Travel Tips & Advice

The 10 Worst Tourist Attractions for Your Money


Caroline Morse Teel
Caroline Morse Teel
Woman taking photo of Empire State Building

    Hate tourist traps? You’ll want to give these attractions a pass on your next trip. Travel website ParkSleepFly analyzed the cost of admission to the world’s top 30 tourist attractions, and then cross-referenced the price against the number of “poor” and “terrible” reviews. The points of interest with the highest ticket costs and worst reviews were ranked as the worst value for the money.

    According to the survey, the Empire State Building is the worst value tourist attraction. Although this Manhattan landmark is an iconic part of the skyline, it’s best viewed (for free) from outside. Visiting the main observation deck costs $44 and has a 4.2 percent negative review rate from disappointed tourists.

    As one disappointed Google reviewer points out, “Too much hope for this place. There's rooftop bars around that give excellent views and drinks. $80 just to stand at the top isn't worth it.”

    Related: 6 Things Tourists Should Never Do in Major Cities

  • The World’s Worst Value Attractions

  • Three images, from left to right, of the Empire State Building, The Palace of Versailles, and the London Eye
    BRIAN_KINNEY & Photocreo Bednarek & Wirestock | Adobe Stock
    Rank Attraction Location Ticket Price % of Bad Reviews Value Score /10
    1 Empire State Building New York City $44.00 4.2% 1.03
    2 Buckingham Palace London $40.53 3.3% 1.90
    2 Stonehenge Wiltshire $26.35 8.0% 1.90
    2 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York City $25.00 18.1% 1.90
    5 London Eye London $36.48 4.2% 2.07
    6 Museum of Modern Art New York City $25.00 4.7% 2.59
    7 Palace of Versailles Versailles $22.67 9.5% 2.76
    8 Petra Ma'an $70.52 2.5% 2.93
    9 Vatican Museums Vatican City $19.27 8.2% 3.28
    10 Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh $23.64 2.9% 3.97

    However, there are plenty of places around the world that ParkSleepFly deemed as worthy of your money. Admission to the Great Wall of China varies depending on where you enter, but the average ticket price is fairly low, and reviewers are generally impressed by this attraction which is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

    Related: 10 Most Overrated Tourist Traps

  • The World’s Best Value Attractions

  • Three images, from left to right, of the Great Wall of China, The Eiffel Tower, and the Colosseum
    yuri_yavnik & Ekaterina Belova & beatrice prève | Adobe Stock
    Rank Attraction Location Ticket Price % of Bad Reviews Value Score /10
    1 Great Wall of China (Mutianyu) Beijing $6.31 0.5% 10.00
    2 Taj Mahal Agra $14.61 1.0% 8.28
    3 Forbidden City Beijing $6.31 2.5% 7.76
    4 Prague Castle Prague $11.66 2.4% 7.59
    4 Eiffel Tower Paris $12.13 2.2% 7.59
    6 Grand Canyon Arizona $20.00 0.7% 7.42
    7 Victoria Peak Hong Kong $9.61 2.5% 7.07
    7 Colosseum Rome $18.14 1.3% 7.07
    9 Acropolis of Athens Athens $22.67 1.6% 6.21
    10 Louvre Paris $17.00 2.5% 5.86