This topic has come up in our staff conversations. This writer (who has visited all mentioned too many times – worked as tour leader in Europe). He recently reacquainted himself with the Manneken Pis in Brussels and those sentiments have not changed. This writer and our office staff would disagree with regard to the Eiffel Tower however (editor had revisited recently). Perhaps it is the more restricted levels and access problems of the tower that now infuriate people. This article also highlights the way some people are more concerned about their Instagram Cred than what they are actually seeing. we agree that the Mona Lisa should be top of the list. Again one has problems actually seeing it these days due to the selfie/Instagram crowd.
In a poll of thousands of travellers, low cost carrier easyJet asked for votes on the world’s most disappointing tourist attractions, as well as the most desirable sights – and the results are in.
According to the survey, which took into account the opinions of 2000 Britons, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was revealed to be the most disappointing attraction, with a whopping 86% of those polled calling the famous portrait a “let down”.
The next most overrated sights were Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie, Manneken Pis in Brussels, Moulin Rouge in Paris, and Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue.
At the other end of the scale, the most desirable attractions were deemed the Northern Lights (Iceland), Lake Como (Italy), Santorini (Greece), the Alps (Switzerland) and Pink sand Elafonissi beach (Greece).
Giving an insight into what’s important for travellers, the survey found that nearly one in three (32%) tourists said their biggest priority when considering a foreign destination was how well their holiday photographs would look on Instagram, the Independent reported.
Top 10 disappointments
Mona Lisa, Paris
Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
Manneken Pis, Brussels
Moulin Rouge nightclub, Paris
The Little Mermaid statue, Copenhagen
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Spanish Steps, Rome
Trevi Fountain, Rome
Louvre, Paris
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
Top 10 most desirable sights
Northern Lights, Iceland
Lake Como, Italy
Santorini, Greece
Alps, Switzerland
Pink sand Elafonissi beach, Greece
Cinque Terre, Italy
Acropolis and Parthenon, Athens
Coliseum, Rome
Tulip fields, Netherlands
Benagil sea cave, Portugal
