London's No.1 for overseas visitors

London is the most popular city break destination in Europe, new figures show.

The French are the second most likely to visit, more than 1million crossing the Channel in 2002.

In the same year, London welcomed 16.1million British visitors.

The capital also had a good start to 2003, with 5.3million overseas visitors in the first six months - 100,000 more than in the first half of 2002.

An expected surge at the end of last year will probably mean London is again top European capital in 2004, according to market analyst Mintel.

'Many visitors are coming to London's new and redeveloped
attractions, as well as the old favourites, many of which are now free,' said Mintel's Yasmin Razak.

The city's most popular attractions were the British Museum and Tate Modern, which each had 4.6million visitors in 2002, said Mintel.

The growth in low-cost airline routes, connecting the capital with a number of new places in Europe, fuelled the revival, she added.