Visiter ou rendre visite : ne faites plus l’erreur

Visiter or rendre visite — what’s the difference in French?

One of the most common French mistakes: you visiter a place but rendre visite to a person. Je visite Rome is fine; je visite ma mère is not — it should be je rends visite à ma mère. The split is rigid: museums, cities, countries and flats take visiter; friends, parents and clients take rendre visite à. Mixing them is a classic giveaway, even among otherwise fluent speakers.

There’s a narrow exception: when you call on the sick or vulnerable in their institution, visiter a person is allowed — “le médecin visite ses patients,” “je visite les prisonniers.” Outside that, stick to the rule. Examples to keep: “J’ai visité la Grèce l’an dernier” (place) vs “J’ai rendu visite à mon père le week-end dernier” (person). Note rendre visite takes à before the person.