Cheap traveloptions such as cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages oftenprovide the means for Americans to travel to Europe. Often the challenge is deciding which city tovisit.
Updated visitor counts show that London has beaten its archrival, Paris, to become the worlds most popular city for tourists.
Figures released in January show that 4.9 million peoplevisited London from July to September of last year. This was a new quarterly record and a 20percent increase over the same period in 2012 during which London hosted theOlympics.
During the first nine months of last year, almost 13million tourists visited London, an increase of 12 percent.
London narrowly beat out Paris for the top tourist spotwith almost 17 million visitors in 2012. London is so popular in part because of its many fascinating museums,the best theater scene in the world, more green space than any other Europeancity, many top sporting venues, and a very low crime rate.
The surge in tourist numbers last fall was attributed inpart to a long hot summer, Andy Murrays Wimbledon win, the birth of PrinceGeorge, and blockbuster West End shows including The Book of Mormon, alongwith the legacy of the Olympics from the year before.
Top London attractions such as the Tower of London and St.Pauls Cathedral witnessed visitor counts that went through the roof, with anincrease of 17 percent when compared to 2012. St. Paul alone saw its visitor count increase by almost 50 percentbetween May and August.
Paris claims to remain the number one world touristdestination, even if you only include foreign and not national visitors whenyou compare the Greater Paris region to the Greater London region.
London is being promoted via a new video campaign calledThe London Story, in which well-known Londoners share what they most loveabout the city.
In the video celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay claims You cantbeat a good London curry. Ive been toIndia but I find curries in Brick Lane [in the East End] better. Ramsay goes on to state that Theres nowherebetter in the world to eat than in London.
Shopping is yet another of Londons well-earnedattributes. A great thing about Londonis shopping according to Sixties It girl Twiggy. What girl doesnt love shopping? London is the best weve always been thebest in fashion.
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