How many times, when visiting a city or a renowned tourist area, do we feel obliged to stop in those places that are considered a “must”? You cannot visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, or Rome without seeing the Colosseum, or New York without a visit to the Statue of Liberty. But while some architectural works are indeed stunning, others are, as they say, more smoke than fire. Preply has drawn up a ranking of ten attractions which, on balance, turn out to be just tourist traps. Here’s what they are according to the portal’s point of view.
The search for the perfect photo near an iconic monument is an essential phase of any tourist trip, but there are attractions that, according to Preply, could be avoided without living up to expectations. Here are the ones:
Time Square in New York
New York’s most famous illuminated square turns out to be the most stressful tourist trap in the world. According to Preply, 1761 reviews call it overrated or disappointing. The writer agrees with this vision: the square appears excessively chaotic and the artificial lighting is decidedly excessive. Avoid if you don’t like the feeling of being physically attacked by indefinable entities.
Eiffel Tower in Paris
The icon of the French capital, incredibly, is in third place among the least rated attractions, with around 1300 reviews that don’t define it as anything special. Better to see it from afar, as a backdrop for postcard photos, but the queues to go up are definitely too much for the patience of many.
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
The fairy-tale aura that surrounds the sculpture inspired by the story of Hans Christian Andersen is well known, but in fact it is a simple bronze statue 1.25 meters high. Nothing that justifies such a desire to see it.
Las Ramblas in Barcelona
The famous avenue of the Spanish city is teeming with nightlife, shops and people. Maybe too many. And here comes the 1200 negative reviews, which define the place as overrated and, above all, overcrowded.
Here is the ranking of the most stressful tourist traps in the world:
| Classification | Attraction | City | Village | Reviews mentioning “overrated,” “disappointing,” and “tourist trap” |
| 1 | Times Square | New York | United States | 1,761 |
| 2 | Checkpoint Charlie | Berlin | Germany | 1,425 |
| 3 | Eiffel Tower | Paris | France | 1,291 |
| 4 | The little Mermaid | Copenhagen | Denmark | 1,248 |
| 5 | Las Ramblas | Barcelona | Spain | 1,203 |
| 6 | Manneken Pis | Brussels | Belgium | 1,154 |
| 7 | Blue Lagoon | Reykjavik | Iceland | 1,096 |
| 8 | Hollywood Walk of Fame | California | United States | 1,032 |
| 9 | The London Eye | London | United Kingdom | 1,028 |
| 10 | Guinness Storehouse | Dublin | Ireland | 1,009 |
Trevi Fountain in Rome
There is also some for Italy. Our The Trevi Fountain it is splendid, but the overwhelming influx of people makes it practically impossible to see. Furthermore, it is not clear why so many people are encouraged to stay there for so long. The Roman monument collects 917 negative reviews, ranking first among the most stressful tourist traps in Italy. But in the top 3 we also have the Colosseum with 596 negative reviews. Reviews consistently mention long queues and hordes of visitors. If you want to avoid the hustle and bustle, some suggest considering a guided tour with skip-the-line access.
Here is the ranking of tourist traps in Italy:
| Classification | Attraction | City | Reviews mentioning “overrated,” “disappointing,” and “tourist trap” |
| 1 | The Trevi Fountain | Rome | 917 |
| 2 | Spanish Steps | Rome | 672 |
| 3 | Colosseum | Rome | 596 |
| 4 | St. Mark’s Square | Venice | 437 |
| 5 | Tower of Pisa | Pisa | 381 |
| 6 | The Blue Grotto | Capri | 281 |
| 7 | Juliet’s balcony | Verona | 259 |
| 8 | Vatican | Rome | 163 |
| 9 | Pompeii Archaeological Park | Pompeii | 133 |
| 10 | Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery | Milan | 115 |
