The Eiffel Tower topped the blacklist
Posted on 08/16/2007 11:15:51 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
The Eiffel Tower is "frustratingly overcrowded and overpriced" while Stonehenge is "just a load of old rocks" according to a report which has named the top ten most disappointing tourist spots.
The Eiffel Tower topped the blacklist
The Louvre's Mona Lisa and New York's Times Square also have difficulty enticing tourists to rush back, the survey reveals.
Even Egypt's great pyramids, the eighth wonder of the world, made the list of underwhelming and overrated attractions, because of the oppressive heat and the persistent hawkers.
But top of the list was Paris's famous tower, which almost a quarter of the 1,000 plus British tourists questioned dubbed a flop.
Felice Hardy of Virgin Travel Insurance, which commissioned the survey, said holidaymakers looking for unexpected delights should opt for less mainstream destinations.
"It's easy to be swayed by brochures that opt for the mainstream and focus on cliched tourist sights around the world, but many of them are overcrowded and disappointing," she said.
Those looking to avoid the crowds but witness something spectacular could do worse than seek out the only recently unearthed fortress of Kuelap in northern Peru, a just rival to crowded Machu Picchu in the south.
The far-flung, jungle-clad temples of Cambodia are another option waiting to be discovered, as is the Javan temple of Borobudur, where you might get to enjoy some cultural exchanges as one of the few international tourists appreciating the Buddhist reliefs.
Walking the trails at the Taroko Gorge in Taiwan is highly recommended for more active travellers as is traversing China's beautiful Tiger Leaping Gorge.
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The sights voted most disappointing around the world were:
1) The Eiffel Tower
2) The Louvre (Mona Lisa)
3) Times Square
4) Las Ramblas, Spain
5) Statue of Liberty
6) Spanish Steps, Rome
7) The White House
8) The Pyramids, Egypt
9) The Brandenburg Gate, Germany
10) The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The sights voted most disappointing in the UK were:
1) Stonehenge
2) The Angel of the North
3) Blackpool Tower
4) Lands' End
5) The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain
6) The London Eye
7) Brighton Pier
8) Buckingham Palace
9) The White Cliffs of Dover
10) Big Ben.
Ten UK suggestions promising not to disappoint are:
1) Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
2) Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, County Antrim
3) The Royal Crescent, Bath
4) Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark, London
5) The Backs, Cambridge
6) Holkham Bay, Norfolk
7) Lyme Regis and the Jurassic Coast
8) Tate St Ives
9) Isle of Skye, Scotland
10) The Eden Project, Cornwall.
Bot to the hippies and fauxDruids who go back year after year.
A ride over Niagara Falls is sure to impress even the most jaded tourist.
LOL
I have been there...my girlfriend was delighted!
So does this mean the world’s biggest thermometer in Baker, CA is better than the ones on that list?
What the heck do they know?....NOTHING.
France. Phooey.
In this day and age, with the multitude of diverse opinions out there, it's amazing to me that over 75% of the Eiffel Tower visitors, seemed to think it was worth the visit. Something like 84% of US citizens think our current Congress is a flop.
The article above includes a number of stats in need of a rinse cycle...
Send `em all to Graceland.
Graceland rocks but I really enjoyed the Birthplace in Tupelo, MS as well. Do both.
Ahhh...this is a Bristish opinion poll. Their idea of holiday is to set around a pool in a hotel in Marbella with a hundred other Brits and wait for the hotel buffet to open.
...and drink lots of beer...
I’ve never been overseas, but a few places I’ve seen that are worthwhile are Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, and the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound, all in Washington State. These are destinations that take a day or longer to explore.
Elsewhere, I enjoyed Savannah, Georgia, The Smithsonian, Texas state capitol building in Austin, Tombstone, AZ, the dunes on the beach at Florence, Oregon; the Redwood Forest in California.... hmm .. I need to get out even more.
I disagree with Times Square.
Times Square is fascinating. You have to go at night, and have someone else drive.
I took a southerner for her first visit to New York, and the two places that fascinated her (to my surprise) were Times Square and the LIRR (she’d never been on mass transit). But we were disappointed by the Statue. It’s not the statue itself that disappoints, but the line is so so long. We waited hours and hours on line.
They shouldnt allow them to go there on the Solstice. They have no claim to it beyond anyone elses.
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