Destinations

25 Tourist Traps We Love

— By Kaeli Conforti

The Great Wall of ChinaPeople under the Eiffel Tower in ParisThe Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy
A view of Versailles from the gardensThe Acropolis in AthensCafé du Monde in New Orleans, Louisiana
Chichen Itza ruins in MexicoSunrise on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilBlarney Castle in Ireland
The U.S. Capitol BuildingHula dancer entertains the crowd on Kuhio Beach on Oahu, HawaiiGondolas in Venice
Angkor Wat in CambodiaThe Roman Colosseum in the light of sunset in Rome, Italy.The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor
Uluru Ayers Rock in the Australian OutbackRome's Trevi FountainPyramids of Egypt
Flowers at Elvis' grave at Graceland in Memphis, TennesseeStonehenge in the United KingdomGaudi's art in Barcelona, Spain
The Tower of LondonThe Sound of Music in Salzburg, AustriaThe Space Needle in Seattle
The Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin, Germany
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"The Great Wall, but off the beaten path." —Anita Ziegner

Aquamila/Dreamstime

"There's still something magical about the Eiffel Tower." —@MSNLocalEdition

Tomas Marek/Dreamstime

"Pisa. Go in knowing that you're there for the obligatory picture of you pushing or leaning on the tower. Where else is there one like it?" —@amy_veenstra

Courtesy ibnelly/myBudgetTravel

"Versailles. I've never been but am planning to go next spring. I'm a historian though, so it is of particular interest to me." —Caroline Dover Wilson

Courtesy rwheeler50/myBudgetTravel

"The Acropolis in Athens." —Cindy Ackerman Hovland

Photostella/Dreamstime

"I think Café du Monde, though touristy, in New Orleans is still worth the visit." —@JLDumont6

Courtesy mirelisp/myBudgetTravel

"Chichen Itza. It is truly remarkable and worth the drive." —Addy Bailey

Courtesy Akwinelvr/myBudgetTravel

"Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro." —Shash Yázh

Mypix/Dreamstime

"Blarney Castle. The grounds around the castle are just gorgeous." —Sara O'Bryan Thompson

Courtesy cjdrich/myBudgetTravel

"The U.S. Capitol building. Take the tour. The new video is awesome." —Terrica M. Gibson

Courtesy jorgeq/myBudgetTravel

"Hit up the luaus on Oahu, Polynesian Cultural Center, Paradise Cove. You have a show and you eat traditional Hawaiian food. They're worth the price of admission." —Barbara Palaith-Newson

Courtesy Ray_from_LA/Flickr

"Gondola rides in Venice. A "touristy" thing to do but so worth it!" —JaMeka Tyler Ramnath

Courtesy BethanieKay/myBudgetTravel

"Angkor Wat, Cambodia. So spectacular!" —@mrsptravels

Dan Wallace/Dreamstime

"I did a tour of the Colosseum and some of the ruins. My brother was against it, but we got to see and learn about things that we otherwise wouldn't have known! Totally worth it." —Krista Martin

Courtesy StanBike/myBudgetTravel

"The Statue of Liberty." —Sara O'Bryan Thompson

Pongpon Rinthaisong/Dreamstime

"Uluru [Ayers Rock in the Australian Outback]." —Jennifer Filipowski

Lauren Cameo/Dreamstime

"The Trevi Fountain in Rome." —Carolyn Hopkins

Courtesy dmg33/myBudgetTravel

"The Pyramids [of Egypt]." —Kelly Hoffman

Courtesy RichH/myBudgetTravel

"Graceland. Mainly because I haven't been yet (next summer!) and I'm obsessed." —Ami Kamara

Courtesy ianloic/Flickr

"Stonehenge. Totally worth the photo op!" —Erin Roush

Courtesy davidspiel/myBudgetTravel

"The double-decker tour buses in Barcelona. Totally worth the long line to get on." —Kelly Schott

Georgiy Pashin/Dreamstime

"The Tower of London. Been there three times with three different people and loved it every time." —Colleen Fitzwater DePietro

Philip Bird/Dreamstime

"The Sound of Music bus tour in Salzburg (it doesn't get much more tourist trappy than that!) and I loved it!" —

Courtesy jasminejennyjen/Flickr

"The Space Needle in Seattle." —Crystal Wishart

Juliengrondin/Dreamstime

"The Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin. Huge queues but worth it." —Fiona Thompson

Courtesy websprinter.nl/Flickr

Sure, these iconic destinations are mentioned in every travel guide. Sure, they're teeming with tourists. But we firmly believe that some spots are on the beaten path for a good reason. Here, the 25 travel classics that Budget Travelers can't (and shouldn't!) resist.

How do you define a "tourist trap"? For some of us, it means an overcrowded, overpriced attraction that, once you've escaped, you'd rather forget. But we have found that there are some super-crowded, often pricey sites that are worth the hassle and the money. Whether you prefer to think of them as "classics" or "traps," we asked our audience which "tourist traps" they absolutely couldn't live without. Check out the photo gallery (above) for a dose of trip inspiration and see if you agree with our picks:

UNITED STATES

Our audience agreed that some of the most popular attractions in America are totally worth the crowds, including New Orleans's Cafe du Monde, the U.S. Capitol building, an authentic Hawaiian luau, Seattle's Space Needle, Graceland (Elvis's home, in Memphis), and the Statue of Liberty.

EUROPE

No surprise that Europe racked up more favorites than any other region, including: the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Versailles, the Acropolis, Blarney Castle, a gondola ride in Venice, the Checkpoint Charlie museum in Berlin, Salzburg's Sound of Music tour, the Tower of London, double-decker bus tours of Barcelona, Stonehenge, Rome's Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum, 

ASIA 

Our audience agrees you must visit the Great Wall of China and the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

MEXICO

The Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza are totally worth the crowds.

SOUTH AMERICA

You know the song, and you shouldn't skip Ipanema Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

AFRICA

The pyramids at Giza, Egypt, of course.

AUSTRALIA

Uluru, or Ayers Rock, in the Outback, is far-flung and brag-worthy.

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