Amid leaden wintry skies , it may come as a surprise to Londoners but new figures suggest the city has beaten its arch rival , Paris , to become the world 's most popular city for tourists . However , a growing spat between the the two cities ' administrations suggests that , when it comes to comparisons between London and Paris , there are only lies , damn lies and statistics . Figures released this week by the UK 's Office for National Statistics show that 4.9 million people visited London from July to September 2013 . That was an increase of 20 % on the same period in the previous year -- during which London hosted the Olympics -- and a new quarterly record . Taking a wider view , for the first nine months of 2013 , 12.8 million visitors flocked to the British capital , an increase of 12 % compared with the previous year . The figures prompted the city 's promotional body , London and Partners , to proclaim that London was `` on course to welcome over 16 million visitors in one year . '' That in turn has led to reports in Britain and abroad that London has trumped Paris as the most visited city in the world . The two cities have actually swapped the top spot on various lists in recent years . According to the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index for 2012 , London narrowly beat out Paris for the top spot with 16.9 million visitors . 'Greatest city on the planet ' For the mayor of London , Boris Johnson , the statistics only underlined the obvious . `` These incredible figures prove that London is without doubt the greatest city on the planet , '' he said . `` With so many fascinating museums , the best theater scene in the world , more green space than any other European city , numerous top sporting venues , a low crime rate and much else besides , it 's no wonder that people from all over the globe are flocking to London in record numbers . '' A long , hot summer , Andy Murray 's Wimbledon win , the birth of Prince George and blockbuster West Ends shows including `` The Book of Mormon '' were put forward as potential reasons for the surge in tourist numbers , along with the legacy of the Olympics from the year before . Top London attractions such as the Tower of London and St. Paul 's Cathedral said visitor numbers were `` through the roof '' last summer , with an increase of 17 % on 2012 , the London Evening Standard reported . St. Paul 's welcomed 353,463 visitors between May and August , up by almost half on 2012 . Spat turns nasty . All pretty impressive , but it turns out that the source of London 's promotion to top tourist spot was none other than ... French . Proclaiming `` London dethrones Paris , '' the conservative daily Le Figaro had compared London 's projected 16 million visitors with a 2012 figure of 15.9 million visitors to Paris . Things have only got nastier since . Seizing on the comparison , Paris 's right wing mayoral candidate , Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet , claimed the numbers showed Paris 's Socialist administration as failing the city . That 's just Paris bashing , one of those Socialists , Paris 's deputy mayor Anne Hidalgo , retorted . Other figures , her office said , revealed Paris still to be beating the sprawling , unsophisticated pretender over La Manche when it comes to pulling in tourists . Indeed , London is in some ways just a `` suburb '' of the far more attractive French capital , she told reporters . Paris 'still No . 1 ' `` Like it or not , while London may have attracted more visitors around the Olympic Games , Paris remains the number one world tourist destination , even if we only include foreign visitors and not national ones , '' Hidalgo said . London was `` boastful '' about its strengths , even deceptive , whereas the French were `` rational '' in their self assessments . `` London aggressively sells itself ... in a way that goes beyond the truth . We are more rational in our communication when speaking about Paris 's strengths , '' Hidalgo said . In 2012 , 29 million domestic and foreign tourists visited the wider city of Paris , Hidalgo 's office said . By contrast , Greater London -- 10 times larger -- pulled in only 27.6 million tourists of all nationalities . While clearly superior intellectually to Londoners , Parisians could , Hidalgo conceded , appear `` arrogant . '' `` We could be a bit more amiable , '' she said . `` I often tell people they must smile more . It costs nothing . '' Gordon Ramsay weighs in . Parisian spluttering be damned , London and Partners has used its figures to promote a new video campaign , The London Story , in which well known Londoners reveal what they most love about the city . Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay says : `` You ca n't beat a good London curry . I 've been to India but I find curries in Brick Lane [ in the East End ] better . It 's not just curries . `` There 's nowhere better in the world to eat than in London , '' says Ramsay . `` A great thing about London is shopping , '' adds Sixties It girl Twiggy . `` What girl does n't love shopping ? London is the best -- we 've always been the best in fashion . ''
Figures show London beating Paris as most visited city by tourists last year . The capital was also the top tourist destination in Europe for a second consecutive year, with more than 10 million visitors to its museums and galleries - up from 9.3 million in 2012. all possible reasons . Paris decries statistics as `` boastful '' and misleading .