Are you a fan of the Eiffel Tower in Paris? How about the Empire State Building in New York?
Such destinations are often described as essential tourist sites, must-sees, even. But the truth is that certain famous landmarks aren’t everyone’s cup of tea – far from it.
A recent study has sought to identify the world’s most disappointing tourist spots. The methodology of the ranking not only takes into account reviews published on Google but also the sites’ popularity on TikTok.
This analysis takes into account other parameters that help to explain the annoyances one may experience while travelling, such as the distance between the airport and the destination, which may mean a great deal of time and/or money to reach a site.
The results also take into account scores relating to tourist safety in the country, as well as quality of local accommodation, based on reviews left on Booking.com.
When all these aspects are analysed, the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, which features plaques devoted to the greatest film and music stars on a wide Los Angeles sidewalk, comes in first as the tourist spot that most disappoints visitors.
It’s no surprise that this “must-see” on any trip to the United States west coast is the most disappointing tourist attraction: the Walk of Fame received the same position in a similar ranking released in 2019.
In the US, it’s not the only disappointing site: there’s also Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida, and San Francisco’s Pier 39, where people flock to watch sea lions bask in the sun and see the Alcatraz prison in the distance.
Elsewhere in the world, even such iconic buildings as India’s Taj Mahal, China’s Forbidden City, and France’s Château de Versailles make the list of the world’s worst tourist attractions.
There are some other surprising places, too, such as London’s Tate Modern, Spain’s PortAventura theme park, and Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle.
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong also feature in the ranking. Here’s how the top 15 scored, from most disappointing:
- Hollywood Walk Of Fame, United States – 3.42/10
- Grand Bazaar, Turkey – 3.48/10
- Taj Mahal, India – 3.83/10
- Busch Gardens theme park, Florida, US – 4.52/10
- Lotte World Adventure, South Korea – 4.80/10
- Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong – 4.89/10
- Ocean Park theme park, Hong Kong – 4.96/10
- Fushimi Inari Taisha, Japan – 5.04/10
- Great Wall of China, China – 5.05/10
- Everland theme park, South Korea – 5.17/10
- Pier 39, California, US – 5.27/10
- PortAventura World theme park, Spain – 5.37/10
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, US – 5.39/10
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park, Florida, US – 5.41/10
- Forbidden City, China – 5.41/10
