Thing is, tourism in France is driven by several factors, or “types of tourists”:
- Intense Beach tourism: the kind of people going to Miami Beach, Venice Beach of Corpus Christi. You can see on the map that they mostly go to the French Riviera and the “Atlantic coast”, from Charente to Spain, but there are also quite intense touristic amenities west of the Rhone (Nimes, La Grande Motte, etc). West Corsica (even if not labeled in this map) is also a preferred destination
- “Green” Beach tourism: people go to the rest of the coasts to have a more “intimate” approach with the sea. It might not be as touristic (and you might not be able to swim in the Northern coasts), but you may see wildlife, go fishing (fishing in the sea doesn’t require a license in France), etc. People in the US would go to Maine or Vancouver island for instance.
- “Green” tourism: mostly if you want to go hiking, biking, riding horses. Enjoy the local gastronomy and so on. This is mainly the west coast, but also all the mountains (who serves as ski resort in winter): Vosges, Jura, Alpes, Pyrenees and Auvergne. Several state parks are also visited here, in the mentioned area or not (Port Cros, the Somme Bay..). These people would go to Yellowstone, Yosemite, Death Valley, Colorado…
- “Cultural” tourism: France is so diverse, you’ll find great cultural or gastronomical spots everywhere, but some places stand out: Loire Valley Castles, Versailles, the Mont Saint Michel, Alsace, Lascaux, Lourdes (a religious pilgrimage destination). This also includes some culturally themed parks like Nausicaa, Vulcania or the Futuroscope, as well as art festivals. Go if you enjoy visiting the Alamo, Civil War battlefields, etc.
- “Must see” tourism: There are places that you may feel you absolutely need to go at least once in your life. This includes world-widely known cities like Paris, as well as amusement theme parks like Disney, Asterix or the Smurfs. Go there if you enjoy city-tourism (San Francisco, New York, Chicago..)
No comments:
Post a Comment