10 overrated Tourist Attractions

10 overrated Tourist Attractions Pisa
10 overrated Tourist Attractions: Pisa

10 overrated tourist attractions | First of all we call them ‘tourist traps’: heavily advertised but mostly overpriced unattractive places. Hyped for whatever reason they turn you down right from the moment you set foot in it. Likewise a look under the hood does not make things better. Most of these tourist traps are notoriously dirty and overcrowded. Here are ten perfect examples:

10 Overrated Tourist Attractions

1: Times Square, New York City (USA)

10 overrated tourist attractions
Times Square in New York City is probably the most overrated tourist trap in an already overrated location.

10 overrated Tourist Attractions, the perfect blueprint: Times Square in NYC. Let’s delete this one from your bucket list right away. Congratulations! You successfully avoided another crowded intersection with way too many neon lights.

2: Blarney Stone (Ireland)

10 overrated tourist attractions
10 overrated Tourist Attractions: Blarney Castle parapet and hole.

Some twisted Irish tradition says, kissing the Blarney Stone with your head upside down will endow you with the gift of gab and flattery. And this is the price to pay: you will be waiting longtime in line to lock lips with a wall that is covered in the saliva of millions who came before you :D

3: Nanjing Dong Lu Shopping Street, Shanghai (China)

10 overrated tourist attractions shanghai
Nanjing Dong Lu Shopping Street, Shanghai. Any backdoor mall in Malaysia is better than this one.

What a waste of time! Nanjing Dong Lu Shopping Street is often described the best shopping street in China. Empty words. Whatever history this place might have had, it was replaced by ubiquitous brands that can be found anywhere.

4: Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)

10 overrated tourist attractions pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.

The surrounding buildings in Pisa are more worth it. But since tourists have free access it’s ok to go there for a fake hero picture that shows you keeping this landmark from toppling over. Entrance to the Leaning Tower itself currently costs 15 Euros per person. To be fair: we don’t really rule out Pisa as a short stop on your way from Cinque Terre and Florence ;) It’s just that you should not expect too much. Just be prepared to meet a lot of like minded tourists.

5: Great Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)

Giza
View from Mena House Oberoi to the Pyramids of Giza.

Just forget it. Don’t go there. Although the Pyramids of Giza are masterpieces of ancient architecture and world wonders for a reason, they seem to be out of reach for tourists. Too dirty, too smelly, too many aggressive street sellers.

6: Stonehenge (England)

10 overrated tourist attractions
Most stereotype tourist photos in England: Stonehenge. Photo by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0

Stonehenge is one of those ancient wonders that crop up in sci-fi movies and pseudo-science babble. Regardless of the original purpose of this mysterious collection of standing rocks, it’s not very interesting to visit. You can’t access the site due to a protective fence, and a nearby highway thoroughly kills any mystical ambiance. If you are looking for history, energy and a well-preserved mystical place: Callanish Standing Stones should better be #1 on your list.

7: Loch Ness (Scotland)

loch ness monster
It’s alive! This is rare footage of the Loch Ness monster “Nessy”.

Located in a remote corner of Scotland, Loch Ness has been the center of rumors about a prehistoric lake monster. And guess what. The day you arrive at this dull lake, Nessy will not show up. Instead you’ll get grey skies, a lot of cold wind and plenty of vendors selling stuffed Nessie dolls.

8: Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles (USA)

walk of fame hollywood california tom hanks star
The infamous Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a classic example for an overrated tourist trap. Photo by Chili.

The infamous Hollywood Walk of Fame! Instead of enjoying a star lined boulevard, visitors are hounded to buy souvenirs made in China, take pictures with weird characters in costumes and give to the homeless. Why don’t you grab your sports gear instead and go for a run at Runyon Canyon? LA’s celebrities prefer to walk their dogs here. At Runyon Canyon chances are definitely higher to stumble into Jessica Biel or Ben Affleck :)

9: Taj Mahal (India)

10 overrated tourist attractions
Taj Mahal, just hopelessly crowded.

Welcome to India. Pretty much the moment you touch ground you will have diarrhoea. Once you reach Taj Mahal you finally realize: the intagram pictures did lie. There are way more people at this place than expected. But that’s not the whole story. A weak sewage system at the nearby Yamuna River is actually a weapon of mass destruction against your nose. You will certainly suffer. India’s flush-and-forget mentality keeps many western travelers from entering this country.

10: Manneken Pis, Brussels (Belgium)

10 overrated tourist attractions
Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium. Totally overrated. But at least it doesn’t cost any entrance fee. Photo by Chili.

Manneken Pis, Belgium: The name of this little statue in Brussels’ city center translates to “Little Man Pee.” We don’t know why tourists flock to look at a statue of a naked child peeing. But if you insist on going, time your visit for when the statue has been dressed up by a city employee. Only then you might feel a little less like a creep. It is said that the fountain’s water sometimes gets replaced with beer. If you figure this out: come during one of these occasions so you can at least get a free pint of beer.


10 overrated tourist attractions. By Chili & Chirp | Hugging horizons since 2004 | more Travel Top Lists here.