Published January 1, 2024 • Updated May 21, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Visiter vs rendre visite à — what’s the difference?
The French verb visiter is used for cities, countries, and places in general, while rendre visite à is used for visiting people. For example, “Je visite Paris” (I’m visiting Paris) and “Je rends visite à mon ami” (I’m visiting my friend).
IPA pronunciation: Visiter /vi.zi.te/ (sounds like “vee-zee-tay”) — Rendre visite à /ʁɑ̃dʁ vi.zit a/ (sounds like “rahn-dr vee-zeet”)
Example Sentences
Visiter + place name = to visit a place
Marie visite les États-Unis.
Marie visits the United States.
Je visite la France. Je visite Paris.
I visit France. I visit Paris.
Rendre visite à + person = to visit a preson
Ils vont rendre visite à leurs beaux-parents demain.
They’re going to visit their in-laws tomorrow.
Pierre rend visite à ses copains en Suisse.
Pierre is visiting his friends in Switzerland.
💡 Many students have difficulties with chez, which means “at the home” or “at the place of”. This French preposition and comes in handy when talking about going places.
Do you need more help?
À Moi Paris by Camille Chevalier is my favorite French course for developing listening skills naturally through engaging audio stories recorded at three different speeds.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
French Verb Drills uses guided audio repetition to help conjugations become automatic.
👉 See Verb Drills »
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
Related Words and Expressions
If you want to expand your vocabulary or master similar French structures, here are some related terms:
- une visite guidée — a guided tour
- visiter un musée — to visit a museum
- visiter une ville — to visit a city
- rendre visite à quelqu’un — to visit somebody
- aller voir quelqu’un — to go see somebody
- les visiteurs — visitors
- accueillir des visiteurs — to welcome visitors
- une visite officielle — an official visit
📚 Related lessons
👉 Visiter conjugation »
👉 Rendre conjugation »
👉 Aller (to go) conjugation »
🚀 Continue learning on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day (200+ lessons) »
👉 French verb conjugations »
👉 French vocabulary lists »
👉 French song lyrics »
👉 French grammar lessons »
