white and blue colours of the French flag over Champs Elysees during the annual Bastille Day celebrations.
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Photographs: Reuters
An aerial view shows the Eiffel tower.
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Photographs: Reuters
View of Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Photographs: Reuters
General view of the Louvre Museum with its glass Pyramid entrance designed by Chinese-born US Architect IM Pei.
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Photographs: Reuters
General view of Galeries Lafayette department store lit up.
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Photographs: Reuters
Parisians and tourists enjoy the weather at Place des Vosges in the Marais district.
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Photographs: Reuters
View of the Chateau de Versailles (Versailles Palace).
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Photographs: Reuters
A general view of the Place de la Bastille and The July Column (Colonne de Juillet).
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Photographs: Reuters
The Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur).
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Photographs: Reuters
A woman pulls her child on a sledge as people walk in a garden.
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Photographs: Reuters
A visitor looks at a King Kong statue during the exhibition 'Tarzan!' at the Quai Branly Museum.
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Photographs: Reuters
A tourist boat passes the Palais de Justice, or Courts, as it makes its way down the River Seine.
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Photographs: Reuters
General view the Orsay museum.
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Photographs: Reuters
Tourists visit a sculpture gallery at the Louvre Museum.
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