A while ago, Travel + Leisure analyzed annual traffic to some of the world’s most loved tourist spots and came up with a list of the 50 most visited tourist attractions in the world.
On a whim, I decided to take a look at what these 50 tourist spots look like on Google Earth.
This is what I found:
What is it: A theme park with a nearly 90 meters tall Ferris wheel. Probably has a spa or two somewhere as well.
Annual visitors: 5.850,000
What is it: A palace so opulent that it may have caused the French Revolution and hence, the modern world. Thank you, Louis XIV.
Annual visitors: 5,900,000
What is it: A theme park with rides inspired by some of pop culture’s biggest franchises. This, for some reason, includes Waterworld.
Annual visitors: 5,912,000
What is it: A historic street in New Orleans where it is permissible to be drunk at two in the afternoon. On Mardi Gras, at least.
Annual visitors: 6,017,500
What is it: The largest collection of art in the US. This includes Hippo William.
Annual visitors: 6,115,881
What is it: The memorial to America’s favorite president and the reason why Daniel Day Lewis now has three Oscars.
Annual visitors: 6,191,361
What is it: Universal Studios’ Florida outpost.
Annual visitors: 6,195,000
What is it: The lake formed after the construction of the Hoover dam. Place where they hid Megatron.
Annual visitors: 6,285,439
What is it: World’s largest indoor theme park. Has its own indoor island.
Annual visitors: 6,383,000
What is it: Disney’s Hong Kong outpost where it is possible to see Fen Shui Mickey Mouse.
Annual visitors: 6,700,000
What is it: One of the largest museums in the world with a priceless collection of artifacts (artefacts, to our British readers) that includes the Rosetta Stone, the Cyrus Cylinder and the world’s largest collection of Egyptian antiquities.
Annual visitors: 6,701,036
What is it: Theme park that boasts the world’s steepest wooden roller coaster.
Annual visitors: 6,853,000
What is it: An old, old wooden ship used in the Civil War.
Annual visitors: 7,000,000
What is it: The world’s largest collection of aircrafts in the world.
Annual visitors: 7,000,000
What is it: The highest mountain in Hong Kong with commanding views of the city.
Annual visitors: 7,000,000
What is it: Theme park and marine mammal park.
Annual visitors: 7436,000
What is it: Disney’s Anaheim outpost on the west-coast.
Annual visitors: 7,775,000
What is it: A theme park run by Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.
Annual visitors: 7,981,000
What is it: The world’s most visited museum of natural history with 126 million specimens. Site of Night at the Museum 2.
Annual visitors: 8,000,000
What is it: An opera house that’s now the most well known symbol of Australia after kangaroos and Foster’s.
Annual visitors: 8,200,000
What is it: Shopping center and tourist attraction built on a pier overlooking the San Francisco bay.
Annual visitors: 8,500,000
What is it: A historic area of NYC that offers commanding views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Annual visitors: 9,000,000
What is it A ginormous wall that, contrary to popular belief, can not be seen from space.
Annual visitors: 9,000,000
What is it: The museum where Tom Hanks battles secretive religious orders and horrible haircuts using pseudo-scientific-religious psychobabble. Also has the Mona Lisa.
Annual visitors: 9,200,000
What is it: A kilometer long stretch of fun-filled activities that includes eating stale, overpriced deep-dish pizza.
Annual visitors: 9,200,000
What is it: Nearly 820 square miles of breathtaking wilderness.
Annual visitors: 9,685,829
What is it: Universal’s chief Japanese outpost, complete with a Harry Potter ride.
Annual visitors: 9,700,000
What is it: A park built after Disney got tired of seeing Universal milk Hollywood nostalgia for billions of dollars.
Annual visitors: 9,912,000
What is it: A chance to experience the thrills of the African wilderness while you brave bratty kids, octogenarians and slow moving families.
Annual visitors: 9,998,000
What is it: Mexico’s most important public square and taco discovery center.
Annual visitors: 10,000,000
What is it: Farmer’s markets, artisan food, craft makers and other people too hip even for Portland.
Annual visitors: 10,000,000
What is it: A historic area overlooking Victoria Harbour and populated with more tourist traps you can imagine.
Annual visitors: 10,088,493
What is it: A historic church located at the highest point in the city. You get bonus points for mangling the pronunciation of its name and watching the Parisians look upon you condescendingly.
Annual visitors: 10,500,000
What is it: Scientific innovations, mechanical marvels and technological wonders dominate this theme park. Still no light saber duels though.
Annual visitors: 11,063,000
What is it: A theme park to gently reminds Europeans that riding a rollercoaster is waaay more fun than looking at a Van Gogh painting in the Louvre.
Annual visitors: 11,200,000
What is it: The water based version of Disney’s Tokyo theme park.
Annual visitors: 12,656,000
What is it: San Francisco’s version of Central Park, albeit with fewer Shakespeare recitals.
Annual visitors: 13,000,000
What is it: One of the prettiest cathedrals in the world, with a storied history to boot.
Annual visitors: 13,650,000
What is it: A theme park bringing good, wholesome American culture to the Japanese.
Annual visitors: 14,847,000
What is it: A huge covered bazaar with a history dating back to thousands of years that’s now mostly been reduced to a tourist trap. Still worth a visit.
Annual visitors: 15,000,000
What is it: The center of Chinese imperial power for over 500 years where no commoner was allowed to enter. A symbol of class oppression for centuries, now great spot for taking selfies.
Annual visitors: 15,300,000
What is it: Another Disney theme park in Anaheim, because you can never really have enough theme parks.
Annual visitors: 15,963,000
What is it: The first Disney theme park in Orlando that started it all.
Annual visitors: 17,536,000
What is it: America’s “cradle of liberty” – a historic site where Samuel Adams gave many speeches.
Annual visitors: 18,000,000
What is it: New York’s most visited train terminal with a famously well crafted ceiling.
Annual visitors: 21,600,000
What is it: The waterfall with the world’s highest mean annual flow rate. Second best thing about Buffalo after the wings.
Annual visitors: 22,500,000
What is it: Headquarters of America’s finest transporting company, Amtrak.
Also popular for its beautiful architecture.
Annual visitors: 32,850,000
What is it: The park that hosts all late night reunions in rom-coms. Also, serial killers and crazy pigeon feeding ladies.
Annual visitors: 37,500,000
What is it: A popular public square that no one who’s ever lived in New York will ever go to willingly.
Annual visitors: 39,200,000
What is it: A strip of decadent casinos. Possibly mankind’s greatest achievement.
Annual visitors: 39,668,221
I have some reservations about these numbers (Union Station, for instance, hosts both tourists and commuters). I also know for a fact that places like Taj Mahal receive a lot of people, though I don’t think there is any official count. But for the most part, this was a fun little exercise that I hope you enjoyed!
P.S. LoveHomeSwap turned this list into an infographic, which you can see here.
Hello there! My name is Jay and I run this website. I'm a full-time traveler and freelance writer. This is where I share travel advice and help people pursue their traveling dreams.
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