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I have seen bienvenue followed by à, sur, and chez, and there may be others which I have not yet seen. When should each of these be used, and what other options are there, if any?

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  • Chez: used if followed by a noun owning the designated location (Bienvenue chez le coiffeur)
  • Sur: used if you're on (sur) the location. Same goes for in (dans : Bienvenue dans la Matrice) and so on.
  • En: used if the location is a region/country/etc with a feminine name that is not an island (Bienvenue en France [LA France]) or masculine name starting with a vowel or non-aspirated consonant (en Hollande)
  • À: used if the location is:
    1. other regions/countries/etc with a masculine name (will most likely be au in this case, I can't think of one where it is à) or islands (Bienvenue au Canada/à Madagascar)
    2. or a proper noun/a designation of a unique place (in the context of the current discussion) (Bienvenue à Paris/au restaurant dont je t'ai parlé)

Those are not academic rules, just my two cents.

thanks to PapaPoule for the clarification on feminine/masculine names for regions/countries

thanks to Circeus for the clarification about island names

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    You'll have à if the region/country is an island: Bienvenue à la Martinique, Bienvenue à Madagascar, Bienvenue à Hawaii – Circeus Mar 31 '15 at 14:07
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    @Circeus That's right; yet it feels weird and too specific to be a rule... even though I can't describe it another way. – Kilazur Apr 2 '15 at 10:48
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    I don't know where the feminine masculine rule come from, but Canada is not an Island, and I would say "bienvenue en Corse" (la Corse=island), "bienvenue en Crète" (la Crète = island), and not "bienvenue à la Corse". – radouxju Apr 2 '15 at 20:21
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    bienvenue à is also used when you say welcome to someone (bienvenue à vous !) – radouxju Apr 2 '15 at 20:22
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    @radouxju Aren't these considered regions? I'm just trying to justify this arbitrary rule :p – Kilazur Apr 3 '15 at 7:15
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I would imagine it depends on where you are.

  • Bienvenue chez moi. — Welcome to my house.
  • Bienvenue sur Terre, sur le vol — Welcome to the flight (you're on the flight), welcome to earth (you're on earth)
  • Bienvenue à Paris — Welcome to Paris.
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