Worth the trip? The world’s top tourist attractions

A recent article on bootsnall.com - the Nine most disappointing attractions in Europe – made me wonder whether there is more to the appeal of an attraction than the attraction itself.

Looking through the list of “underwhelming” statues, monuments, buildings and bridges, a common theme emerges: they’re too small or too popular (too many fellow tourists).

Lots of the fun of visiting a world-famous attraction is the sense of anticipation stoked by years and years of childhood stories, cartoons, documentaries, newspaper articles and blog posts. Entering a crowded Salle des États, alight with excitement and hushed murmurs, will only enhance the moment when you finally set eyes upon the Mona Lisa.

Gravesend, the town in Kent, would not necessarily pique the interest of the common traveller. However, apart from recording some of the highest temperatures in England, it’s also the final resting place of Pocahontas, the Virginia Indian woman who helped the early colonial settlers at Jamestown in the United States, and who may be better known as the heroine of the 1995 Disney movie.

In Gravesend (my hometown) we have a statue of Pocahontas (photographed by Vegan Fellow) that school children go on field trips to gawp at. To me, the value of this statue as a tourist experience lies not just in seeing it, but in knowing something of the story behind it. At face value, there is a bronze statue of a girl with a feather in her hair, but by knowing a little of Pocahontas's story, the statue is transformed into a symbol of a girl’s love and her desire to better her people’s way of life.

To an extent the same is true of all great tourist attractions. The churches of Rome offer hours of interest even to those disinterested in religion. The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen (photographed by fotopusch) may be small, but the story that inspired it has entertained children for hundreds of years.

Travellers don’t just visit these places to see the attractions; they visit to experience the legend, which is something that no number of camera phones can take away.

What have been your own experiences of famous attractions? Were the pyramids as awe-inspiring as you expected? Were the Niagara Falls less spectacular in real life? Leave us a comment in the box, below. We’d love to hear from you.

© Cheapflights Ltd Thomas Nash

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Cheap Flight News

Comments

[David Lloyd]

Look at our website for places we've found memorable, but top of the list has to be the top of Table Mountain. In clear weather there's nowhere else on Earth I'd rather be.

[tim]

I am not sure if people would agree with me or not, but I find that London and some of its attractions are a let down. For a capital that represents the country I feel that more could be done to generate more tourism and generate income for business owners. I would like to see more attractions and less traffic and maybe a new airport.