London’s better than Paris, admit French

The French have conceded London is a superior city to Paris, an astonishing new tourism survey reveals today.

Officials responsible for selling Gallic attractions to the world say visitors would be better off crossing the Channel to the British capital.

Parisians have regularly boasted that nowhere beats their restaurants, pavement cafés and tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower.

But now London is accepted as the more impressive city in every aspect, from its cuisine and taxis to its landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square.

It was given first place in a report on Europe's six major capitals, called Twenty Four Hours In A Tourist Capital, by the Paris-Ile de France regional tourism committee. London scored 82 per cent for its welcome to visitors from abroad.

Paris, the world's most popular tourist destination in terms of visitor numbers, tied second place on 79 per cent with Amsterdam.

Madrid and Rome were both on 76 per cent, while Berlin was last with 74 per cent. Undercover French investigators could barely fault what they found in London, although there was a minor complaint about the lack of foreign languages spoken.

The survey, which graded 116 criteria ranging from airport signposts to the quality of museums, found that very few people in London could respond to any other European language beyond English — least of all French.

Public transport in Paris is considered particularly poor, with tickets difficult to buy and the Metro old and dirty. Hotels, which have shot up in price since the euro was introduced, scored 74 per cent compared with 89 per cent for those in London.

Committee head Jean-Pierre Blat said: "The survey reflects reality. Paris knows how to welcome visitors but there are definite improvements to make."

He also suggested the French were often the most critical of their own capital, which may explain the result.