WORLD GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 6: MOST VISITED TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Why do people travel? to satisfy their sense of adventure and curiosity to help them get to know the past to be able to relax to get away from the stress of everyday life to give a person a new perspective in life

Most Visited Tourist Attractions

1. Times Square 35 million tourists visit the place per year A major commercial intersection in Manhattan, New York City, USA Peak season: New Year’s Eve

2. National Mall and Memorial Parks An open-area national park in Washington D.C., USA 25 million tourists visit the place per year Memorial parks included:

-National World War II Memorial-Thomas Jefferson Memorial-Korean War Veterans Memorial

Peak season: blooming of Cherry blossoms (March-April) and graduation season (May)

3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Located at Lake Buena Vista, Florida 16.6 million tourists visit the place per year Peak season: Summer (June to September)

4. Trafalgar Square a square in Central London, England named after the battle of Trafalgar in which the British Naval won in the

Napoleonic Wars 15 million tourists visit the place per year used as a location for political demonstrations, gatherings, celebration site of New Year’s Eve, and the lighting of

the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree

5. Disneyland Park the only amusement park designed and built under the supervision of Walt Disney 14.7 million tourists visit the place per year travelers can enjoy better deals, fewer crowds, and less sweating in line when they visit in winter that begins

around November until April

6. Niagara Falls straddles the international border of Ontario, Canada and New York City, USA divided into two:

-Horseshoe Falls-American Falls

14 million tourists visit the place per year lower rates are available throughout the fall and winter season

floodlights illuminate the falls from the Canadian side during the evening

7. Fisherman’s Wharf / Golden Gate Nat’l Recreation Area located in San Francisco, California 13 million tourists visit the place per year peak season: summer in US best place to view the Golden Gate Bridge and the Alcatraz Island home of Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum and Wax Museum San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Pier 39, and the San Francisco Fishing Fleet

8. Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea theme parks inside the Tokyo Disney Resort in Chiba, near Tokyo, Japan first Disney park built outside the USA DisneySea has a nautical adventure theme 12.9 million tourists visit the place per year Peak season: Christmas to New Year, summer holiday (July-Aug)

9. Notre Dame de Paris France’s biggest attraction with 12 million visitors a year has been a backdrop of Victor Hugo’s novel and a certain Disney movie animation peak season: June to September

10. Disneyland Paris located at Marne-La-Vallee, France 10.6 million tourists visit the place per year formerly called EuroDisney peak season: June to September

11. The Great Wall of China the most visited section of the wall is in Badaling, Beijing, China 10 million tourists visit the place each year peak season: June to August

12. Great Smoky Mountains National Park the mountain ranges rise along Tennessee, North Carolina, USA 9.2 million tourists visit the place each year peak camping season: early spring (March) to autumn (November)

13. Universal Studios Japan located in Osaka, Japan the most visited among all the Universal Studios parks best time to visit: spring (Mar-Apr) and fall (Sept – Nov)

14. Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris a Roman Catholic basilica at the summit of Montmartre, Paris, France in French: Basilique du Sacré-Coeur 8 million tourists visit the place each year

15. Louvre Museum one of the largest and most visited museums in the world 7.5 million tourists visit the place each year

the glass pyramid was designed by I.M Pei French name: Musée du Louvre

16. EVERLAND RESORT located in Kyonggi-Do, South Korea has five major theme parks:

-Everland-Caribbean Bay-Home Bridge-Hoam Art Museum and Transportation Museum-Glen Ross Golf Club

7.5 million tourists visit the place each year

17. The Forbidden City has been the previous home of China’s emperors and their households for almost five hundred years enclosed inside the Imperial City, then to Inner City 7 million tourists visit the place each year peak season: June to August, Chinese New Year

18. Eiffel Tower stands on Parc du Champ de Mars in Paris, France currently has two restaurants:

-Altitude 95-Jules Verne

6.7 million tourists visit the place each year low season: October to March

19. Universal Orlando Resort consists of two theme parks

-Universal Studios Florida -Universal’s Islands of Adventure

the largest resort among all of Universal’s theme parks all of the rides are inspired by popular films 6 million tourists visit the place each year best time to visit: winter (Jan-Feb), out of hurricane season (May), autumn (Oct-Nov)

20. SeaWorld Adventure Park Orlando a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park has animal museums, rides, number of live shows featuring trained animals such as killer whales, dolphins, and

sea lions 5.74 million tourists visit the place each year

21. Pleasure Beach a privately owned amusement park and resort in Blackpool, England open all year round, but closes early by March to April when it goes dark much earlier 5.74 million tourists visit the place each year

22. Lotte World a recreation complex that consists of the world’s largest indoor theme park, outdoor amusement park, artificial

island inside a lake, shopping malls, museum, hotel, movie theaters, and sports facilities in Seoul, South Korea has attracted 5.5 million visitors

location of the Korean drama, Stairway to Heaven

23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise located in an island at the tip of Yokohama Bay that features the country’s largest marine life collections and an

undersea tunnel attracts 5.4 million visitors a year best time to visit: Japanese spring

24. Hong Kong Disneyland the smallest Disneyland park to open located on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island park attendants, cast members, and maps use the English, Mandarin, and Cantonese dialects attracts 5.2 million visitors a year peak: Spring or Lunar Festival (Jan, Feb or Mar), summer (Jul-Aug), Autumn Festival (Oct)

25. Pompidou Centre also known as Centre Georges Pompidou the architects of this building aims to show the public how a building functions, thus all the pipes, escalators,

electricity, stairs, water and air ducts are outside the building and are color coded houses a vast public library, a modern art museum, and a center for music and acoustic research. attracts 5.1 million visitors a year

Tate Modern Britain’s national museum of international modern and contemporary art attracts 4.9 million visitors a year crowded on weekends and public holidays

26. British Museum library and museum of human history and culture houses the Rosetta stone, the key in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs attracts 4.9 million visitors a year crowded on weekends and public holidays

27. Universal Studios Hollywood the original Universal Studios theme park and one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in

use Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of all Universal Studios’ theme parks attracts 4.7 million visitors a year

28. National Gallery located in the Trafalgar Square and houses a remarkable collection of Western European paintings that dates

back from the mid-13th century to the 1900s the following paintings can be found in the museum: Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Leonardo da Vinci’s The

Virgin of the Rocks, and Claude Monet’s The Water Lily Pond, among others attracts 4.6 million visitors a year

29. Metropolitan Museum colloquially known as The Met located in New York, USA also maintains collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, antique weapons and armor from

around the world aside from art pieces attracts 4.5 million visitors a year

30. Grand Canyon

a steep-sided gorge contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA attracts 4.4 million visitors a year peak season: summer in USA

31. Tivoli Gardens a famous amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark that opened in 1843 created through the efforts of Georg Carstensen; he argued to King Christian VIII that when people are amused,

they don’t think about politics attracts 4.4 million visitors a year best time to visit: May to Sept

32. Ocean Park Hongkong a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park founded in 1977 by Sir Murray MacLehose attracts 4.38 million visitors a year best time to visit: Oct - Dec

33. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay an amusement park that has an African theme has over 2,000 animals in its care plus the usual rides and attractions attracts 4.36 million visitors a year

34. Sea World was founded in 1964 by four graduates of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) who originally

considered of building an underwater restaurant attracts 4.36 million visitors a year peak season: mid-May to mid-Sept

35. Statue of Liberty official name: Liberty Enlightening the World made of pure copper that hung on a framework of steel the torch is made of gold leaf attracts 4.24 million visitors a year

36. Vatican and its Museums visitors must enter the visitor route and visit the 54 galleries of the museum before earning access to the Sistine

Chapel visitors must wear modest clothing, meaning no bare shoulders or knees for both men and women attracts 4.2 million visitors each year peak season: Apr – July, Sept - Oct

37. Sydney Opera House the only major attraction in Australia that attracts more than 4 million visitors a year a multi-venue performing arts designed by Danish architect, Jorn Utzon peak season: Nov-Feb (summer in Australia)

38. The Colosseum the most well-known relic of the world’s greatest empire it serves as a background to Rome’s busy metropolis and has been the symbol of the international campaign

against capital punishment attracts 4 million visitors a year peak season: just before Easter from Apr - Oct

39. American Museum of Natural History has a collection of over 32 million specimens and habitat dioramas of African, Asian, and North American

mammals, a blue whale suspended in one of its halls, and the Star of India, the largest sapphire in the world attracts 4 million visitors a year

40. Grauman’s Chinese Theater Hollywood’s main attraction where celebrities are invited to leave their signature, hand and shoeprints in wet

cement outside the theater attracts 4 million visitors a year

41. Empire State Building a 102-story building that became New York’s tallest building following the destruction of the World Trade Center

in 2001 attracts 4 million visitors a year best time to visit the city is during spring from May to June when there is less humidity

42. Natural History Museum located in London, England home to life and earth science specimens and specializes in taxonomy, identification and conservation attracts 4 million visitors a year

43. London Eye carries 32 sealed air-conditioned egg-shaped passenger capsules that can hold up to 25 people attracts 3.5 million visitors a year best to ride the ferris wheel near dusk to have a good view of the city during the day and what it looks like at

night

44. Palace of Versailles home to the French monarchy since King Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette attracts 3.45 million visitors a year

45. Yosemite National Park located in California, USA famous for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, streams and Giant Sequoia groves attracts 3.4 million visitors a year open all year, except when there are heavy snow

46. The Great Pyramid of Giza believed to have been built for the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and was constructed over a 14 to 20 year period within the area of the Great Pyramid, you can also find the other two pyramids and the Sphinx attracts 3 million visitors a year peak season: Oct-May, winter to spring

47. Pompeii ruins in the ancient town of Pompeii have become a tourist attraction after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD

and its rediscovery in 1599 attracts 2.5 million visitors a year peak season: spring and summer

48. Hermitage Museum

a museum of arts and culture located in St. Petersburg, Russia which was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764

attracts 2.5 million visitors a year peak season: June due to the celebration of White Nights in which the sun does not set until 10 pm and twilight

lasts almost all night

49. Taj Mahal considered to be the most romantic building in the world built by emperor Shajahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal

who died in childbirth attracts 2.4 million visitors a year best time to visit: winter (Nov – Mar)

50. Banaue Rice Terraces / El Nido, Palawan