Visiter vs Rendre Visite

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There is reason to believe you would use the verb visiter when visiting people and places. This verb looks like the English verb to visit, so why not?

In French, there are a few different verbs to use depending on the situation, and you will likely be misunderstood if you use the wrong one.

Visiting Places

Visiter – Indicates visiting a place. Use this regular -ER verb when visiting a museum, a city, a country, an apartment, a house, a monument, etc. The place you visit requires a direct object pronoun unless followed by un, une, or any form of de.

je visite	nous visitons
tu visites	vous visitez
il – elle – on visite	ils – elles visitent

Examples:

J’aimerais bien visiter les pyramides d’Égypte un jour.	I would like to visit the pyramids of Egypt one day.
Est-ce possible de visiter cet appartement à distance?	Is it possible to visit this apartment remotely?

Examples with pronouns:

J’aimerais bien les visiter un jour.	I would like to visit them one day.
Est-ce possible de le visiter à distance?	Is it possible to visit it remotely?

Aller à – You have the option to use this verb when going to a place. It’s important to remember that this verb is followed by the preposition à + place, which means the place you visit requires the pronoun Y.

je vais	nous allons
tu vas	vous allez
il – elle – on va	ils – elles vont

Examples:

Ils vont vivre au Canada.	They are going to live in Canada.
Allons au Musée d’Orsay.	Let’s go to the Musée d’Orsay.

Examples with pronouns:

Ils vont y vivre.	They are going to live there.
Allons-y.	Let’s go.

Visiting People

Rendre visite à – Keep in mind that the verb to conjugate is rendre, a regular verb ending in -RE. Rendre visite indicates visiting a person.

The word visite is a feminine, singular noun. This verb is followed by the preposition à + person, which means the person you visit requires an indirect object pronoun.

je rends	nous rendons
tu rends	vous rendez
il – elle – on rend	ils – elles rendent

Examples:

Ma soeur et moi rendons souvent visite à notre tante en Irlande.	My sister and I often visit our aunt in Ireland.
Leurs amis rendent souvent visite à Alex et Tim maintenant qu’ils vivent en France.	Their friends often visit Alex and Tim now that they live in France.

Examples with pronouns:

Ma soeur et moi lui rendons souvent visite en Irlande.	My sister and I often visit her in Ireland.
Leurs amis leur rendent souvent visite maintenant qu’ils vivent en France.	Their friends often visit them now that they live in France.

Aller voir – You have the option to use this verb when visiting people. The person you visit requires a direct object pronoun, because aller voir is not followed by a preposition.

Examples:

On va voir tous nos copains ce soir.	We are going to see all of our friends tonight.
Quand est-ce que tu vas voir Charlotte?	When are you going to see Charlotte?

Examples with pronouns:

On va les voir tous ce soir. Pronounce the S in tous* in this example	We are going to see all of them tonight.
Quand est-ce que tu vas la voir?	When are you going to see her?

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