I found this article today with a unique title. Tourists traps you don’t want to miss. Very intriguing title. Here is the Link ** if you want to read it. The list includes (with my comments on the ones we’ve been to):
1. The Great Wall of China
2. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
We loved it. Our tip is do it at night. The view is spectacular and the 9000 guys selling mini LED towers even look cool.
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy
Hopefully next year
4. Palace of Versailles in France
We were that close and didn’t go
5. The Acropolis in Athens, Greece
I think I’ll wait a few years on this one
6. Cafe du Monde in New Orleans
We enjoyed a beignet and a cappuccino here one night. Very touristy, but a definite must do.
7. Chichen Itza in Mexico
No time when we were in Cozumel. Hopefully some day.
8. Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro
9. Blarney Castle in Ireland
10. US Capitol Building in Washington, DC
11. Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu, Hawaii
12. Gondola ride in Venice, Italy
Same as Pisa, part of a Northern Italy tour
13. Angkor Wat in Cambodia
14. The Colosseum in Rome
Well worth it. After all, how many times do you get to stand in a 2000 year old stadium. Cubs and Red Sox fans will feel right at home.
15. Statue of Liberty in New York
16. Ayers Rock in Australia
17. Trevi Fountain in Rome
Amazing!!!
18. The Pyramids in Egypt
19. Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee
20. Stonehenge in the UK
Completely over rated.
21. Gaudi in Barcelona
The apartments, skip it. The house, worth it. Guell Park is free, but the street vendors make it difficult to navigate and they have all the best spots. The Familia, amazing. I sat and stared at the exterior for 20 minutes.
22. Tower of London
Terrific place
23. Sound of Music Bus Tour in Salzburg, Austria
24. Space Needle in Seattle, Washington
25. Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany
My score…8 of 25. Makes me a sucker for Tourist Traps I guess.
Check point charlie is pretty unique- do it first thing in the morning
Berlin is a couple of years away. I’ll try and remember that. Why the morning?
The original point is now gone, all that is left is a post and a star on the building to mark it. It has been remade, and there are a couple of actors who play guards on the street. If you go early in the morning and walk the remaining wall and end up at the checkpoint by 10, you actually get a better sense of how East and West Berlin lived. By 10, the tourists start to come out in bus loads, and you don’t get the same feeling of the area. We did it twice while we were there and had 2 different reactions. It can be really emotional. There is an outdoor exhibit that is really moving too.
I love that list. I’m gonna copy it. You’re probably smart to wait on the Acropolis – it’s not like it’s going anywhere! LOL!
Hasn’t gone to far yet haha.
Only four for me.
Some tourist traps still manage to transcend their touristyness though, like the old city in Jerusalem.
Rome is in that category. Touristy as all get out, yet a must see no matter what
Why would that be a tourist trap if it’s something they don’t want to miss? It seems paradoxal to me. Anyway another ultimate tourist “trap” or let’s say tourist spot would be The Mount Saint-Michel, France. I don’t see what is special about Cafe du Monde in NO also. I thought it was more famous for Bourbon St. which really is insane street.
It was a very paradoxical article wasn’t it. Bourbon St was different, lots of music, but not as special as one would think. Basically a bunch of drunks wandering from bar to bar. The rest of the quarter is far more interesting. the Cafe wasn’t all that special, but the location off Jackson Square made it a great place to people watch, without the drunken cacophony of Bourbon St, Mont St Michel is on the list, must get there one day.
There are so many places to see 🙂
No kidding, a real challenge.