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PARIS

Paris hangs onto ‘world’s best tourist destination’ title

A report ranking the world's best tourist destinations placed Paris in first place for the second year in a row.

Paris hangs onto 'world's best tourist destination' title
People walking down a street with the Eiffel Tower illuminated in the background in Paris. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Euromonitor, a British company specialising in market research and consumer trends, ranked Paris in first place in its yearly report on ‘best tourist destinations in the world’. 

The study took into account 55 different elements revolving around themes of economic and commercial performance, tourist infrastructure, policies aimed at developing the tourism sector, health and security, as well as sustainability.

Behind Paris, Dubai took second place, Madrid took third, Tokyo was fourth, and Amsterdam came in fifth.

New York and London were further down on the ranking, in 8th and 10th place respectively.

According to Euromonitor, the French capital maintained a “balanced performance between domestic and international tourism”, noting that the city was expected to record more than 15 million international visits in 2023.

The report also added that in 2024, “the Olympic Games will boost international arrivals in Paris.”

In 2022, Paris ranked in first place, again one step ahead of Dubai, the largest city in the UAE which is actually expected to have welcomed more global visitors (16 million) than Paris in 2023. 

READ MORE: ‘Avoid the Eiffel Tower’ – What to see if you’re visiting Paris for just one day

Why do people love visiting Paris?

From museums to beautiful river views and tasty restaurants, there are plenty of reasons people love visiting Paris (including fresh bread on almost every corner).

However, a research by France’s national cinema body recently found that four out of every of five foreign tourists to Paris got an urge to visit after seeing a movie or TV series filmed in the capital.

For one out of 10, it was their main reason for coming, and in half of those cases it was the Netflix series Emily in Paris (38 percent) and Lupin (11 percent) that spurred the trip.

Based on other metrics, including the increased city revenue from the tourist tax, Paris also saw a rise in visits in 2023 – although across the world tourism was badly disrupted in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by the pandemic.

In 2023, AirBnB paid the city of Paris €31.7 million, compared to €24.3 million in 2022 and €9.4 million in 2021. 

“Paris is regaining its attractiveness, which had been somewhat lost since Covid,” Clément Eulry, the new general director of Airbnb in France, told Le Parisien

“The Rugby World Cup also accelerated this trend,” Eulry told the French daily. 

During a press conference over the summer, Paris’ deputy mayor in charge of tourism, Frédéric Hocquard, announced that there had been a 27.2 percent increase in the number people who visited the greater Paris area from January to April 2023 when compared with the same period in 2022.

Overall, local authorities said that French tourism had returned to pre-pandemic levels, but Paris had been lagged behind, in part because a lot of its tourists have traditionally come from the US, China and Japan, which were among the last countries in the world to lift Covid-related travel restrictions.

In the first half of 2023, the largest bloc of foreign tourists came from the United States, at 13 percent, which was followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Brazil.

Overall, the French tourist industry accounts for 9.7 percent of the country’s GDP, but the majority of that comes from domestic tourists – international tourism accounts for just 30 percent of that figure.

What makes Paris the world’s best tourist destination? Share with us your recommendations for the City of Light in the comments below (or tell us which French destination you think beats Paris). 

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HEALTH

Do I need a prescription to get antibiotics in France?

A new law means that a prescription is not always required if you need antibiotics in France.

Do I need a prescription to get antibiotics in France?

In most cases, people in France requiring antibiotics will need a prescription (ordonnance) from a doctor.

However, there are two exceptions, according to a new decree published in France’s Journal Officiel on Tuesday.

The updated law allows French pharmacists to dispense antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription for two common infections; cystitis (UTIs) and tonsillitis/strep throat (angines in French), which can both be confirmed by a test at the pharmacy.

If you suspect you have either of these infections, you can go to the pharmacy to get a test, known as a Test Rapide d’Orientation Diagnostique or TROD.

If the test is positive, the pharmacist will be able to prescribe antibiotics without you having to visit a doctor. You can visit the pharmacy on a walk-in basis, with no need for an appointment, and at least one qualified pharmacist should be on the premises at all times.

The move comes after a relaxation on the rules around vaccines allowing pharmacists to give eight common vaccines without a doctor’s prescription – in addition to the Covid and seasonal flu vaccines which can already be accessed at a pharmacy without prescription. 

Pharmacists in France receive a minimum of six years of training and can offer medical advice for a range of conditions, as well as dispensing medication. 

READ MORE: More than prescriptions: 11 things you can do at a French pharmacy

What about prescriptions?

For all other types of conditions requiring antibiotics, a prescription will still be required.

In France, only doctors (both general practitioners and specialists), dental surgeons (chirurgiens-dentistes) and midwives (sages-femmes) are authorised to prescribe medicines.

As such, you would need an appointment with one of these professionals to get a prescription.

What if I’m just visiting France?

French residents would normally go to their registered doctor if they fall ill, but people who are either just visiting France or who are not registered in the French health system can access doctors too.

If you do have the carte vitale – the card confirming that you are registered in the French health system – you can still book an appointment with a doctor, although you won’t be entitled to any state reimbursement. You would have to either pay the costs yourself (€26 for a standard GP appointment, plus the cost of the prescription) or claim on your health or travel insurance if you have it.

Booking a GP appointment can be as simple as phoning a local doctor or using an online service such as Doctolib. You may also call up SOS Médecins if you want a home visit, but this costs more than a usual visit.

READ MORE: How to make a doctor’s appointment in France

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