Fusi brought it up in his thread - why not make another one for Europe? ;)

So here you are: just select the ones you have visited. Beach cities as Benidorm are excluded, only city tourism :cheers:

would have to say london with paris a close second.

probably paris, then london, followed by rome. my guess!

Where is my POLL??? :cry:

^^
In your other thread...;)

probably paris, then london, followed by rome. my guess!

London then Paris

London Paris Rome Amsterdam and Barcelona

Venice??? :)

and Florence?:)

In order, by number of tourists:

1. London.
2. Dublin.
3. Paris.
4. Rome.
5. Madrid.
6. Barcelona.
;)

Barcelona, Edinburgh, Paris, London, Rome, Athens, Dublin, and Amsterdam.

Also add Prague and Venezia.

In Spain, hotel occupancy
From:http://www.spainmaster.com/facts/hotel_statistics.htm

by number of spanish visitors:
Madrid 5764816
Benidorm 4423780
Barcelona 2639211
Puerto de la Cruz 2051251
Salou 1833655
Roquetas de Mar 1800753
Palma de Mallorca 1710613
Torremolinos 1628295
Sevilla 1555791
Valencia 1501961

by number of foreigners visitors:
Calviá 7385375
Barcelona 6858586
San Bartolomé de Tirajana 6642389
Adeje 6280005
Benidorm 5690538
Palma de Mallorca 5674519
Madrid 5512330
Lloret de Mar 4422818
Arona 3924496

total:
madrid 11277146
benidorm 10114318
barcelona 9497797

And I would say Benidorm is not just a beach resort, because most of its visitors don't fit in its short beach (the area of Benidorm has only 36 km2, and less than 1/2 of it is built), beach resorts are Calvia, Adeje, LLoret de Mar, places that only have beaches

No one mentioned Berlin (as always)... :(
It's number three behind Paris and London.
It already overtook Rome in number of tourists some years ago. If you do not believe ask Wikipedia. :)

1. Paris
2. London

BIG GAP

3. Berlin
4. Rome

Most visited countries in the world (2001), probably this gives us a hint of which cities could be the most visited in Europe

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Touristic_countries.svg/800px-Touristic_countries.svg.png

^^ 6 years old

And what makes you think it has changed significantly?

paris
london
barcelona/rome
and the list goes on...

And what makes you think it has changed significantly?
politics/terrorism/"anti" French sentiment amongst Americans/etc.


My list: London, Paris, Rome

EDIT: double post

politics/terrorism/"anti" French sentiment amongst Americans/etc.


My list: London, Paris, Rome

Well, politics and particularly terrorism have afected in an incredibly much greater scale to London rather than Paris....

And "anti" french sentiment amongst americans has always existed, but anyway, that's not a reason that has stopped them for visiting such a beautiful city as Paris.

After all, France receives 3 times more tourists than the UK.

And what makes you think it has changed significantly?

In 2006:

Spain 58,5 million (+9 500 000)

France 77 million (-500 000)

http://www.cincodias.com/articulo/economia/Espana/consolida/segundo/pais/mundo/numero/turistas/cdscdi/20070130cdscdieco_5/Tes/

Paris,London,Bruxelles,Amsterdam,Rome,Barcelona,Berlin,Istanbul

London
Paris
Milan
Barcelona

It also always depends, if it's business travellers or people on holliday. London and Paris attract both equally. Frankfurt, Milano or Madrid are especially business cities while Venice, Alicante or Florence are quite touristic.

London, Paris, Venice, Berlin and Warsaw and many many more, i think are popular with visitors.
~Alex~

I read this list on my newspaper:

1. London
2. Paris
3. Rome
4. Berlin
5. Madrid
6. Barcelona
7. Prague
8. Amsterdam
9. Milan
10. Vienna

For that chart is it foreign tourists? Because isn't Russia kind of hard to enter for foreigners and also if it were to be most visited cities. Than Moscow and St. Petersburg should both be in the top five because what else would a tourist(foreign) see when he or she can't speak the language. And outside of those two citites most Russians just speak Russian??

i've seen on newspapers and sites that

1. London
2. Paris

then theres a big gap

lol surly paris is more visited than London...why wouyld so many people visit such an ugly city?

Perhaps because its not ugly?
:|

i've seen on newspapers and sites that

1. London
2. Paris

then theres a big gap

This is not true. I read:

1. London (about 55.000.000)
2. Paris (about 35.000.000)
3. Rome (about 27.000.000)

The numbers depend on what part of city you are considering. For example, if you consider only Paris city, Paris is the second one, but if you consider the Ile-the-France, Paris is probably the number one. Ostia (the roman beach area), is a quarter of Rome, not another city. But the number of tourists is not considered in this number (27.000.000). Vatican City is in Rome, and many hotels in Rome are managed by Vatican (like hotel, hostels and B&B managed by nuns). But Vatican doesn't publish its numbers even if those hotels are in all the Rome's quarters. And you could do similar consideration for all the city in Europe.
So it's very difficult to have comparable numbers.

Glasgow gets more tourists now than Edinburgh does.

lol surly paris is more visited than London...why wouyld so many people visit such an ugly city?

Must have been all those bombs that the Germans dropped on it. :bash:

lol surly paris is more visited than London...why wouyld so many people visit such an ugly city?

:lol: Paris my be more visited depending on the definition but why do you have such a downer on the UK? You've only made a few posts and several of them have been saying how England/London is crap.

You really shouldn't have an inferiority complex, Munich is quite nice! ;)

lol surly paris is more visited than London...why wouyld so many people visit such an ugly city?

Paris is surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but London is not so ugly as you say.

London is not ugly - just different

London is too diverse to be unilateraly called ugly or beautifull, it's districts are sometimes too different from each other.

Paris is surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but London is not so ugly as you say.

I would say Paris is maybe one of most unkown city in the world.:)

I would say Paris is maybe one of most unkown city in the world.:)

I would say you should drink less at night :crazy:

Mon champagne. :scouserd:

No, that's wright, Paris is one of most know city and one of most unkown city in the world.

Kraków!! :banana:

Mon champagne. :scouserd:

No, that's wright, Paris is one of most know city and one of most unkown city in the world.

N'importe quoi.

You think that many people outside the country have a false idea of what Paris is, true. It doesn't mean however that Paris is as unknown as Baku, Vladivostok or Luanda.

That's exactly that I said.
O.K my sentence was not the best...:D

For that chart is it foreign tourists? Because isn't Russia kind of hard to enter for foreigners and also if it were to be most visited cities. Than Moscow and St. Petersburg should both be in the top five because what else would a tourist(foreign) see when he or she can't speak the language. And outside of those two citites most Russians just speak Russian??

NO ONE in Russia speaks English even in Moscow. I was there in April. If you do not speak Russian be prepared for a very difficult time. If you go there, a Russian guide is essential even in Moscow.

As Tiaren stated, BERLIN is the 3rd most visited city in Europe behind Paris and London and yet no one acknowledges this?? Why is Berlin missing from 99% of these lists?

I would say you should drink less at night :crazy:Well, knowing Minato Ku, I don't believe he denies that Paris benefits of a good notoriety worldwide. The thing is that to some extent there's a disconnection between what Paris shows of itself and what Paris actually is.

Well, I know most tourists don't see only that aspect of Paris, but let's talk about the big charicature of the city: you know, the small medieval charming streets, the lovers on the docks, accordeonists, mimes, la vie en rose and all that kind of crap. In touristic areas, the only reminiscence of all these are there because that's what tourists are supposed to want. It's 100% superficial. Some streets in Saint-Michel or in Montmartre have become as superficial and fake as a theme park. And I talk litteraly.

For instance, a friend of mine works in a hotel which have opened in 2001. It's located rue Saint Jacques, just south of Notre-Dame across the Seine. The decoration is all fake... tourists believe they find some kind of old authenticity, but the walls are only 6 years old. The tomette tiles are made in China, crackled wood beam are stuck on a dropped ceiling, the stone chimney is just put aside the wall and cannot be used. Everything is like that: fake. And a room costs 175 € a night, with a very standard service and small rooms. The whole hotel only pays 30 € a month for an unlimited high speed internet access, and each customer has to pay something like 1 € a minute to use it. Even in Paris McDonald's, you get a wi-fi internet connection for free !

I know it's no such a big deal, it's just business after all, but it still saddens me that Paris keep selling a fake romanticized image to its visitors. What makes the true soul of Paris is its wide boulevards. I know tourists go there too, but as they are filled with Parisian crowds they are probably less visible, hence I associate them less with tourism.

Anyway, I've seen a terrific movie recently which was Disney's Ratatouille. The movie was really great, as much visually than in the script. It probably the best anime I've seen since Nemo. This being said, I've been a bit disturbed since untill the middle of the movie, I was sure the action was supposed to happen in the 60's. All the cars shown on the movie were indeed cars from that time untill then: Citroën DS, 2CV, Renault 4L. And all of a sudden, I see the Colette character getting on a sport motorbike from the 21st century. I didn't get that firstly, it's only then that I realized those old cars were there because that's what "Paris is supposed to be".

Let me put this straight, I don't blame tourists for seeking this in Paris. I blame more the Parisian tourism industry which picked the easy way consisting in giving what tourists are supposed to want, and this no matter if it's totally out of time nowadays.

The same is true for Prague. It's still beautiful and the buildings are authentic, but they are filled to the brim with souvenier shops all selling the same items. It has become very "Disneyish". They let tourism go rampant in a bad way.

I agree with your point of view, the same is in Italy with a lot of cities that are pretty unknown (just look at Trieste and Turin), and also the same Rome, is just a little part visited by the tourists.

But you know, you can't tell me that Paris is unknown. It has its notoriety all over the world, or better is one of the most notorious city in the world.

Minato Ku...:no::D

Well, knowing Minato Ku, I don't believe he denies that Paris benefits of a good notoriety worldwide. The thing is that to some extent there's a disconnection between what Paris shows of itself and what Paris actually is.


This is true for every major tourist destination.

I agree with your point of view, the same is in Italy with a lot of cities that are pretty unknown (just look at Trieste and Turin)

I'm going to Trieste on Friday:)

I'm going to Trieste on Friday:)

Cool! you're lucky! enjoy the visit! :)

NO ONE in Russia speaks English even in Moscow. I was there in April. If you do not speak Russian be prepared for a very difficult time. If you go there, a Russian guide is essential even in Moscow.


1. Stop trolling!
2. A lot of people speak English
3. People might not choose to speak it, and expect you to try to learn a couple key phrases. English isn't the language of the world you know... there are other languages out there.

If you go to anywhere, people will most likely want you to speak their language. French in France, German in Germany, etc etc

I'm going to Trieste on Friday:)

Trieste is nice, the Piazza D'unita Italia is gorgeous, i've been there a few times :okay:

I recommend the Tre Merli restaurant :eat:

Trieste is nice, the Piazza D'unita Italia is gorgeous, i've been there a few times :okay:

I recommend the Tre Merli restaurant :eat:

Thanks for the advice:)

Hopefuly come back with plenty of pictures to post.

1. Stop trolling!
2. A lot of people speak English
3. People might not choose to speak it, and expect you to try to learn a couple key phrases. English isn't the language of the world you know... there are other languages out there.

If you go to anywhere, people will most likely want you to speak their language. French in France, German in Germany, etc etc

It is the world lingua franca. And I've heard the same before about Russia. Just for the record, even Abramovich doesn't speak a word of English! He has a top model translating everything always with him.

Perhaps because its not ugly?
:|

its only because of business travellers...Paris doesn't have so much of them!!but surely paris is nicer than London!!

An other false cliche.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8311/1001986fl1.jpg
Palais des congres de Paris

Since Paris is by far the second business city in Europe, it has a lot of business tourists. It is a very big part of Paris tourism
Paris is the first city in the world in internationals conventions.

Kraków!! :banana:

Thanks for this excellent addition to the most visited cities thread! :okay:

What's wrong with people on this board who post messages only consisting of their city's name in threads about subjects that have pretty much NOTHING to do with their specific city?

Overnights 2005
Source: European CITIES Tourism ECT

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Viena 9.500.000
Dublín 8.700.000
Amsterdam 8.400.000


Barcelona in 2006:

tourists. 6.709.175
overnights. 13.198.982

by country of origin.

Spain: 30%
Europe: 50,8%
Others: 19,2%


UK. 11,4%
Italy: 9,1%
USA: 7,2%
France: 6,7%
Germany: 5,3%
Latinamerica: 4,5%
Japan: 2,0%

Impossible to compare. Many people who visit Paris stay in hotels that are not situated in the officialy city boundaries but in the suburbs (the majority of the agglomeration).

For example there are many hotel resorts next to disneyland on the east, in the La Defense area or near Versailles on the west. And yet they are not counted as being part of the city of Paris when they are closer to the center than many areas of Berlin or London are to their's.

I remember seeing a list somewhere that went
1. Paris
2. London
3. Berlin
4. Rome
5. Prague

Can't find it, though, so I'll just leave it at that :D

It is the world lingua franca. And I've heard the same before about Russia. Just for the record, even Abramovich doesn't speak a word of English! He has a top model translating everything always with him.

I don't care that its the "lingua franca."
When in Rome, do as Romans do.

Overnights 2005
Source: European CITIES Tourism ECT

[...]
Roma 16.600.000
[...]


LOL
This number include only the tourists that spend the night in Hotel, not the number of tourists.

This is the italian site turismo&finanza:
http://www.turismoefinanza.it/step.jsp?page=47343

ROME 2006: 23 millions of tourists (18 millions in Hotel, 5 millions in B&B/hostel)

This number don't includes the number of tourists that spend the night in Vatican hotel or hotel managed by Vatican even if they are in Rome's territory (like hotel, hostels and B&B managed by nuns).

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Viena 9.500.000
Dublín 8.700.000
Amsterdam 8.400.000
In Kraków we have 8 mln tourists, so we're probably 11th :)

Impossible to compare. Many people who visit Paris stay in hotels that are not situated in the officialy city boundaries but in the suburbs (the majority of the agglomeration).

For example there are many hotel resorts next to disneyland on the east, in the La Defense area or near Versailles on the west. And yet they are not counted as being part of the city of Paris when they are closer to the center than many areas of Berlin or London are to their's.Especially that a huge number of chain hotels (B&B, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, Campanile, Novotel...) have develloped right at the outskirts of the périphérique.

It's always the same story in the end. Comparison between the Greater London and the City of Paris aren't fair because the first one extends on a territory 16 times larger than the second one... and comparison between the Greater London and Ile de France aren't fair because the second one is 7 times larger than the first one. In the end, everyone takes the comparison which suits better his taste, and it's impossible to make everyone agrees.

I can't believe Londen has more tourist every year then Paris. Paris is the most known city in the world after NY I think.

I can't believe Londen has more tourist every year then Paris. Paris is the most known city in the world after NY I think.

In fact it's strange

This is true for every major tourist destination.Frankly, I don't believe that's true at all.

It's probably true for some Italian cities such as Venice, Florence, or maybe Rome, but I don't believe it is for NYC, Chicago, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Singapore, Hong Kong and so on.

The big problem of Paris is that it got something like a huge reputation in the first half of the 20th century, and people are still visualizing it according to the image it got then. That's I believe the reason why Paris grabbed that image of being so old-fashioned. In a country like the US, I would say that 20% of the people enjoy that old-fashioned image and consider themselves francophile, and 80% of people despise that old-fashioned image and like to make jokes about France because of this. But in the end of the day, everyone unconsciously agrees that France is old-fashioned in a way or another.

The problem isn't really a matter of time period... living a modern life or not. It's just that I don't recognize at all my city, or even my country in general, in the way many foreigners picture it.

I don't care that its the "lingua franca."
When in Rome, do as Romans do.


Ok, you don't care.

Frankly, I don't believe that's true at all.

It's probably true for some Italian cities such as Venice, Florence, or maybe Rome, but I don't believe it is for NYC, Chicago, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Singapore, Hong Kong and so on.

The big problem of Paris is that it got something like a huge reputation in the first half of the 20th century, and people are still visualizing it according to the image it got then. That's I believe the reason why Paris grabbed that image of being so old-fashioned. In a country like the US, I would say that 20% of the people enjoy that old-fashioned image and consider themselves francophile, and 80% of people despise that old-fashioned image and like to make jokes about France because of this. But in the end of the day, everyone unconsciously agrees that France is old-fashioned in a way or another.

The problem isn't really a matter of time period... living a modern life or not. It's just that I don't recognize at all my city, or even my country in general, in the way many foreigners picture it.


Must be nice to have the problem of having a positive, allbeit inaccurate, reputation. Look at the reputation Germany has to deal with (unfairly). Paris has it easy. Everyone wants to go there and finds it romantic. Whether their image is accurate or not, as least it's positive. If I were Parisian, I would be more concerned with the reputation Paris has for being rude.

The probleme is how one of most important economical city in the world (If Paris was a country it would be 16th in GDP) could have the reputation of a tourist city.
O.K it is touristic like many big city.

I really liked the photo of the canadian forumer Kilegore trout

http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/009.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/015.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/020.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/038.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/084.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/093.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/053.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/011.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/061.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/083.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/121.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/141.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/142.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/143.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/151.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/157.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/158.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/160.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/173.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/177.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.net/gallerytwo/g2data/albums/paris/179.JPG

politics/terrorism/"anti" French sentiment amongst Americans/etc.


My list: London, Paris, Rome

Well, now with Sarkozy apparently having a good overall approval rating and even U.S. Republicans and Democrats alike praising him and even comparing him to JFK and his wife to Jackie, and Sarkozy being seen as non-traditionalist and pro-American (atleast a lot more than previous French presidents)yet not submissive to Americans, there is a lot of respect apparently being gained for him here in the U.S. and soon that may represent the whole country. And it seems Sarkozy is getting along very well with the rest of the EU, too. I mean, for a French president to be getting praise in the U.S., and the changes he's creating, like more women in his government, of which 3 are either of African descent (2 Arab and 1 Black), and even former-Socialists...anyway...

Also, right now France isn't showing signs of terrorism the way Spain and the UK has more recently shown. The last terrorism scare I can remember in France was in the mid or late 90s with the Algerian terrorist group that placed bombs in the Paris metro, RER and a trash-can near the Arc of Triomphe. So fresh in people's mind should be what we've been seeing in England and what I just read about Germany.

Must be nice to have the problem of having a positive, allbeit inaccurate, reputation. Look at the reputation Germany has to deal with (unfairly). Paris has it easy. Everyone wants to go there and finds it romantic. Whether their image is accurate or not, as least it's positive.Well, you're right. It's true that the overall reputation is better than the one of Germans or even Russians. I'm not someone who would bash US movie industry because I believe there are really fantastic movies coming from there... a simple funny remark I would make is that generally in an American movie, when you see a German or a Russian, there's a high chance he would be a bad guy.... and when you see a Frenchman, there's a high chance he would be a traitor. ;)

If I were Parisian, I would be more concerned with the reputation Paris has for being rude.Well, you're right this is really cause for concern... but unfortunately I have to be honnest and confess this is probably closer to the reality. It's not necessarily towards tourists, but social behaviours in general are rather rude in Paris. It's true that Parisians in general have stressful lives and that's emphasized by the crowds they have to go through the whole day... but it's also true in other cities not having such a reputation.

However, when the reputation is getting wrong it's when it's applied to the rest of the country. As a Parisian, I must admit that French people outside Paris are rather charming.

In Kraków we have 8 mln tourists, so we're probably 11th :)

this all will change soon.

i don´t want to sound unfriendly, but everything f.e. Krakow has everything Amsterdam has. BUT: great chicks, very cheap, a lot of shopping malls.

In Krakow i can go out for a meal 3x times a day and i need less than 20€ for eating. and it´s also possible to eat at rynek for this money incl. drinks

And in future with new destinations with the cheap-air-carriers, other towns tourism will grow. but the "standard No1.-2 will stay nearly the same like now

I think french nature, food and a lot of sightseeing points are great, but after seeing how the mokey money with tourists, i would never want to visit Paris.

but once in my life i want to visit Versailles.



... interesting link: http://www.reisen-mit-dem-internet.de/

Must be nice to have the problem of having a positive, allbeit inaccurate, reputation. Look at the reputation Germany has to deal with (unfairly).

Germany's reputation isn't THAT bad, be realistic.

Loads of people think of the picturesque and romantic Rhine and Mosel valleys, the castles and Biergartens of Bavaria, well-preserved Hanseatic and medieval cities, Christmas markets or the nightlife of Berlin when thinking of Germany.

I think most people are aware that Germany isn't all factories and autobahns.

I think the thing with Germany is that many people just have no idea how it is inside the country and don't care. They know what Germany produces, what Germany produced. But if you ask them, at least here, what they imagine a typical German city would look like, they wouldn't really know. Sadly, I have never seen a person passionate about Germany or a part of Germany around here (exept my german teacher in junior high school), yet I have seen loads who are interested in our other neighbors.

I think the thing with Germany is that many people just have no idea how it is inside the country and don't care. They know what Germany produces, what Germany produced. But if you ask them, at least here, what they imagine a typical German city would look like, they wouldn't really know. Sadly, I have never seen a person passionate about Germany or a part of Germany around here (exept my german teacher in junior high school), yet I have seen loads who are interested in our other neighbors.

That's interesting, I would have thought there were much closer links between France and Germany in tourism, after all your two countries are very closely allied politically, you are bordering each other and with Schengen visits are very very easy.

But when I look at the German tourist arrivals for 2005, visits to Germany by French travellers are 75% fewer than those by Dutch visitors, 50% less than British visitors and 25% less than Italian visitors.

----------

International Tourists in Germany by nation of origin 2005 (millions of overnight stays, top 20 only)).

Netherlands 8.4
USA 4.4
UK 4.0
Switzerland 3.2
Italy 2.7
Belgium 2.1
Austria 2.1
France 2.0
Denmark 1.8
Spain 1.5
Sweden 1.4
Japan 1.3
Poland 1.0
Russia 0.9
China/HK 0.9
Arab Gulf States 0.6
Czech Rep 0.6
Norway 0.5
Australia/New Zealand 0.4
Hungary 0.4

http://www.germany-tourism.co.uk/pdf/jahresbericht_2005_EGB_importance_tourism.pdf

we find attractive german chicks...:yes:

That's interesting, I would have thought there were much closer links between France and Germany in tourism, after all your two countries are very closely allied politically, you are bordering each other and with Schengen visits are very very easy.

But when I look at the German tourist arrivals for 2005, visits to Germany by French travellers are 75% fewer than those by Dutch visitors, 50% less than British visitors and 25% less than Italian visitors.

----------

International Tourists in Germany by nation of origin 2005 (millions of overnight stays, top 20 only)).



And many of these 2.0 french are probably people who live in the eastern regions (Alsace-Lorraine) or business travelers.

I've personalliy travelled several times in Germany as a tourist. Probably the fact German was my first language at school put me in a very Germanophile environment though.

I've made three trips to Germany: Bavaria, Frankfurt/Mayence/Cologne and Berlin. These were three strongly different trips but I really enjoyed them all in their specific ways. Actually, I was in conflict with the Germans as a young kid because my German teacher was a bitch. Probably the fact my German grandmother was continuously praising her native country compared to France didn't help to get me a good image of it I guess. Anyway, it's in visiting Germany that I've changed my vision about it, and that I really started to think of Germany in a very positive way.

The relationship between France and Germany isn't an easy one. Of course it's been 50 years that both countries are close friends, but the very conflicting history between both countries has still left wounds in the deep collective unconscious of both people. Germany felt humiliated by France at Napoleon's times and in 1918... and France felt humiliated by Germany in 1871 and 1940. Nowadays, everyone wants to move on and forget about it, but it's true that the friendship between the governing bodies of both state has always been deeper than the one between both people. I don't mean that both people hate each other cause that's far from the truth, but the thing is more that there's no real passion, neither positive nor negative, between both countries.

It may sound silly, but the only really passionate event I remember was the semi-final between France and Germany at the World Cup 1982 in Sevilla. It had awaken a lot of things... and wouldn't have been lived as such a tragedy if everyone didn't have these humiliations deep in their soul. However, with time, the reunification, the troubles the German economy has known together with France's during the 90's, the fact France finally succeeded to win a world cup, all this has appeased the relationship between both countries.

yes, I think there is much more passion in our relation with our three other big neighbors, the UK, Italy and Spain.

TOP 10

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Lisbon 9.500.000
Wien 8.700.000
Dublin 7.700.000

I don't care that its the "lingua franca."
When in Rome, do as Romans do.

Moscow isn't Rome and never will be.

TOP 10

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Lisbon 9.500.000
Wien 8.700.000
Dublin 7.700.000This list has already been posted several times in this thread as well as the comments about it.

London is ahead of Paris for the city proper (the Greater London being 90% of the urban area), but the Ile-de-France region is ahead of London (the city of Paris representing about 20% of the urban area). So all in all there's a tough call between both.

The simple thing I remember having read in June was a report stating that Paris was still the most visited city in the world. Maybe Paris is ahead with tourists and London catch back with business travellers, I don't know.

London/Paris
Berlin/Rome
Barcelona
Madrid

Just guessing really. I feel sorry for ze Germans, Berlin doesn't get enough recognition, I think it's because Germany has so many cities all with similar economies, populations (berlin, frankfurt, munich, hamburg...) etc where as London and Paris dominate the UK and France respectively.

TOP 10

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000

Berlin is the 3rd in Europe, Rome was left behind :)

If you don´t believe, use google....

Berlin is the 3rd in Europe, Rome was left behind :)

If you don´t believe, use google....

Yes, in 2004, but now we are in 2007.

I talk about 2007 not 2004:nuts:

I talk about 2007 not 2004:nuts:

And where is the google link? Rome had 23millions of tourists in 2006

Rome had 23 millions tourists in 2006.

If you read Italian: http://www.turismoefinanza.it/step.jsp?page=47343

Athens had 7 million tourists, not in top 10.

Paris, then London.

London, Paris, Barcelona

TOP 10

Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Lisbon 9.500.000
Wien 8.700.000
Dublin 7.700.000
You must add 2,000,000 cruisers for Barcelona.
:yes:

You must add 2,000,000 cruisers for Barcelona.
:yes:

This list is old (2005)

I think its a hard thing to measure but would make sence that London , Paris tops the list because they are by far the two largest cities in europ (bar russia and turkey cities)

What I do find suprising is London leading the list, surely the physical boundaries of being part of an island country has limited convienience travelers who going through continetal europe could travel by car and stop off in cities easier. (yes i have heard of eurostar and the ferry but can you see the point)

London is the worlds biggest air hub^ with 5 international airports (and a few private jet ones)

What I do find suprising is London leading the list, surely the physical boundaries of being part of an island country has limited convienience travelers who going through continetal europe could travel by car and stop off in cities easier.

But how do you want to measure this reliably?

Guess Paris is the leader

Guess Paris is the leader

only love fools go there, it's no wonder then :D :jk:

Paris is far to be the city of love.
I know a lot more romantic cities than the busiest city in western Europe

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7937/ministrefinanceskr0.jpg

That's weird how people have false idea about Paris.
It is a great city but definitively not romantic.

This list is old (2005)
Any lists for 2006?
:?

Yawn... London-Paris, Paris-London. Who cares?

It is a great city but definitively not romantic.

Why not?

^^Romanticism depends on you and your partner.
;)

Italy Venice

NO ONE in Russia speaks English even in Moscow.
Does many people speak Russian in America? So why all Russians should speak English?

Again a thread about the most visited European city? I thought this had already been discussed and archived last year...

Here are some official figures. Greater Paris welcomes 44 million tourists every year and the Greater Paris council estimate that the number of tourists to Greater Paris will increase to reach 54 million in 2020. You can see the source of both figures on page 64 of this long pdf: http://213.251.184.171/dev/sdrif192/IMG/pdf_SDRIF_may_2007.pdf

As for London, the 47 million figure that I read on a previous page is completely inflated. According to the very own Greater London mayor's office there are nearly 30 million tourists a year in Greater London (source (http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/olympics/benefits-international.jsp)). Other official sources I've seen say there are 27 million tourists yearly to Greater London (source (http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/docs/disability_capital_2005_transcript_afternoon.pdf)).

Paris is not the most visited city in the world though, contrary to common belief. Cities like Kyoto and Las Vegas attract more tourists than Paris, due to domestic tourism essentially. In the future, big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing should become the most visited cities in the world, if that's not already the case, due to domestic Chinese tourism (i.e. Chinese people visiting their own country).

Note that the internationally-agreed definition of a tourist is someone who visits a place either for leisure or business reasons and stays at least one night.

Does many people speak Russian in America? So why all Russians should speak English?

I never said they should. I said they don't.

If Russia wants to remain foreign-tourist-unfriendly that is their perogative. It is helpful information for a foreign tourist to know that they will have big language issues if they consider going to Russia. I recommend that they get a Russian guide if they don't know anyone in Russia that will help them get around. There were not even English speakers available to help us in the International Airport in Moscow!

London/ Barcelona/ Berlin possibly Amsterdam not sure. And Birmingham<<<I wish

I never said they should. I said they don't.
I thought you think they should, sorry.

I recommend that they get a Russian guide if they don't know anyone in Russia that will help them get around.
Good idea. Bitxofo did this way last year. I think he had a wonderful trip ;)

There were not even English speakers available to help us in the International Airport in Moscow!
Well, Sheremetievo is a cloak, you will not find English speakers there even if they are there. ;)

if i was a parisian living in paris, i would hate so much tourists, specially the american ones.

definately, has to be paris, such a cliche city, still, beautiful

Cracow - 16 milions turistm every year

Amsterdam 4,5 million people visited Amsterdam in 2005
and its stills growing

More then 16 million people visits the ciy one day

Its standing in the European top five on the 5th place

I think its a hard thing to measure but would make sence that London , Paris tops the list because they are by far the two largest cities in europ (bar russia and turkey cities)

What I do find suprising is London leading the list, surely the physical boundaries of being part of an island country has limited convienience travelers who going through continetal europe could travel by car and stop off in cities easier. (yes i have heard of eurostar and the ferry but can you see the point)

Being two hours away from Brussels and 2 and a half hour from Paris now by eurostar that enables you to get their quite conveniently in comparision to flying and far faster than a ferry. I think this "Island" factor is quite on the decrease.

Thats my guess. Of course I could err.

I think for some cities the figures are way of, for example most lists would rank Madrid ahead of Barcelona because they only count people that spend
at least one night in a hotel inside the city, the reality is that Barcelona probably receive dubble the amount of tourists that visit Madrid when factoring in the ones staying on hotels within practical reach of the city. You have some 4-5 million going to the resorts north and south of Barcelona and the majoriy of them also visit the city itself. Then you also have about a million cruisers staying only over the day.

if i was a parisian living in paris, i would hate so much tourists, specially the american ones.

definately, has to be paris, such a cliche city, still, beautifulWell, frankly, Parisians don't see that many tourists in their everyday life. The only places of the city where crowds are dominated by tourists are specific spots where Parisians don't go that often anyway: Ile de la Cité, Montmatre, rue de la Huchette in Saint-Michel. In the rest of the city, you can of course see tourists, but local people always represent 90% of the crowds so you don't really bother. Even on the very touristic Champs-Elysées, tourists only represent a third of the crowds, not more.

Paris population density is similar to the one of Manhattan. As a result, there are really people everywhere. I think it's true to say that Parisians don't pay attention on other people, but it's mostly because they spend their whole day in huge crowds. When most people are surrounded by crowds, they mentally put themselves in some kind of protective "bubble" where they get lost in their own thoughts and forget abou their environment.

False! It is London.
;)

80 millions in France per year

Paris no doubt

I think it is Prague because there is nearly no one else but foreign visitors in the city centre.

Why not?

^^Romanticism depends on you and your partner.
;)

And me and my partner never found it romantic. I think the problem with Paris is that it's solely for tourists and rich people. The city is not booming with young people like Berlin, Manchester, Amsterdam, Barcelona etc etc.

I can't believe Londen has more tourist every year then Paris. Paris is the most known city in the world after NY I think.
It depends on what you count as a tourist. The number Amsterdam is listed with is foreign visitors only, day visitors from Holland would triple that number. Also, a lot of tourists are located in hotels outside the city and travel by bus towards the city, so counting the numbers of tourists is a near impossible thing.

And me and my partner never found it romantic. I think the problem with Paris is that it's solely for tourists and rich people. The city is not booming with young people like Berlin, Manchester, Amsterdam, Barcelona etc etc.
.

With about 100,000 new inhabitants each year, Paris is not a booming city :weird:

You haven't just visited the good districts.
Ile de la Cité, Montmatre, rue de la Huchette, Louvre, 16th arrondissement are districts where Parisians don't go.

I invite you to see this thread Why soo wrong idea about Paris ? (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=523608)


Seriously, I think what most Parisians find annoying is that their city is seen primarily as a touristy historical area, a bit like a larger version of Venice without the canals. It's odd that when people talk about the European architectural scene they think first about London, Amsterdam or Barcelona as the most active cities, even though in fact it is in Greater Paris that there are currently the most offices and private dwellings under construction in Europe.

I was reading some interesting statistics the other day: in the Paris urban area every 10 years it's a city the size of Berlin that is being built. Just try to picture that: 600 km² of land, the size of the built-up area of Berlin, is being built every 10 years in brown fields in the inner suburbs and green fields in the outer suburbs of Paris. Few people seem to be aware of that, and architecture students still imagine that tiny Amsterdam or hyped London are the places to be. Odd.

Paris is the most visited city in Europe

Paris is the most visited city in Europe
False! It is London.
;)

Paris, Prague, Rome, London, Amsterdam

I was impressed by Montreux. A nice town to travel, with great views of Lac Leman and the Alps. Only 1 hr from Geneva by train. Wish could be there again. :banana:

Paris ,Venice, Rome, London, Milan , Munich , Barcelona , St.Petersburg , Oslo and Amsterdam

Paris ,Venice, Rome, London, Milan , Munich , Barcelona , St.Petersburg , Oslo and Amsterdam

Again people, BERLIN is the 3rd most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris. This has been pointed out again and again earlier in this thread and elsewhere on skyscrapercity, but it doesn't seem to sink in. It irritates me to see a list of 10 European cities and Berlin is not even on it! Don't know why this city is constantly overlooked on this site, but you guys don't realize how big, important, and exciting Berlin is! As they say in the black community here in the USA, "ya betta recognize!".

London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona....

I think that they are London, Paris and Rome

Again people, BERLIN is the 3rd most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris. This has been pointed out again and again earlier in this thread and elsewhere on skyscrapercity, but it doesn't seem to sink in. It irritates me to see a list of 10 European cities and Berlin is not even on it! Don't know why this city is constantly overlooked on this site, but you guys don't realize how big, important, and exciting Berlin is! As they say in the black community here in the USA, "ya betta recognize!".

In 2006 Berlin was the 4th most visited city behind London, Paris and Rome.

In 2006 Berlin was the 4th most visited city behind London, Paris and Rome.

Says someone from Rome! XD

Berlin is since 2004 (or something like that) third most visited city! Just check the Internet, for example Wikipedia.

I think that berlin is very under-rated..... after all, why wouldn't the capital of the giant germany be interesting? i bet it's full of cool stuff!

Says someone from Rome! XD

Berlin is since 2004 (or something like that) third most visited city! Just check the Internet, for example Wikipedia.

Please show us the link, because the European CITIES Tourism ECT says something different:

Overnights 2005
Source: European CITIES Tourism ECT

PHP Code:
Londres 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Roma 16.600.000
Berlín 14.600.000
Madrid 12.300.000
Barcelona 11.300.000
Praga 11.200.000
Viena 9.500.000
Dublín 8.700.000
Amsterdam 8.400.000

Again people, BERLIN is the 3rd most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris. This has been pointed out again and again earlier in this thread and elsewhere on skyscrapercity, but it doesn't seem to sink in.

It isn't, and this has been pointed out again and again earlier in this thread too.

Please show us the link, because the European CITIES Tourism ECT says something different

Okay then:
(this are just some sources...there are just too many XD)

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin
"Berlin is the third most-visited tourist destination in the EU."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome
There isn't even mentioned fourth Place...

France24 Inernational News :
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:D1yGYp1Lcw4J:www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html%3Fid%3D070930221037.n7b73a1u%26cat%3Dnull+tourism+Berlim+third+most+visited&hl=de&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=de
Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German capital is becoming ever more popular with young tourists who have made it Europe's third most visited city, as much for the uber-cool nightclubs as for the history.

asiarooms.com
http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/germany/berlin/berlin-overview/berlintourism.html
Berlin is the third most visited city in the European Union. With so many national and international events taking place all the year round, the tourism sector has enriched itself with huge revenue. There are about 581 hotels which has catered 7.1 million guests in a year...

czech-transport.com
http://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=159
According to the statistics, Berlin is the third most-visited tourist destination within the EU...

metropolitanstudies.com
http://www.metropolitanstudies.de/?id=62
The impressive growth of tourism in Berlin since the last years of the 1990s is maybe the most important stimulus for its study. Just during 2004 tourism in Berlin grew from 5 to 6 millions visitors, becoming the third most visited city in Europe...

MagazineUSA.com
http://www.magazineusa.com/visit/country/show.aspx?country=de&unit=berlin&doc=1
During the past few years, Berlin has changed more than any other city in the world. In 2003, around 4.95 million visitors spent 11 million nights by the Spree. This makes Berlin Europe's third most popular city after London and Paris...

berlin-tourist-information.com
http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/english/presse/basistexte/e_pr_basistext_facts-figures_2006.html
In 2005, around 6.5 million visitors spent more than 14.5 million nights in the city on the Spree. That makes Berlin Europe's third most popular tourist destination after London and Paris...

germany-tourism.de
http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/about_us/tourism_companies_berliner_flughaefen.htm
Berlin is Germany's most visited city, one of Europe's top 3 destinations, and home to one of the world's leading trade fairs...

Very interesting was, that when you searched for Rome as the third most visited city in Europe (searched words: Rome third most visited) there was hardly one source!

BUT don't get me wrong! For me, Rome is a much more beautiful city, than Berlin is. And I visited Rome more often, than I visited Berlin.

Again people, BERLIN is the 3rd most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris. This has been pointed out again and again earlier in this thread and elsewhere on skyscrapercity, but it doesn't seem to sink in. It irritates me to see a list of 10 European cities and Berlin is not even on it! Don't know why this city is constantly overlooked on this site, but you guys don't realize how big, important, and exciting Berlin is! As they say in the black community here in the USA, "ya betta recognize!".

O.k. Darryl in my list I will nominate Berlin as the most visited european city followed by Paris, London, Rome and Prague !!!

Okay then:
(this are just some sources...there are just too many XD)

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin
"Berlin is the third most-visited tourist destination in the EU."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome
There isn't even mentioned fourth Place...

France24 Inernational News :
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:D1yGYp1Lcw4J:www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html%3Fid%3D070930221037.n7b73a1u%26cat%3Dnull+tourism+Berlim+third+most+visited&hl=de&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=de
Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German capital is becoming ever more popular with young tourists who have made it Europe's third most visited city, as much for the uber-cool nightclubs as for the history.

asiarooms.com
http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/germany/berlin/berlin-overview/berlintourism.html
Berlin is the third most visited city in the European Union. With so many national and international events taking place all the year round, the tourism sector has enriched itself with huge revenue. There are about 581 hotels which has catered 7.1 million guests in a year...

czech-transport.com
http://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=159
According to the statistics, Berlin is the third most-visited tourist destination within the EU...

metropolitanstudies.com
http://www.metropolitanstudies.de/?id=62
The impressive growth of tourism in Berlin since the last years of the 1990s is maybe the most important stimulus for its study. Just during 2004 tourism in Berlin grew from 5 to 6 millions visitors, becoming the third most visited city in Europe...

MagazineUSA.com
http://www.magazineusa.com/visit/country/show.aspx?country=de&unit=berlin&doc=1
During the past few years, Berlin has changed more than any other city in the world. In 2003, around 4.95 million visitors spent 11 million nights by the Spree. This makes Berlin Europe's third most popular city after London and Paris...

berlin-tourist-information.com
http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/english/presse/basistexte/e_pr_basistext_facts-figures_2006.html
In 2005, around 6.5 million visitors spent more than 14.5 million nights in the city on the Spree. That makes Berlin Europe's third most popular tourist destination after London and Paris...

germany-tourism.de
http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/about_us/tourism_companies_berliner_flughaefen.htm
Berlin is Germany's most visited city, one of Europe's top 3 destinations, and home to one of the world's leading trade fairs...

Very interesting was, that when you searched for Rome as the third most visited city in Europe (searched words: Rome third most visited) there was hardly one source!

BUT don't get me wrong! For me, Rome is a much more beautiful city, than Berlin is. And I visited Rome more often, than I visited Berlin.

I don't have so many links, but I always read on my newspaper and on tv that Rome was the 3rd one.

I have this link:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/65335
"Prague continues to be one of the most popular cities in Europe, coming behind only London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin in terms of the number of foreign visitors last year."
[12-04-2005]

And this is wikipedia:
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:VsGhaVf3kTgJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague+*most+visited+european+cities*&hl=it&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=it
"It [Prague] is the sixth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin"

But I don't think wikipedia is a good source, because everyone could write there. And I'm sure that the tourist sites you posted take their numbers from wikipedia.

I prefer the numbers taken from European CITIES Tourism ECT:
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5637/wetrg2.jpg
Rome has more tourists than Berlin and its numbers increase more rapidly (12,2 vs. 9,8)
This is the link:
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/imgfiles/estad/Est2006a.pdf

This link is taken by one of the italian official tourist site:
http://www.turismoefinanza.it/step.jsp?page=47343

"Roma: nel 2006 oltre 23 milioni di turisti"
Rome had 23 million tourists in 2006.
What about Berlin?

Consider that some tourists in Rome pass the nights in hotel managed by the Vatican City, and those hotel are not included in the number I posted, even if those hotels are in Rome's territory. The Vatican hotels don't pay ICI (the italian comunal tax on buildings) and they don't give the numbers of tourists' overnight stay.

O.k. Darryl in my list I will nominate Berlin as the most visited european city followed by Paris, London, Rome and Prague !!!

That's ridiculous. What is this, kindergarten?? How about just putting it where it belongs in the list, which is after London and Paris as the FACTS show. Even after Rome, I wouldn't complain. Just recognize that it is at LEAST in the top five in Europe indisputably.

According to The Economist pocket world in figures 2007 Edition: Fance in at the top of the list for most tourist arrivals with 75,121,000 then Spain 53,599,000. Italy in 5th with 37,071,000 and the Uk in 6th with 27,755,000. Not too sure about a particular city though

Paris
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/7/ostapbrezgin.0/0_2fb2_93a1f272_L.jpg

According to The Economist pocket world in figures 2007 Edition: Fance in at the top of the list for most tourist arrivals with 75,121,000 then Spain 53,599,000. Italy in 5th with 37,071,000 and the Uk in 6th with 27,755,000. Not too sure about a particular city though

But those 75 million of France and those 53 of Spain tourists, are foreign people, so, the 12 million of tourists of Madrid are a mix of national and foreign people, so....

Istanbul of course
Original, different :cheers:

Numbers numbers...so many statistics and it seems that there is no consistent in the facts!

The most visited cities:

Paris
London
Rome

I still don't get what is this thread about.
Wishes? Personal opinions? Facts?

I still don't get what is this thread about.
Wishes? Personal opinions? Facts?

Lots of wishes and personal opinions. Very few facts.

London
Paris
Berlin

"After one already displaced Rome of the third place years ago, now Paris is to be overhauled."

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/Tourismus;art270,2421719

my list::
London
Paris
Rome
Berlin
Barcelona
Athens

London
Paris
Berlin

"After one already displaced Rome of the third place years ago, now Paris is to be overhauled."

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/Tourismus;art270,2421719

I don't think.
Paris is only 86 km² compared with 800 km² of Berlin, so it will be better to include inner suburbs of Paris. Paris would have 700 km² and 6.5 million inhabitants.
In the next years Paris have high chance to be fusioned with its inner suburbs. :)

no! iam talking about the number of tourists!! not the size of the city
wrong topic^^

Yes I know.
A high number of tourists have an hotel in inner suburbs because it is less expensive.
Don't forget the high number of bussiness tourist which stay in la Defense area.
Also the tourists wich stay at Saint Denis area near Stade de France.

They are not include in Paris overnight because they don't sleep in Paris city proper. :)

Overnights 2005
Source: European CITIES Tourism ECT

PHP Code:
London 47.800.000
Paris 33.700.000
Rome 16.600.000
Berlin 14.600.000

BTW tourism boomed in Rome in the last two years, in 2007 there were recorded 23 millions overnights (http://www.turismoefinanza.it/step.jsp?page=47343).

Yep, but as it was just said these stats compare what is uncomparable.

They should not resort to official city limits figures but urban (or metropolitan) areas, using the same methodology for all cities of course.

Yep, but as it was just said these stats compare what is uncomparable.

They should not resort to official city limits figures but urban (or metropolitan) areas, using the same methodology for all cities of course.

Well, as regards London, Rome and Berlin I think they are comparable. City limits encompass the whole urban area, and most part of the metropolitan area too.
The problem is Paris, cause the actual city is much bigger than its city limits. I don't know the criterion used for those figures.

In my opinion most visited cities/islands in Europe are:

London
Paris
Athens
Berlin
Rome
Mykonos

Checkout favourite tourist attractions by yahoo:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-bestof-9094160-cat-tourist
First of all not lots of you think that Athens is at TOP European Attractions,wrong,especially after the Olympics it gets millions of tourists even Japanese who want to see the Parthenon.

http://www.travelersdigest.com/pictures/europe/greece/athensintro.jpg
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/images/athens/parthenon/parthenon-night-cc-Pindaro.jpg

The satellite view of Athens:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/athens_ast_2004120_lrg.jpg
And that's not the whole Athens,in this image you can't see some districts near the sea from both right and left sides.



Also I have been to Mykonos this Summer and it's FULL of tourists and I mean it.
Lots of Clubs and Hotels and lots under construction it's something like Hawaii for America. ;)

btw I have seen that Greece is the top tourist attraction of people from Britain and I think it's true.

1-Barcelona
2-Paris
3-Brussels
4-Madrid
5-Rome
6-Milan
7-Valencia
8-Stockholm
9-London
and ofcourse Amsterdam lots of times! And allot of other smaller cities like Marseille etc.

Paris
London
Roma
Barselona
Athens
Vienna
Berlin
Lisbon

Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Istanbul, Tbilsi,Warsaw

Prague was in year 2005 6th most visited city in Europe....I guess now Prague has similar position..

Dublin is known as one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in Europe. It is estimated that more than three million people visit the city each year. This makes tourism a major industry in the Irish capital.
Number alone don't count, sorry. Ireland is a beautiful country with astonishing cities, but Dublin is for sure NOT the place to visit there, one of the biggest disappointments I ever saw - and most of the people I know as well. It's really a pity, it could offer much more :(

there were several sources which stated that the London Eye had overtaken the Eiffel tower a while ago as the biggest tourist attraction in the world.

Guess where ill be going for new years eve.
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/8357/llp11101010117nrsa9.jpg
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3559/r121958390656kl3.jpg
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5489/40680435wheelokir0.jpg

there were several sources which stated that the London Eye had overtaken the Eiffel tower a while ago as the biggest tourist attraction in the world.



Not even close.

Those nationalist Londoners will never cease to make me laugh.
To compare a Ferris wheel built in 2000 and a 320 m steel structure built in the 19th century :lol:

You people are giving London a bad reputation.

1 London
2. Paris
3. Copenhagen
4. Venice
5. Amsterdam

Especially that a huge number of chain hotels (B&B, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, Campanile, Novotel...) have develloped right at the outskirts of the périphérique.

It's always the same story in the end. Comparison between the Greater London and the City of Paris aren't fair because the first one extends on a territory 16 times larger than the second one... and comparison between the Greater London and Ile de France aren't fair because the second one is 7 times larger than the first one. In the end, everyone takes the comparison which suits better his taste, and it's impossible to make everyone agrees.

100% true. Basically Paris and London are twins. They are both megacity alphas and really neither is greater or lesser than the other. London has a bigger stock market but Paris marginally more Fortune 500s. London has more famous theatre district but Paris is a cinephile dream. London is the financial capital of the world. Paris the capital of l'art de vivre. Properly understood both have metro areas of 12 to 14,000,000. Both dominate their respective nations. One can compare and contrast all week and still come back to the reality that neither wins. Both are fantastic.

Not even close.

Those nationalist Londoners will never cease to make me laugh.
To compare a Ferris wheel built in 2000 and a 320 m steel structure built in the 19th century :lol:

You people are giving London a bad reputation.

i read it on some american site and several others :dunno:

and its not just some ferris wheel, its the first ever of its kind! so many other countries are now replicating similar wheels.

also trust me Londoners are the least nationalistic :lol:
all we like to do is complain!!!! :D

also trust me Londoners are the least nationalistic :lol:
all we like to do is complain !!!! :D

When I see some article of the Independant, I doubt of it... :lol:
In an other way it is not so bad to be proud of it. :)

But sorry the Eiffel tower have more visitors than the London Eye.

100% true. Basically Paris and London are twins. They are both megacity alphas and really neither is greater or lesser than the other. London has a bigger stock market but Paris marginally more Fortune 500s. London has more famous theatre district but Paris is a cinephile dream. London is the financial capital of the world. Paris the capital of l'art de vivre. Properly understood both have metro areas of 12 to 14,000,000. Both dominate their respective nations. One can compare and contrast all week and still come back to the reality that neither wins. Both are fantastic.

:applause:

Exactly, all these comparisons and bitching becomes very tedious.

We should appreciate them both for what they are, not analyse and compare. They are similar, yet totally different in their own respective ways.

They are indeed like twins, or a marriage of equals...only one has the money, the other has the beauty (but thats not to say that any one is lacking in those attributes either ;) )