Paris ranks year after year at the top of the table of the most visited cities in the world. Data confirmed by recent figures provided by the Paris Tourist Office, which expects 37 million visitors in 2023, the equivalent of the volume before Covid-19 (38.5 million in 2019).
The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs-Elysées… The city is not lacking in assets and, for travelers from all over the world, it remains a dream destination. But not only… An analysis carried out by King Casino Bonus, which scrutinized the reviews posted on the TripAdvisor site to rank the most disappointing cities in the world for tourists, places Paris in ninth place (13.8%) behind London 8th (also 13.8%) and ahead of Tokyo ( 13.6%). A place in a top 10 dominated by Bangkok (16.6%), which must a little irritate tourism professionals.
A distorted image abroad
“Many travelers did not enjoy their visit to Montmartre. In their reviews, tourists said they felt unsafe, rushed and harassed. The Eiffel Tower, although encountering the same problems as Montmartre, only ranks 6th among the most overrated attractions”, comments the analysis.
“The trip to the airport is a bit scary,” explains Luiza, a 22-year-old Colombian who came on a short tour of Europe with a friend. The RER B journey and the arrival at Gare-du-Nord had a strong impact on them: “Everything is tagged, it smells bad, it’s not at all romantic. “A shock confirmed while strolling in Pigalle: “Fortunately, when you climb the Montmartre hill, it’s calmer and much prettier. »
This overcrowding, Glenn and Mary, two Australians who leave the Louvre Museum testify: “You have to queue to see the Mona Lisa! In addition, it presses behind, we can not enjoy it, admire it, while others stay for hours in front to take a selfie without even looking at it. »
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A truly international city
“When you see it on TV or in the guides, this neighborhood looks like “Amelie” [Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, N.D.L.R.], says Matthew, a Canadian who came for a few days with his wife and two daughters, but it’s more like an amusement park. Like him, many tourists testify to their astonishment at the many “tourist trap” shops and solicitations (goodies, cigarettes, etc.). An experience quite far from the bucolic village they expected. “Even the Place du Tertre is extremely cute, a real film set, he admits, but we thought we’d see a few painters and it’s a real drawing supermarket with hundreds of people jostling. »
And the “locals” mingle with other millions of tourists who add to the density of the city, not always adapted to such a flow: “We can’t enlarge the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower because there are too many world, it is the ransom of glory…”
“Tourists have many reasons to be disappointed in Paris,” explains Alban, a tourist guide for twelve years. The first, often the cause of the famous “Paris Syndrome”, is the image of the capital conveyed abroad: “The city is always presented as a small village, where you take the time to live. Visitors don’t realize that this is an international city where millions of people live and work. »
This feeling of oppression often comes up in the comments of the tourists we interviewed. “Even in restaurants or cafes, the waiters are always in a hurry, you have to choose and order quickly, it’s always a rush, like in transport,” laments Anya, a German student who has just finished a school exchange from six months in Grenoble.
“Just stop and admire”
A reality which all the same accommodates many tourists interviewed by 20 Minutes. “It is true that it is not Emily in Paris, laughs Ezequiel come from Washington, I expected to see all the French people drinking chardonnay on the terrace, and, in fact, they are running everywhere. But that’s normal, they won’t stop for us. »
Far from being disappointed, this young American finds a crazy charm in the City of Light: “I went to Venice, it’s a real open-air museum. Only tourists. Here, it lives, it’s more fun. “Above all, he manages to enjoy the charms of the city: “Just stop and admire. I don’t know if Parisians realize how beautiful each area of the city is. There are beautiful things to see everywhere. »
Go off the beaten track
Jean-Marc and Sylvie can only agree. Coming to the capital for the first time in their life as tourists, they quickly understood that, to enjoy, they had to get off the beaten track: “We visited all the tourist spots, but besides that, we get out quickly to go to very nice places that breathe a little more. There, we come back from the Butte aux Cailles, there are lots of nice little restaurants and it’s much more peaceful. »
There remains, however, the case of works in Paris. Roads being repaired, monuments being refreshed, the number of construction sites astonishes visitors. “Is it for the Olympics? It looks like you’re redoing the whole city”, is surprised Sofia, a 24-year-old Argentinian forced to use tricks to feed her Instagram account: “I cut, I put my head in front, I manage… I don’t come from that far for not having my photos of Paris. »
Aware of the contrasting reactions of tourists in the capital, Alban still wants to be positive: “Yes, there are some disappointed. But they are always the ones who speak the loudest. I guarantee you that the tourists I see every day are amazed by the beauty of the city and the vast majority have excellent memories of it. We don’t often forget how beautiful Paris is. »
2023-07-28 22:22:48
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