They have been deserted by tourists for over a year and a half, Covid requires.
Victims of successive confinements, health restrictions but also and above all of the natural reflex to stay away from too frequented places.
Capitals and tourist towns are making a comeback on the radar of would-be travelers.
They even largely monopolize the top 10 best-selling destinations for these All Saints' Day holidays - which begin this Saturday - with the airline Transavia, with Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, Madrid and Seville in Spain and even Athens in Greece.
See also Italy, Spain, Portugal ... for the All Saints holidays, the French have desires for elsewhere
This canon return is boosted by multiple factors.
The conditions of entry and exit in the countries of the European Union, with a few exceptions, are now unified and are no longer an obstacle to walking beyond our borders, on the condition of course of being fully vaccinated. or to undergo a PCR test before setting off.
These All Saints holidays also come at the right time since they are traditionally those during which we escape for a short period, three or four days, and not for two weeks as in summer.
The last minute, a smart choice
Even at the last minute, the “city trip” option, as tourism professionals say, is therefore a smart choice. "We can clearly see the enthusiasm for its destinations from the very numerous visits of our Internet users on the pages devoted to these cities," observes Lucile Barreau, marketing manager of Routard.com. The brakes that existed vis-à-vis the Covid have been blown. There is a real desire to go to Berlin, Rome or Venice and enjoy them without the constraints of a few months ago, visit their monuments and go to restaurants and cafes. "
The period is indeed blessed for visits to the high tourist places of these cities.
More or less congestion in the narrow streets of the old town of Dubrovnik in Croatia or on Saint Mark's Square in Venice for example.
The absence of tourists from Asia but also from North and South America allows you to fully enjoy these marvels of history and architecture.
This temporary advantage is equally valid for sites in France, starting with Paris, Le Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche), the city of Carcassonne (Aude) or the city of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées).