tourist trap meme. baaaaaaa.

[rmd]

Tourist Traps
Bold indicates a visit.

1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year

2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C.: About 25 million

3. Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million

4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million

5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million
(i did stay in the hotel across the street from it once)

6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million

7. Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million
been to SF severaltimes. never actually been down to fisherman's wharf.

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: About 10 million

12. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: 9.2 million
i should totally do a road trip down there some time.

13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: 8.5 million

14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France: 8 million

15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million

16. Everland (amusement park), Kyonggi-Do, South Korea: 7.5 million

17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: At least 7 million

18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 6.7 million

19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Fla: 6 million

20. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, Fla: 5,740,000

21. Pleasure Beach (amusement park), Blackpool, England: 5.7 million

22. Lotte World (amusement park), Seoul, South Korea: 5.5 million

23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan: 5.4 million

24. Hong Kong Disneyland, China: 5.2 million

25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France: 5.1

26. Tate Modern, London, England: 4.9 million

27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million

28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million

29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million

30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY: 4.5 million
i'm pretty sure i haven't been there, but i might be mistaken.

31. Grand Canyon, Ariz.: 4.4 million
north rim only, so far.

32. Tivoli Gardens (amusement park), Copenhagen, Denmark: 4.4 million

33. Ocean Park (amusement park), Hong Kong, China: 4.38 million

34. Busch Gardens (amusement park), Tampa Bay, Fla.: 4.36 million

35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 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: More than 4 million

39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million

40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million

41. Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Calif.: 4 million
does driving by it count? then yes. otherwise, no.

42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million

43. Natural 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, Calif.: 3.44 million
not very much -- i was mostly just driving thru but stopped and puttered around a bit. i have a picture of my truck parked near snow after having been below sea level in death valley the previous day.

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

Comments

[keren-s.livejournal.com]

How cool was the Taj Mahal?

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

My list:

4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million
7. Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million
26. Tate Modern, London, England: 4.9 million
27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million
28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million
29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million
35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 4.26 million
43. Natural History Museum, London, England: 3.7 million
44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million
46. Yosemite National Park, Calif.: 3.44 million

California and London, that's it. Disneyland and Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate Recreational Area are the only ones I've been to more than once.

Perhaps a better question--which ones were disappointing and which ones lived up to the hype? In my list, the Fisherman's Wharf part is highly overrated, and the Natural History Museum in London didn't wow me either. The British Museum contains so much awesome that it's really too much to take in.

[tinyankletbells.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, I have been to ONE of these. And I didn't actually go in, just walked by (the Empire State Building - the line was ginormous).

[evwhore.livejournal.com]

Great Smoky Mountain NP makes a great trivia question. If you ask "What US national park gets the most annual visitors, by more than a factor of two?" People always guess Yosemite or Grand Canyon etc.

[sierra-nevada.livejournal.com]

I think it's inappropriate to lump the GGNRA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_National_Recreation_Area) in with Fisherman's Wharf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisherman%27s_Wharf%2C_San_Francisco%2C_California). The latter is a carny-style tourist trap designed to separate you from your money, while the former is a collection of beautiful places that don't cost anything at all to walk in/around/through (well, there are a few exceptions (http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/alca/overview.html) that cost something).