RIYADH: France’s tourism sector reached a remarkable milestone in 2025, welcoming 102 million international visitors and solidifying its position as the world’s most visited destination.
For many Saudi travelers, France is not simply a must-see destination, it is an enriching experience shaped by encounters with its culture, history, food, art and intellectual life.
The two countries are increasingly connected by direct air routes. Saudia operates nonstop flights linking Paris with both Riyadh and Jeddah. At the same time, Air France launched its direct Paris-Riyadh service in summer 2025, expanding travel options between the French and Saudi capitals.
For Saudi visitors, those connections open the door to familiar attractions but, more importantly, to a city that can be experienced through culture, history, museums, cuisine and everyday life.
Marwan Alrasheed, a translator and cultural consultant, visited France in autumn 2025, driven by precisely that curiosity.
“I came to experience the rich culture of Paris, be it artistic, historical, philosophical or culinary,” he told Arab News, describing Paris as holding “a prominent place in the history of human culture.”
Alrasheed stayed in the Latin Quarter near the Sorbonne for a 10-day-long trip, placing him in one of the areas most closely associated with the city’s intellectual history.
His rich itinerary reflected those interests; he visited Les Deux Magots, the cafe associated with writers, artists, and philosophers including Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.
He also explored the Louvre, visiting Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
Alrasheed stopped at Shakespeare and Company, the English-language bookshop on the Left Bank associated with rich generations of writers, calling the trip “otherworldly and informative.”
Food was another way of engaging with the city.
Alrasheed, being a history enthusiast, joined a tour tracing historic Parisian bakeries, exploring the culinary world of Paris alongside his visits to museums and literary landmarks.
Taken together, Paris had a lasting influence, giving him every reason to return. “The food, culture, art and history all invite you back,” he said.
For Dania Halawani, from Jeddah, France offered a different kind of personal connection. Her first visit came during her honeymoon, when she spent a week traveling through Paris, Versailles and Marseille.
“Besides being breathtakingly beautiful and rich with culture in every corner you take, it’s an absolutely romantic country,” she told Arab News.
Versailles was one of the trip’s highlights. “We walked through the palace, and it felt like we were reliving and breathing its history,” she said.
The visit also introduced her more directly to the French language, as she found that English was not always sufficient and began learning words and expressions during her stay.
For other Saudi visitors, France has provided professional inspiration.
Saudi pastry chef Al-Batoul Al-Maddah’s repeated trips to Paris helped turn an interest in baking into a career.
“I would travel to Paris for every vacation and would discover new pastries and try new flavours, since pastries are like fashion, all about new trends,” she told Arab News.
She later chose to study in Paris, drawn by the city’s culinary culture and the creativity of its pastry scene.
“My student life in Paris was remarkable, and I had the chance to learn more about what I truly enjoy,” she said.
For Hadeel Al-Nufaiey, the experience went further still. She lived in Paris for five years while studying at Paris Descartes University, describing the period as a formative cultural, educational and social experience.
Living there put her in conversations about Saudi Arabia with people who had little knowledge of the Kingdom.
She said that she often found herself explaining Saudi society and culture to people whose impressions had largely been shaped by media coverage.
“I tried to create change as much as possible, and I hope I represented Saudi Arabia in the best way,” she said.
By the time she returned to Riyadh, France had also become part of her family life, with her two young children speaking fluent French.
Philosophy cafes, historic libraries, pastry shops and more are experiences that Saudi travelers take away from France. What connects many of them is the sense that the country offers more than a checklist of famous attractions; it offers a chance to engage with ideas, tastes and traditions that continue to shape their memories long after the trip ends.
