Top 50 World's Most Visited Tourist Attractions by Travel + Leisure

This month Travel + Leisure Magazine published a ranking of the 50 most visited tourist attractions in the world. Forbes published a similar list in 2007 and at the time many agreed that the attractions listed deserved a ranking in the top 50. When the two lists are compared there are some surprises and omissions.

One obvious difference between the two rankings is the preponderance of attractions in the United States on the Travel + Leisure list. There are 28 compared to the Forbes ranking which listed only 19. Left off the T+L list were Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) 4 million and the Taj Mahal (Agra, India) 3 million. While others like Stonehenge (England) at 1 million visitors did not have the attendance to make either list.

Times Square (photo: TheHopefulTraveler)

Trafalgar Square in London which ranked number four on the Forbes list is excluded from the Travel + Leisure because of the methodology to determine the list. The local tourism bureau could not provide estimates that distinguished between visitors and locals. Similar to the Forbes ranking, Travel + Leisure defined "tourist attractions" as cultural and historical sites, landmarks and officially designated spaces. So Minnesota's Mall of American with 40 million visitors is exempt. Also excluded are sights that draw exclusively religious pilgrims.

Some things remained constant on the Travel + Leisure ranking, France contains the most popular attractions after the United States and that visitors have a continued fondness for Mickey Mouse.

Click on the name of an attraction for a link to a related website. Where an official website could not be found, the link is to an information or ticketing website. Count how many you have visited. I have a feeling this list will be much debated.

1) Times Square (New York City, NY) annual visitors 39.2 million
2) Central Park (New York City, NY) 38 million
3) Union Station (Washington, DC) 37 million
4) Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas, NV) 29.5 million
5) Niagara Falls (New York State and Ontario, Canada) 22.5 million
6) Grand Central Terminal (New York City, NY) 21.6 million
7) Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Boston, MA) 18 million
8) Disney World's Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL) 17 million
9) Disneyland Park & Disney's California Adventure (Anaheim, CA) 16 million
10) Grand Bazaar (Istanbul, Turkey) 15 million

Grand Bazaar (photo: SteveButler/flickr)

11) Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo, Japan) 14.5 million
12) Pier 39 (San Francisco, CA) 14 million
13) Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris, France) 13.7 million
14) Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, CA) 13 million
15) Forbidden City (Beijing, China) 12.8 million
16) Epcot (Lake Buena Visa, FL) 10.8 million
17) Disneyland Paris Resort (Marne-la-Valee, France) 10.5 million
18) Sacre Coeur Basilica (Paris, France) 10.5 million
19) Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront (Hong Kong) 10.1 million
20) Victoria Peak (Hong Kong) 10.1 million

View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak (photo: hanneorla/flickr)

21) Pike Place Market (Seattle, WA) 10 million
22) The Zocalo (Mexico City) 10 million
23) Disney's Animal Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, FL) 9.7 million
24) Disney's Hollywood Studios (Lake Buena Vista, FL) 9.6 million
25) Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee/North Carolina) 9.4 million
26) Great Wall of China (China) 9 million
27) South Street Seaport (New York City, NY) 9 million
28) Navy Pier (Chicago, IL) 8.7 million
29) Musee du Louvre (Paris, France) 8.5 million
30) National Air and Space Museum (Washington, DC) 8.3 million

National Air and Space Musuem (photo: ChadBendall/flickr)

31) Universal Studios Japan (Osaka, Japan) 8.2 million
32) Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia) 7.4 million
33) Everland (Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea) 6.9 million
34) National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC) 6.8 million
35) Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) 6.7 million
36) Lincoln Memorial (Washington, DC) 6 million
37) Bourbon Street (New Orleans, LA) 6 million
38) Universal Orlando / Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL) 5.9 million
39) Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France) 5.9 million
40) British Museum (London, England) 5.8 million

Lotte World (photo: krispyfreak/flickr)

41) Lotte World (Seoul, South Korea) 5.6 million
42) Grauman's Chinese Theatre / Hollywood Walk of Fame (Hollywood, CA) 5.5 million
43) French Market (New Orleans, LA) 5.4 million
44) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, NY) 5.2 million
45) Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong) 5.2 million
46) The Colosseum (Rome, Italy) 5.1 million
47) Ocean Park (Hong Kong) 5.1 million
48) Sea World (Orlando, FL) 5.1 million
49) Tate Modern (London, England) 5.1 million
50) Universal Studios Hollywood (Universal City, CA) 5.0 million

Universal Studios Hollywood (photo: crabers.crab/flickr)

The 25 Most Photographed Cities & Their Landmarks

Empire State Building
(all images from budgettravel.com; credit: Daniel Schwen/Wikimedia Commons)

It was interesting to find out what researchers at Cornell found after analyzing over 35 million Flickr photos. Below is a ranking of the most photographed cities and the most photographed landmark within that city. Most of the usual suspects are here but some are rather surprising. Links to each attraction is included in the ranking below.

Visit budgettravel.com for the full article. Tips are also featured from their photo editors for "breaking the mold" from the standard shots of each landmark. For example for number one ranked New York City, article reports that standard shot of the Empire State Building is a view from the street below. The tip: Broaden your perspective. By photographing an expected sight from an unexpected place can add a lot to your photo. Head 16 blocks north and up 70 floors to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck in Rockefeller Center, where you'll get the best view of the Empire State Building -- along with a 360-degree panorama view of the city.

1) New York City, New York, USA (Empire State Building)
2) London, England (Trafalgar Square)
3) San Francisco, California, USA (Union Square)
4) Paris, France (Eiffel Tower)
5) Los Angeles, California, USA (Hollywood Walk of Fame)

Cloud Gate Sculpture (credit: Kramer/flickr)

6) Chicago, Illinois, USA (Cloud Gate Sculpture)
7) Washington, DC, USA (Lincoln Memorial)
8) Seattle, Washington, USA (Space Needle)
9) Rome, Italy (Colosseum)
10) Amsterdam, Netherlands (Dam Square)

Fenway Park (image: Jerry Driend/Getty)

11) Boston, Massachusetts (Fenway Park)
12) Barcelona, Spain (Sagrada Familia)
13) San Diego, California, USA (Balboa Park)
14) Berlin, Germany (Brandenburg Gate)
15) Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (Paris Las Vegas Hotel)

Duomo (image: Alycia Rockey)

16) Florence, Italy (Duomo - Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore)
17) Toronto, Ontario, Canada (CN Tower)
18) Milan, Italy (Duomo di Milano)
19) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Granville Island)
20) Madrid, Spain (Plaza Mayor)

Piazza San Marco (image: turinboy/flickr)

21) Venice, Italy (Piazza San Marco)
22) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Independence Hall)
23) Austin, Texas, USA (Capitol Building)
24) Dublin, Ireland (O'Connell Street and The Spire of Dublin)
25) Portland, Oregon, USA (Pioneer Courthouse Square)

Pioneer Courthouse Square (image: Cacophony/Wikimedia Commons)

Most Expensive Cities To Visit: U.S. & the World

New York City

The latest Hotel Price Index show these 10 U.S. Cities command the highest prices per night last year. Most are expected due to its attraction to business and leisure travelers. But the list is not the most popular cities but the most expensive ones to visit. This probably explains the inclusion of Idaho Falls which is a destination in its region of the country popular for the scenery and culture. It's kind of ironic that I live in the city ranked second and the place to where I travel the most often is ranked first.

The HPI is based on bookings made on hotels.com and prices shown are those actually paid by customers for 2010. Prices are per hotel night averages.

1. New York City, New York  $194.14
2. Honolulu, Hawaii  $158.95
3. Boston, Massachusetts  $154.62
4. Santa Barbara, California  $143.33
5. Washington, D.C.  $140.33
6. Miami, Florida  $139.58
7. Chicago, Illinois  $133.93
8. Idaho Falls, Idaho  $132.53
9. New Orleans, Louisiana  $132.27
10. Monterey, California  $131.93

Bora Bora (image credits: Hotels.com L.P.)

On the flipside, the most expensive cities in the world to visit were strictly for those with deep pockets willing to indulge. Many are resort destinations catering to the wealthy.

1. Bora Bora  $605.95
2. Somerset, England  $531.87
3. Anacapri, Italy  $459.58
4. Hamilton, Bermuda  $404.12
5. Tremezzo, Italy  $366.90
6. Paradise Island, Bahamas  $365.69
7. Wailea (Maui), U.S.  $363.92
8.  Southampton, England  $347.66
9.  Paget, Bermuda  $325.07
10. Manalapan, Florida  $323.10

The HPI is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world.

Top 25 Most Visited Attractions In Hawaii

A couple of friends from the mainland visited Hawaii recently and it's been a while since I did any sightseeing in the U.S. state where I live. So It was time to brush up on 'Hawaii' to refresh my knowledge of the Aloha State.

In the process I came across this recent ranking published in 2010 by Pacific Business News of the most popular visitor attractions in Hawaii and the number of annual visitors. Included is the island location and website links of each attraction. Tourist shopping magnets such as Kalakaua Avenue, Ala Moana Center and the Aloha Stadium Flea Market and beaches such as Kuhio (Waikiki) Beach have been excluded. The different attractions at Pearl Harbor are separately ranked. Locations on the Big Island of Hawaii are indicated as located on the Kona or Hilo side of the island.

Need more visitor info about the Hawaiian Islands? Visit Live Your Aloha for a start and lots of helpful info.

Arizona Memorial (image: army.arch/flickr)

1) World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Arizona Memorial (Oahu)  1.28 million
2) Dole Plantations (Oahu)  1.24 million
3) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hilo, Big Island)  1.23 million
4) Haleakala National Park (Maui)  1.11 million
5) Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (Oahu)  819,000

Diamond Head (image: smaciejewski/flickr)

6) Diamond Head State Monument (Oahu)  730,000
7) Polynesian Cultural Center (Oahu)  610,000
8) Honolulu Zoo (Oahu)  610,000
9) Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (Kona, Big Island)  397,000
10) Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (Kauai)  387,000

Bishop Museum (image: concordenick/flickr)

11) Bernice Pauahi Bishop Musuem (Oahu)  383,000
12) Wet 'n' Wild (Oahu)  340,000
13) Battleship Missouri Memorial (Oahu)  327,000
14) Star of Honolulu Cruises & Events (Oahu)  325,000
15) Maui Ocean Center (Maui)  316,000

Maui Ocean Center (image: wchuang/flickr)

16) Waikiki Aquarium (Oahu)  297,000
17) Atlantis Submarines (Oahu, Maui & Kona, Big Island)  261,000
18) Sea Life Park Hawaii (Oahu)  240,000
19) Kualoa Ranch Hawaii Inc  238,000
20) Honolulu Academy of Arts (Oahu)  226,000

Waimea Valley (image: rachelm1981/flickr)

21) USS Bowfin Submarine Museum (Oahu)  220,000
22) Waimea Valley (Oahu)  220,000
23) Whalers Village Museum (Maui) 193,000
24) Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens (Hilo, Big Island)  172,000
25) Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor (Oahu)  170,000

Maze at Dole Plantations (image: Dole Plantations)

Post changes 8/18/17.

Top 10: Top Visitor Attractions in the USA

Forbes.com has released an updated list of the Top 10 visitor attractions in America. Forbes defines these as sites of historical or cultural interest; natural phenomena and landmarks; and officially designated entertainment and recreation centers. How many have you visited?

Times Square

1) Times Square, New York, New York (37.6 million visitors)
2) Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada (29.1 million)
3) National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, DC (25 million)
4) Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, Massachusetts (19 million)
5) Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida (17.1 million)

Golden Gate Recreation Area

6) Golden Gate Recreation Area, San Francisco, California (17 million)
7) Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California (14.7 million)
8) Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California (10 million) tie
8) Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, California (10 million) tie
10) Great Smoky Mountain National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee (9.5 million)

Click here for the Forbes.com Top 50 Most Visited Attractions in the World.

Smoky Mountain National Park.
All photos used for illustration purposes only.

Visit These Cities Before They Sink

U.S. News & World Report reveals "7 Cities About to Sink". Rising sea levels and unstable foundations threaten some of the world's most popular visitor destinations. The lost city of Atlantis will have some company. Here are the rankings:

1) Mexico City, Mexico
This city is sinking into the soft clay on which it sits at about eight inches per year.

2) Venice, Italy
Over the past 100 years, flooding has increased from roughly 10 to 60 days per year.

3) New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Already most of it below sea level, this city is steadily sinking.

4) Shanghai, China
Over the past century this city has sunk over eight feet due to mass groundwater extraction and flimsy foundation.

5) Houston, Texas, USA
Extensive oil drilling and groundwater extraction has disturbed the city's foundation to push it towards the Gulf of Mexico.

6) New York City, New York, USA
This city will soon experience hurricanes and high tides along with the rising Atlantic.

7)  Bangkok, Thailand
Due to rising sea levels experts say this city could be uninhabitable in as little as seven years.

Visit usnews.com for the latest breaking news.

Top 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions

Forbes magazine has released a 2007 ranking of the 50 most visited tourist attractions in the world. The researchers at Forbes indicate the list reveals several tourist industry truisms: A) Americans love to travel, but they prefer to stick within their own borders. B) Wherever Mickey Mouse goes, he conquers. C) Paris is the unofficial cultural theme park of the world. And D) Niagra Falls isn't just for lovers anymore. There are some surprises. Count how many you have visited or want to visit.
Click on the name of an attraction for a link to a related website. Where an official website could not be found, the link is to an information or ticketing website. For Niagara Falls, the links are under the location name since there are different websites for the Canadian and American Falls. If a ranking includes two attractions (such as Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea), links are included for both.

1) Times Square (New York City, NY) 35 million
2) National Mall & Memorial Parks (Washington, D.C.) 25 million
3) Disney World's Magic Kingdom (Lake Buena Vista, FL) 16.6 million
4) Trafalgar Square (London, England) 15 million
5) Disneyland Park (Anaheim, CA) 14.7 million
6) Niagara Falls (Ontario, Canada & New York State) 14 million
7) Fisherman's Wharf / Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco, CA) 13 million
8) Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea (Tokyo, Japan) 12.9 million
9) Notre Dame de Paris (Paris, France) 12 million
10) Disneyland Paris (Marne-La-Vallee, France) 10.6 million
11) The Great Wall of China (Badaling area, China) 10 million
12) The Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Tennessee/North Carolina) 9.2 million
13) Universal Studios Japan (Osaka, Japan) 8.5 million
14) Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre (Paris, France) 8 million
15) Musee du Louvre (Paris, France) 7.5 million
16) Everland (Kyonggi-Do, South Korea) 7.5 million
17) The Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square (Beijing, China) 7 million
18) Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) 6.7 million
19) Universal Studios / Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL) 6 million
20) Sea World Florida (Orlando, FL) 5.7 million
21) Pleasure Beach (pictured above) (Blackpool, England) 5.7 million
22) Lotte World (Seoul, South Korea) 5.5 million
23) Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise (Japan) 5.4 million
24) Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong, China) 5.2 million
25) Centre Pompidou (Paris, France) 5.1 million
26) Tate Modern (London, England) 4.9 million
27) British Museum (London, England) 4.8 million
28) Universal Studios (Los Angeles, CA) 4.7 million
29) National Gallery (London, England) 4.6 million
30) Metropolitan Museum (New York, NY) 4.5 million
31) Grand Canyon (Arizona) 4.4 million
32) Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark) 4.4 million
33) Ocean Park (Hong Kong, China) 4.38 million
34) Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay, FL) 4.36 million
35) Sea World California (San Diego, CA) 4.26 million
36) Statue of Liberty (New York, NY) 4.24 million
37) The Vatican and its museums (Rome, Italy) 4.2 million
38) Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia) 4 million
39) The Coliseum (Rome, Italy) 4 million
40) The American Museum of Natual History (New York, NY) 4 million
41) Grauman's Chinese Theatre (Hollywood, CA) 4 million
42) Empire State Building (New York, NY) 4 million
43) Natual History Museum (London, England) 3.7 million
44) The London Eye (London, England) 3.5 million
45) Palace of Versailles (France) 3.45 million
46) Yosemite National Park (California) 3.44 million
47) Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) 3 million
48) Pompeii (Italy) 2.5 million
49) Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia) 2.5 million
50) Taj Mahal (Agra, India) 2.4 million
Most Americans will recognize the majority of these popular attractions and surpised that some have not been included. Then again the West may not know about Everland and Lotte World but these South Korean mega-parks managed a high ranking. Based on the research for this ranking, France receives more foreign tourists per year than any other country at 76 million. Spain followed with 55 million, the United States with 50 million and China with 47 million. Italy rounded out the top five with 37 million the United Kingdon not far behind. More information regarding the list and how the list was compiled is found at forbes.com. All photos from Forbes and is used for illustration purposes only.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Get ready Harry Potter fans to immerse yourself in the world you've seen in movies or imagined from the books. The novels by author J.K. Rowling about the young wizard is about to take a realistic form at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort. Scheduled to open in late 2009 or early 2010, the new addition to the park will occupy a portion of the Lost Continent area and an undeveloped area of the park and be comparable in size to the other Islands of Adventure (approximately 30 acres). Such favorite locations from the books and movies as Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts Castle, which will be the anchor of the park, will be included. The whole experience will include new attractions, shops and restaurants, all yet to be announced. Below are artist renderings of the new park experience. Click on any photo for a close-up view. Click back on your browser to return to this blog.

Now this park has the Hopeful Traveler thinking, could a park for "The Lord of the Rings" be next. My hope: the wonderful world of "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" come to life.

But What Does it Look Like?

Thank you for the positive emails about the series of Harrods posts. As some of you requested here are the pics you felt were missing for items mentioned in the posts. Guess imagination can only take you so far. The photo to the left is an example of truffle stuffed brie. The photos below are in order: The Iberico Ham, The Iberico Ham Sandwich and English Christmas pudding.

The Hopeful Traveler says that Christmas pudding is very rich and a more sophisticated version of a fruit cake. A small piece is very filling. The store bought product must be steamed before serving. T.H.T. will now look forward to his next trip to London to find out what makes the Iberico Ham sandwich special. As for the truffle stuffed brie, it is completely out of of T.H.T.'s budget. Perhaps Harrods will offer a whiff of it in lieu of a taste. One doubts that Harrods will be offering free sample of this cheese, umh sorry, fromage.

The Food Halls at Harrods - Some Final Words & Other Shopping Suggestions

Harrods is definitely upscale in it's inventory but also a complete department store. Equally fascinating is the food halls at Fortnum & Mason (storefront pictured below), another worthwhile excursion. For keepsakes bearing the Harrods name, check out the Harrods store on the lower ground floor and the Harrods arcade on the ground floor. For purchases of a more reasonable nature, visit the food hall and other departments at stores such as Selfridge's or Marks & Spencer during a shopping excursion of Oxford Street in London. In fact you could make a day of shopping and eating in London. Go figure, considering Britian's reputation for food. But a morning at Harrods then the rest of the day shopping along fashionable Regent Street and Oxford Street will give your feet a good workout. In between you can nosh at your pleasure. Some people look forward to the experience of afternoon tea in London and many a visitor consider the Georgian Restaurant at Harrods at the top of the list. There are however other places to choose for this English tradition. T.H.T. has had one opportunity to have a champagne/afternoon tea at Harrods and the experience was filling that dinner was skipped over altogether. Tea at posh establishments like Harrods, the Ritz Hotel or Fortnum and Mason will probably run about 20-30 British Pounds each (US$40-$60). Often it's about the experience rather than just about the food.

To peruse items you can purchase via internet check harrods.com and fortunumandmason-usa.com.

The Food Halls at Harrods - Vegans Keep Out

The last of the four Food Halls at Harrods finds you among fresh fish, meat and poultry selections. The ornate hall and beautiful arrangements of products will wet any appetite. Choose from aged beef, slabs of bacon, a roster of Scotch Beef and Dutch Veal and too many fish. There is even a section to choose from a variety of quail eggs. There are over 25 places to enjoy a meal at Harrods for either to dine in or to go (or as the British say "take away"). Within this hall you'll find four of them: The Sea Grill, Champagne & Oyster Bar, Harrods Famous Deli and Rotisserie.

World Trade Center Memorial

The World Trade Center Memorial construction is under way in addition to the Freedom Tower and other structures at Ground Zero. The new subway station and new WTC 7 are already completed. Here are some renderings of the how the completed area will appear. When visiting the site during construction, you'll find the scope of the area that is Ground Zero astounding. You can walk the perimiter of the entire area gazing at the presently unobstructed vistas and temporary memorials. Ground Zero remains a moving site several years later and on return visits. More information at www.buildthememorial.org

The basic design of the memorial are two massive voids with waterfalls cascading down their sides. The names of all 2,979 who perished in the 9/11 attacks will be inscribed around the edge of the Memorial waterfalls. A state-of-the-art museum will be constructed as well. Visitors can also descend below the Memorial voids to view the slurry wall and other remaining structures. The Memorial will occupy eight acres. The remaining eight acres of the former WTC site will contain the Freedom Tower, WTC Towers 2, 3 , 4, retail development, train terminal and peforming arts center. Click on any of these three renderings for a detailed view.