tourism meme, stolen from kivrin
1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year -- but before it was Disneyfied.
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C. (Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials,the war memorials): About 25 million 1999
3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million
4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million
6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million
7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million
8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan: 12.9 million
9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France: 12 million.
10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France: 10.6 million -- in all fairness, this hadn't been built when I was there.
11. The Great Wall of China, Badaling area, China: About 10 million
12. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: 9.2 million
13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: 8.5 million
14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France: 8 million -- Actually I may or may not have been there. I was sleep-deprived and in unbelievable pain, so I may have just imagined it. My main memory of Paris was seeing All That Jazz with French subtitles, and, for some reason, the horrible airbrushed art on the side of the van parked down the street from our hostel.
15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million The classic tourist 15-minute Louvre.
16. Everland (amusement park), Kyonggi-Do, South Korea: 7.5 million
17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: At least 7 million
18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 6.7 million My verdict at the time: "Neat!"
19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Fla: 6 million Fun. Sweaty, terryfing, barfy fun with glow-drinks.
20. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, Fla: 5,740,000 -- But I do own a SeaWorld sweatshirt. For some reason.
21. Pleasure Beach (amusement park), Blackpool, England: 5.7 million
22. Lotte World (amusement park), Seoul, South Korea: 5.5 million
23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan: 5.4 million
24. Hong Kong Disneyland, China: 5.2 million
25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France: 5.1 million
26. Tate Modern, London, England: 4.9 million It was all just "The Tate" then, and awesome as fuck.
27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million
28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million
29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million
30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY: 4.5 million
31. Grand Canyon, Ariz.: 4.4 million
32. Tivoli Gardens (amusement park), Copenhagen, Denmark: 4.4 million
33. Ocean Park (amusement park), Hong Kong, China: 4.38 million
34. Busch Gardens (amusement park), Tampa Bay, Fla.: 4.36 million
35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 4.26 million
36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY: 4.24 million -- I've seen it, but not actually been.
37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy: 4.2 million -- I know. It surprises me, too. Most hilarious museum gift shop in the world. You can get Pope ashtrays and miniature Venus de Milos in orange(!) marble. Yes, the Venus de Milo is actually in the Louvre. Don't question it.
38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia: More than 4 million Been past, but not into.
39. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million -- I bought an Italian Spider-Man comic from a street vendor outside.
40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million
41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Calif.: 4 million
42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million
43. Natural History Museum, London, England: 3.7 million I saw my first hologram there. It depicted a faucet with water pouring out. It was covered with fingerprints from everybody touching it. It was like witchcraft.
44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million -- not built when I was in London.
45. Palace of Versailles, France: 3.45 million
46. Yosemite National Park, Calif.: 3.44 million
47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: 3 million
48. Pompeii, Italy: 2.5 million
49. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia: 2.5 million
50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India: 2.4 million