tourisme
/tu.ʁism/masculine
Sightseeing in French is translated as tourisme.
The noun tourisme refers to the general concept of tourism. When you want to say you are 'sightseeing' a specific landmark or city, you use the verb visiter rather than the noun tourisme.
Meaning: tourism (noun)
Which one should you use?
While tourisme is the noun for the industry or concept of tourism, you should use the verb visiter (to visit) when you want to express that you are actively sightseeing a particular place or monument.
How do you pronounce it?
/tu.ʁism/
Did you know?
- In France, the word visiter is used for places like museums or cities, but you cannot use it for people. To visit a friend, you must use rendre visite à.
- The word tourisme is a direct linguistic import from English. It entered the French language relatively recently to describe the organized activity of travel for pleasure.
- To describe a casual, unplanned sightseeing stroll, French speakers use faire un tour, which literally means 'to do a turn'.
Examples in context
- Le Canada est un endroit super pour le tourisme.Canada is a great place for sightseeing.This sentence demonstrates using tourisme to describe a location that is good for sightseeing.Tatoeba #390324 by Scott, translation #63634 by CN
- Je viens à Paris pour faire du tourisme.I am coming to Paris for sightseeing.
- Nous avons passé trois jours à visiter les sites touristiques de Nice.We spent three days visiting the tourist sites in Nice.
- Je suis impatient d'explorer les merveilles de la ville.I am looking forward to exploring the wonders of the city.
- Nous sommes allés découvrir les lieux intéressants de la région.We went to discover the interesting places of the region.
- On s'est baladé dans le quartier historique de la ville toute la journée.We wandered around the historic district of the city all day.
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are discussing their vacation plans.
- HugoQue veux-tu faire pendant les vacances ?What do you want to do during the holidays?
- ManonJ'ai envie de faire un peu de tourisme.I feel like doing a bit of sightseeing.
- HugoC'est une excellente idée, Manon.That is an excellent idea, Manon.
- ManonOn peut visiter Paris ensemble.We can visit Paris together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sightseeing” translations and entries tourisme, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tourisme, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
