Embrace the wisdom
of crowds by adding the world’s most-visited tourist attractions to your bucket
list.
By Kate Appleton, Rich Beattie, Adrien Glover, Lyndsey Matthews, Joshua Pramis,
Ann Shields
From October 2011
From October 2011
Like it or not,
theme parks are just as appealing in these countries as they are in South Korea.
Disneyland Paris drew the same number of visitors (10.5 million) as
Sacré-Coeur, and two of the world’s 10 most-visited tourist attractions are
Disney parks. America
also dominates our list. Some credit goes to the weak U.S. dollar, which drew
8.7 percent more foreign tourists in 2010 than the previous year - and likely
persuaded many Americans to explore within our vast borders. China and India are even
bigger than the U.S.,
but their lack of dependable visitor statistics and limited domestic tourism
markets help account for their few attractions on our list. Expect to see more
of them over time; already attendance at Beijing’s
Forbidden City has surged from 7 million
visitors in 2007 to 12.83 million visitors in 2010. So what is the
most-visited tourist attraction in the world? And can 39.2 million people be
wrong? Read on to see the results - and an explanation of our methods for
calculating it all.
The Methodology: To tally up the world’s most-visited attractions, we gathered the most recent data supplied by the attractions themselves or from government agencies, industry reports, and reputable media outlets. Whenever available we used 2010 data; however, in the case of theme parks and a few other attractions, the most recent attendance numbers were from 2009.
Attractions that
don’t sell tickets gave us estimates as best they could. The Times Square
Alliance was able to estimate that 80 percent of the 49 million tourists who
visited New York in 2010 passed through Times Square. But Berlin’s
East Side Gallery and London’s
Trafalgar Square
were excluded because their tourism bureaus couldn’t provide estimates that
distinguished between visitors and locals.
We defined “tourist
attractions” as cultural and historical sites, natural landmarks, and
officially designated spaces. So Boston’s
shop-filled Faneuil Hall Marketplace (est. 1742) made the cut, but not Minnesota’s Mall of
America - with 40 million annual visitors it would otherwise have been number
one. Short walkways and waterfront promenades also fit our definition of
tourist attractions; that disqualified the Blue Ridge Parkway. We also excluded
sights that draw almost exclusively religious pilgrims.
New attractions
like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter lifted attendance at Universal’s
Islands of Adventure Park in Orlando
by more than 1.7 million visitors. Admission ticket sales beat out next-door
neighbor Universal Studios, but since they’re all part of Universal Orlando
Resort, we counted Universal only once. (We counted Orlando’s Disney parks separately since they
are further apart than the other theme park resorts included.) - Lyndsey
Matthews
No. 1 Times Square, New York City
Tourists flock to New York’s neon heart
for the flashing lights, Broadway shows, megastores, and sheer spectacle.
Pedestrian-only areas with café tables introduced in 2009 have only made it
easier and more appealing to hang out here. Times Square
can even be a convenient, if chaotic, base, thanks to hotels at every price
point and easy access to public transportation: subways, rails, buses, and more
yellow taxis than you can count. -Joshua Pramis
No. 2 Central Park, New
York City
New York has larger
green spaces, but none is more famous than Central Park, which stretches across
nearly 850 acres of prime Manhattan real estate - an oasis for both tourists and
locals. You can ride in one of the famous horse-drawn carriages; check out the
modest-size zoo; climb to the top of 19th-century Belvedere Castle;
or take a break from pounding the pavement to sprawl on the Great Lawn, gazing
at the skyscrapers above. -Joshua Pramis
No. 3 Union
Station, Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1907,
this busy station shuttles some 12,500 passengers daily in and out of the city.
But it also handles serious tourist traffic: 37 million who pass through to
take in the impeccably mixed architectural styles throughout the colossal
building: from Classical to Beaux-Arts to Baroque. More than 70 retail outlets
make Union Station a shopping destination, and it’s also a jumping-off point
for many D.C. tours. -Joshua Pramis
No. 4 Las Vegas Strip
Sin City was hit hard by the recession, but don’t
bet against this legendary destination, which got a boost from the summer 2009
blockbuster The Hangover. Last year, 79 percent of tourists (29,467,000
people) chose to stay at hotels right on the Strip like Caesar’s Palace - the
choice of the movie’s zany four-pack. And why not? Roll out of bed and onto the
Strip to catch the Bellagio fountains in action, shop, gamble, and, of course,
people-watch (which can get especially fun later at night). -Joshua Pramis
No. 5 Niagara Falls, New York
and Ontario
Straddling the
borders of the U.S. and Canada, this
massive waterfall spills about six million cubic feet of water - from a height
ranging from 70 to 188 feet - every single minute. While there are about 500
taller waterfalls in the world, Niagara
Falls is spectacular for its sheer power. It’s also
more accessible than many major falls, a short flight or drive for millions of
regional tourists. -Joshua Pramis
No. 6 Grand Central
Terminal, New York City
Unlike harried
commuters, visitors take their time in the main concourse of this Beaux-Arts
landmark, pausing to view its glittering ceiling painted with a map of the
constellations from the night sky. There are shops and events to distract your
attention, and, a level below, the historic Oyster Bar - featured on an episode
of AMC’s Mad Men - serves two million fresh bivalves a year. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 7 Faneuil Hall
Marketplace, Boston
Dating back to
1742, Faneuil Hall (“the Cradle of Liberty”) once hosted speeches by such
greats as Samuel Adams and George Washington. Today, the downtown marketplace
has more than 100 specialty shops and eateries and occupies a pedestrian-only,
cobblestone area that swarms with tourists and street performers. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 8 Disney
World’s Magic Kingdom,
Orlando
The Most Magical
Place on Earth is high on virtually every family’s to-do list and remains the most-visited
theme park on the earth. The Kingdom’s most notable feature, naturally, is
Cinderella’s castle - complete with a moat and built at special angles to appear
even grander than its actual height of 189 feet. Paths branch out to classic
rides (Dumbo, the Mad Tea Party) and newer additions like the Monsters, Inc.
Laugh Floor Comedy Club. -Joshua Pramis
No. 9 Disneyland Park,
Anaheim, CA
Though not as massive
as its Orlando counterpart, the original Disney park - which occupies about 85
acres of land - welcomes enough thrill-seekers to qualify as the second
most-visited* theme park in the world. One of its coolest rides is still
Indiana Jones Adventure, careening over lava, past swarms of beetles, and under
that 16-foot rolling boulder. -Joshua Pramis
* Admission ticket
sales beat out Disney’s California Adventure next door (which had 6,278,000
visitors); since it’s all part of the Disneyland Resort, we’re counting it only
once.
No. 10 Grand
Bazaar, Istanbul
Hand-painted
ceramics, lanterns, intricately patterned carpets, copperware, gold
Byzantine-style jewelry, and more eye-catching products vie for your attention
within this 15th-century bazaar’s vaulted walkways. It has since expanded and
become increasingly touristy, but locals, too, were among 2010’s 15 million
bargain-hunters. If it all gets overwhelming, break for a succulent doner kebab
or strong cup of Turkish coffee. -Kate Appleton
No. 11 Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo
At the heels of its
sister properties, this family-centric park takes the position of third
most-visited theme park in the world. Following the March 2011 earthquake and
tsunami, both Tokyo Disneyland and next-door DisneySea* closed, but reopened
within a month, comforting park-goers with scary rides like the Tower of Terror
and Indiana Jones Temple of the Crystal Skull. -Joshua Pramis and Ann
Shields
* Admission ticket
sales beat out Tokyo DisneySea next door (which had 12,663,000 visitors); since
it’s all part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, we’re counting it only once.
No. 12 PIER 39, San Francisco
Of course it’s
corny (think candy shops, T-shirt emporiums, stuffed animals, and fried food),
but this tourist magnet at the edge of Fisherman’s Wharf also offers great
views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the pier’s biggest attractions:
the noisy community of sea lions that bark and bask on the docks. -Ann
Shields
No. 13 Notre Dame
Cathedral, Paris
A masterpiece of
Gothic architecture - all soaring buttresses, crouching gargoyles, and
magnificent rose windows - Notre Dame de Paris has survived attacks of Huguenots,
sans-culottes, occupying armies, and questionable renovations since its
completion in 1345. In spite of its often violent past, visitors flock to the
cathedral for the hushed peace and reflection it provides, even in the midst of
Paris. -Ann
Shields
No. 14 Golden Gate Park,
San Francisco
Cascading three
miles from the Panhandle down to the Pacific, Golden Gate Park
serves as playground and haven for this diverse city. The park’s offerings
include museums (the de Young Museum and the Academy of Sciences),
botanical wonders (the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, a
rhododendron forest, and more than 75,000 trees, among other), sporting fields
and courts, playgrounds, and even a small herd of buffalo. -Ann Shields
No. 15 Forbidden
City, Beijing
For nearly 500
years, the emperors living within this 178-acre walled compound of opulent
halls, gardens, and winged pavilions dictated who could enter and leave. Well,
the gates have opened, and tourists are pouring through Tiananmen
Square to see it all for themselves. Attendance is up by almost 6
million since 2007, during which time China’s
economy boomed and the Olympics put Beijing
in the prime-time spotlight. -Kate Appleton
No. 16 Epcot, Walt
Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista,
FL
Built to honor the
late Walt Disney’s utopian ideal of the innovative future (the name is an
acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), Epcot attracts
guests who skew a little older than those of its neighbor, the Magic Kingdom.
Restaurants aimed at more sophisticated palates and annual
celebrations - including a flower and garden show and an international food and
wine festival - bring out the adults while perennial favorite rides like Soarin’,
Mission: SPACE,
and Nemo and Friends keep the kids happy. -Ann Shields
No. 17 Disneyland
Park, Marne-la-Vallée, France
When Disney’s first
European park opened in 1992, many French protested the “cultural imperialism”
of such an American symbol opening 40 minutes outside of Paris. Today it is the second most-visited
attraction* in Europe. -Lyndsey Matthews
* Admission ticket
sales beat out Walt Disney Studios next door (which had 4,500,000 visitors);
since it’s all part of the Disneyland Paris Resort, we’re counting it only
once.
No. 17 Sacré Coeur
Basilica, Paris
Sacré Coeur lures
visitors to the summit of Montmartre for a litany of reasons - while some come to
pray and meditate, most come for the remarkable 360-degree views of the City of
Light from its
highest vantage point. The construction of the Basilica, which started in 1871,
was intended to restore peace to a site stained by violence during the
Revolution and Paris Commune. -Ann Shields
No. 19 Tsim Sha
Tsui Waterfront, Hong Kong
The Avenue of the
Stars - Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame (No. 42) - runs along part
of the Tsim Tsa Tsui waterfront and commemorates Hong Kong stars from silent
film all the way up to modern film giants like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and John
Woo. Visitors often pose with a life-size statue of Bruce Lee. Many likely also
stop at the waterfront Clock Tower (which saw 7,206,066 visitors) and walk the
entire length of the promenade. It’s the best vantage point for the nightly
Symphony of Lights multimedia show over Victoria Harbour. -Ann Shields
No. 19 Victoria Peak,
Hong Kong
There are 7,650
skyscrapers crowding Hong Kong’s skyline right
to the harbor’s edge. So tourists in this very vertical city often search out a
little sky and a little nature by taking the funicular up to the top of Victoria Peak. The tram carries 10-plus million
to the peak to enjoy the 360-degree views of the city and the outlying islands
from its observation deck and to shop at the boutiques of Peak Tower. -Ann Shields
No. 21 Pike Place Market, Seattle
One of the oldest
continually operating farmers’ markets in the U.S. (est. 1907), this nine-acre
National Historic District is perhaps better known today for kitschy Seattle
souvenirs, seafood restaurants, salmon-throwing fishmongers, and its “gum wall”
installation art. Don’t miss a chance to stop into one of the original
Starbucks - complete with an early-edition logo featuring a more, er, risqué
mermaid - next door. -Adrien Glover
No. 21 The Zócalo, Mexico City
This main plaza in Mexico City’s historic
center receives 10 million national and international tourists each year. But
they only make up a fraction of the crowds. Some 35 million Mexico
City residents also annually pass through the Zócalo, which hosts
military parades and public art installations and is flanked by the
Metropolitan Cathedral and the National
Palace. -Lyndsey
Matthews
No. 23 Disney’s
Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake
Buena Vista, FL
Since 1998, this
animal-themed park has successfully marketed Mickey Mouse and silverback
gorillas under one all-inclusive “roof.” If it has four legs or wings or a
tail, chances are you’ll find it at this zoo/museum school theme park. Don’t
miss the Kilimanjaro safaris or the 14-story Tree of Life sculpture carved with
some 325 animals. Fun fact: At one point park creators also wanted to include a
section for mythological creatures called “Beastly Kingdom.” -Adrien Glover
No. 24 Disney’s
Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL
Disney describes
this park (est. 1989) as “the Hollywood
that never was and always will be.” Laid out much like a real-life motion
picture studio, with a 154-acre network of streets and buildings and miniature
replicas of famous landmarks, it highlights the Golden Age of film, but most
kids make a beeline to Toy Story Midway Mania! at Pixar Place and the American Idol
Experience. -Adrien Glover
No. 25 Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Originally Cherokee
homeland, America’s most
visited national park first opened in 1940 and covers some 520,000 acres of
protected Tennessee and North
Carolina forestland that’s bisected by the Appalachian
Trail. Whether hiking Chimney Tops (or any of the 800 miles of
trails) or driving the super-scenic U.S. Highway 441, visitors are sure to get
an eyeful of the mystical haze that inspired the park’s name. -Adrien Glover
No. 26 Great Wall of China, China
The
2,000-plus-year-old structure - once used as a wartime defense - is rumored to be
the only man-made landmark visible from space. Made from stone, wood, rammed
earth, and bricks, the wall winds “like a dragon tail” from eastern China to
western, spanning some 5,500 miles. The Badaling section is the closest to Beijing - and the most
beautiful. -Adrien Glover
No. 26 South Street Seaport, New York City
This historic East
River site in lower Manhattan
dates back to the 1600s and spans some 11 blocks packed with shops,
restaurants, and piers, including the popular Pier 17, a barge-turned-mall.
Commercialism aside, the history runs deep here and is perhaps best experienced
on one of the two 1800s tall-masted schooners the South Street
Seaport Maritime
Museum maintains. Go for
a sunset sail with Gotham as a backdrop. -Adrien
Glover
No. 28 Navy Pier, Chicago
While the USS
Chicago - docked at the end of the pier - is a reminder of its World War I military
past, this bustling Lake Michigan promenade now caters to civilians with a mix
of carnival rides, dancing fountains, trinket stalls, an IMAX theater, local
food favorites Garrett Popcorn and Billy Goat Tavern, and an exceptional
stained-glass museum featuring colorful works by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis
Comfort Tiffany. Future plans for the pier include a monorail and a spokeless
Ferris wheel. -Adrien Glover
No. 29 Musée du
Louvre, Paris
The world’s largest
museum is both the subject of ongoing architectural controversy - not everyone
agrees with the 1989 addition of I. M. Pei’s 69-foot-high glass pyramid
entrance - and an art-lover’s wonderland of some 35,000 masterworks. Throngs
parade through the former 12th-century palace annually to see such famous
highlights as Leonardo da Vinci’s smiling La Gioconda, a.k.a. Mona
Lisa - a painting that was originally commissioned by François I to hang
above his bathtub. -Adrien Glover
No. 30 National Air
and Space Museum
(Smithsonian), Washington, D.C.
The largest
collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world (50,000 original
artifacts) has aviation buffs flying through the doors in record numbers to
learn about flight in all its forms. Opened in 1976 on the National Mall, this
family-friendly museum wins extra points with kids for its cool “How Things
Fly” exhibit, flight simulators, and 3-D blasts into the cosmos at the Albert
Einstein Planetarium. -Adrien Glover
No. 31 Universal
Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan
Annual Visitors:
8,160,000
No. 32 Sydney Opera House, Sydney
With its dramatic cantilevered
roof and harbor setting, Sydney’s Opera House is
easily Australia’s
most recognizable landmark - and its most visited. Few tourists leave Sydney without at least
stopping here for a photo-op. But you can do much more: go backstage for a
tour; attend one of the 40-plus weekly performances; and watch the sun set over
the city and Sydney
Harbour Bridge
from the alfresco Opera Bar. Make your grand exit on the Manly Ferry, which
passes right by. -Kate Appleton
No. 33 Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea
Everland amusement
park has been thrilling kids since 1973 and knows how to keep them coming;
visitorship is up 11.6 percent year-over-year. The park is divided into themed
sections that range from American Adventure (a rodeo experience, a wildly
swinging Columbus ship) to Zoo-topia (Amazon River ride, wildlife safari). It holds the record
for the world’s steepest wooden roller coaster. -Kate Appleton
No. 34 Smithsonian National
Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Dinosaur fossils, a
huge stuffed elephant, and an insect zoo have been wowing kids for generations
(and for free). The 126-million-item collection even includes the notorious
Hope Diamond. But this National Mall favorite continues to innovate, opening
the Ocean Hall in late 2008 and, in 2010, the ambitious Hall of Human Origins,
where visitors come literally face-to-face with specimens and models of their
ancestors. -Kate Appleton
No. 35 Eiffel Tower,
Paris
This iron-lattice
structure looms large in the collective imagination - and literally towers over Paris’s historic heart,
never out of sight for long. Last year, 6.7 million paid to ascend the Eiffel Tower,
and the savviest beat the crowds by purchasing tickets online in advance.
Admire the Champs de Mars and surrounding streets spreading out below as you
ride a glass elevator to the highest viewing level at 540 feet. -Kate
Appleton
No. 36 Lincoln Memorial, Washington,
D.C.
Getting advice from
Honest Abe has been a popular pastime since this memorial’s dedication in 1922.
These days, the Civil War president competes for visitors with FDR and Martin
Luther King, Jr. (as well as Jefferson and Washington). But the appeal of
standing beside Abraham Lincoln and gazing out at the National Mall across the
reflecting pool remains as popular as ever. -Rich Beattie
No. 37 Bourbon Street, New Orleans
You’d have to be a
pretty big curmudgeon for Bourbon
Street not to put you in a good mood. Free-flowing
music and booze might have something to do with it. Of course, if you really
like crowds, grab your mask and join the Mardi Gras circus. -Rich Beattie
No. 38 Islands of
Adventure at Universal Orlando
Hogwarts went hog
wild when this park opened “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in 2010, and
the attendance numbers* reflect Harry’s magic touch. Shops, restaurants (The
Three Broomsticks), and rides are all branded with the boy wizard; nonbelievers
can find rides themed with other trademarked characters including Marvel
superheroes. -Rich Beattie
* Admission ticket
sales for Islands of Adventure beat out next-door-neighbor Universal Studios
(which had 5,925,000 visitors); since it’s all part of Universal Orlando
Resort, we’re counting it only once.
No. 39 Palace of Versailles,
Versailles, France
King Louis XIV did a
pretty nice job redoing a place that started out as a mere hunting lodge. So
nice, in fact, that people trade Paris
cafés just for the experience of wandering its hallways, like the gilded Hall
of Mirrors - the best place to channel your inner Sun King. -Rich Beattie
No. 40 British Museum,
London
With its 2.5 miles
of galleries and 7 million objects, it would be understated to call this
must-see museum overwhelming. And the crush of visitors won’t let you easily
breeze through the ambitious collections. Still, considering the admission
fee - nothing - it’s surprising the attendance isn’t higher. -Rich Beattie
No. 41 Lotte World,
Seoul
The world’s largest
indoor theme park is just the beginning of a complex that seems as big as Seoul itself. An outdoor
amusement park, a folk museum, theaters, malls, and other venues round it out,
along with - of course - plenty of karaoke machines. -Rich Beattie
No. 42 Grauman’s Chinese
Theatre/Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood
Nothing says Hollywood
like the (literally) star-studded Walk of Fame, each with the name of a
celebrity with enough cachet to be immortalized on the street. That means early
stars from James Dean and Marilyn Monroe to, more recently, Tina Fey and Neil
Patrick Harris. On that same street, the palatial Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
attracts both architecture and film fans - and hosts movie premieres. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 43 French
Market, New Orleans
Annual Visitors:
5,370,100
No. 44 Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York City
With a permanent
collection of more than 2 million pieces - plus works on loan from renowned
museums worldwide - and a rooftop bar with a new installation each summer, it’s
no wonder the Met is a huge tourist magnet. Expect even higher visitation
numbers in 2011 thanks to the buzzed-about Alexander McQueen fashion exhibit. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 45 Hong Kong
Disneyland
Disney’s newest
outpost has tried-and-true crowd-pleasing features like Sleeping Beauty’s
castle and Space Mountain. What sets this park apart from the others? It was designed
according to the Chinese rules of feng shui in a nod to local culture. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 46 The
Colosseum, Rome
The Colosseum has
been synonymous with Rome since it was completed in A.D. 80. In partial ruins
today, the amphitheater has recently been getting spruced up. In 2010, the
below-ground tunnels, where gladiators once prepared for combat, were opened to
the public for the first time in modern history. Descending into the deep,
visitors can imagine the days when some 50,000 rowdy spectators would fill the
stadium, just waiting for the competitors to be unleashed from below. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 47 Ocean Park,
Hong Kong
Sure, there are
roller coasters, but this 40-acre theme park stands out for its attractions
that are more down to earth. There’s Panda Village, where, despite the name,
visitors actually come to see playful otters; Pacific Pier, where you can feed
seals and sea lions; or the Sea Jelly Spectacular, where you can marvel at some
1,000 jellyfish, including many phosphorescent species. A large mountain
divides the park, which you can navigate by bus, train, even cable car. -Joshua
Pramis
No. 47 SeaWorld,
Orlando
People - especially
children - love animals. And they love seeing animals performing stunts,
circus-style. The rides (such as the high-speed Kraken roller coaster),
up-close exhibits (like the Penguin Encounter), and great dining made this a
no-brainer for 5.1 million visitors last year. -Joshua Pramis
No. 49 Tate Modern,
London
Four wings and
three floors make up the world’s most popular modern art museum, which consists
solely of works of art created from 1900 until today. Tate also offers an array
of hands-on games and interactive features, including allowing visitors to
sketch any of the works on display. -Joshua Pramis
No. 50 Universal
Studios Hollywood, Universal City, CA
Not only is this a
theme park, but it’s also a fully functioning movie studio - and just so happens
to be the oldest Hollywood studio that is still actively filming new releases.
Here, you can learn how special effects are created; take backstage studio
tours; and hop aboard one of the many rides. (The Simpsons virtual roller
coaster, anyone?) -Joshua Pramis
Source :
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