I saw this list of the top 50 tourist attractions yesterday on Facebook. Everything about this fascinated me. There are places on this list that I've never heard of. The truth is, I'm not nearly as well-traveled as I'd like to think I am. I've only been to 10 of the places on the list. I have not been to any of the numerous Disney properties on the list. That's right, I've never been to Disney World. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? Please don't. I have been to the Sydney Opera House. I think that’s 10x better than Disney, not only because it’s one of the coolest buildings in the world but because it’s, well, it’s in Australia for crying out loud.
The methodology for compiling the list is nearly as interesting as the list itself. Travel & Leisure defined tourist attractions as “cultural and historic sites, natural landmarks and officially designated spaces” then proceeded to exclude roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway. Huh? It’s historic and it's a unit of the National Park Service (other parks made the list) that was visited by 13.9 million tourists in 2014. The list contains two piers (which is like a bridge to nowhere) yet it excludes bridges, which is the only reason I can figure why Humpback Bridge in the Alleghany Highlands didn’t make the cut. Exact visitation numbers are not available but it is the subject of a Telly-award-winning video.
I’m sure that every spot on the list is interesting in some way. They all draw millions of visitors, which is definitely impressive. I certainly enjoyed each of the 10 locations that I visited. However, I would only place two of the remaining forty destinations high on my priority list.
What about you? Have you visited many of these locations? Does this list of most visited attractions happen to coincide with your personal opinion of what makes destinations appealing? Let us know.