Top 10 Tourist Spots in the USA

[Nords]

Well, maybe not - I've seen the Paisano Pete 10-ft. tall roadrunner monument in Fort Stockton at least three times.

Hey, I feel fortunate just to have been given the opportunity to view the Goode parking-lot armadillo!

 

[RonBoyd]

Hey, I feel fortunate just to have been given the opportunity to view the Goode parking-lot armadillo!

Did I ever mention Salem Sue?

Salem Sue, World's Largest Holstein Cow, New Salem, North Dakota

 

[haha]

This seems to be a list of the most visited spots then actual tourist destinations. Being from the Boston area I'm sure most of the visitors to Faneuil Hall Marketplace are locals that live within driving distance, it's just a place to go for entertainment and dinner. Never met a 'tourist' that flew into Boston just to visit Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Same could probably be said for some of the other spots on the list.

Has the Market been cleaned up from the 60s? I used to go down there on a Friday night to buy meat and try to keep some butcher's thumb off the scale while he weighed it.

I don't think I ever won, but the experience was worth it. Is there still a pizza dive down in that neighborhood named "The New Deal"? Unbelievably good thin crust pizza, best north of Providence and New Haven.

Ha

 

[ERD50]

Maybe top 10 "touristy" spots

Navy pier is quite possibly the last place I would suggest somebody visits when coming to Chicago

Agreed - I was hoping someone would offer an opinion, and I'd love to hear from visitors on that.

Navy Pier in Chicago reminds me of one description of Paris Hilton "She's famous for being famous". I'd say people go there because people go there.

Although, we did walk through as part of some other things we were doing in the city a few weeks back. They had some fun Halloween stuff going on, actors playing out parts, doing an old medicine show routine, magic tricks and stuff, it was kinda fun. We actually walked through the stained glass museum in there, which I didn't see before, and it was quite good.

But still far, far down on the list of things to do/see.

I've been to all but the Navy Pier.

Post if you want suggestions if you are coming to town (hint: not Navy Pier! ). It depends on what your interests are, but the Chicago-land people will give you lots of options. A Chicago hot dog, no ketchup is an absolute must (I've converted a few people).

-ERD50

 

[martyb]

I've been to 2,5,6,8 & 9. I'll check out the others after I quit working in 2 yrs, 2 months, 1 day!

 

[martyb]

Well, maybe not - I've seen the Paisano Pete 10-ft. tall roadrunner monument in Fort Stockton at least three times.

Hey..I've been there too!

 

[lightspeed]

I've been to all but #9 too. I think this is a list of top 10 tourist traps. None of them would come to mind if I was recommending places to see in the states to a visitor.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, tourist traps they might be, but I am glad to find myself to be a typical tourist.

I am geeky and different enough from regular people that it is a relief to know I share some traits with the public at large.

 

[retire@40]

I would have put Yellowstone National Park in there, probably in the #6 spot.

 

[zinger1457]

Has the Market been cleaned up from the 60s? I used to go down there on a Friday night to buy meat and try to keep some butcher's thumb off the scale while he weighed it.

I don't think I ever won, but the experience was worth it. Is there still a pizza dive down in that neighborhood named "The New Deal"? Unbelievably good thin crust pizza, best north of Providence and New Haven.

Ha

My first experience with Faneuil Hall was in the mid-70's during my college days so not sure what it was like during the 60's. It's always been well kept since I've been visiting. For Italian food we would usually take a walk into the North End, no shortage of excellent Italian food there.

 

[Midpack]

I've been to all 10 and like others I agree they are probably the most visited, but only 2 would make my personal "top" 10 list. Some of the ones on this list are so touristy they're disgusting, but YMMV.

Off the top of my head, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, San Francisco (other than F Wharf), Nantucket, Napa would probably be among my top 10. I'd be more interested in a list of top 10 experiences instead of top places anyway (and started a thread along those lines a while back).

But fun to think about for a few minutes nonetheless...

 

[kcowan]

I think it is a record-keeping trick. Who knows whether I have been to the GC? Or watched the sunrise from the middle of a volcano (Maui)? Or body surfed (Maui and Oahu)? Or snorkeled (Oahu)!

Although I have been to Chicago and Boston, I have not visited their top spots, but I have visited all the others. Somehow it does not rate as an accomplishment to me.

 

[mickeyd]

Any Top 10 list that does not include The Alamo is not authentic. Well, at least if you are including Texas in that vote.

 

[REWahoo]

Any Top 10 list that does not include The Alamo is not authentic.

The Alamo is a wonderful historical concept but disappointing as a physical destination.

 

[haha]

The Alamo is a wonderful historical concept but disappointing as a physical destination.

It's a shrine, and to me a very moving one. Overall, Texas Missions are not very imposing compared to California's. But I enjoyed going down the river from El Paso and visiting the missions along that stretch, as well as seeing some of them around San Antonio.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

When they called these the "Top 10", they meant "Most Visited", which are not necessarily "The Best 10". Measuring the popularity of a place by the number of visitors is a lot easier than by other more subjective qualities. Still, I was surprised that other highly touristy spots did not make the list, such as the "Walk of Fame" and Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Does that really have less traffic than the Navy Pier in Chicago? I am really curious about how they count the traffic. Perhaps some of these places have a lot of local traffic.

Anyway, despite what some may say about Faneuil Hall and Fisherman's Wharf, they are popular and will continue to be frequented by first-time visitors to Boston and San Francisco. Come on! Wouldn't you go there just to see for yourself how "disgustingly touristy" these places are? Oh, I forgot that most of us have been there already, in order to sneer at the tourists still flocking there.

Don't be too harsh! I am not ashamed to say we enjoyed walking the area around Faneuil Marketplace looking for a place to eat. Yes, it is touristy, but no more so than Boqueria Market and La Rambla street in Barcelona, or the area in Amsterdam around the Royal Palace, or the Montmartre in Paris, or the entire inner city of Prague. Come to think of it, most of the places we have visited have been touristy; we did find these places in some guidebooks after all.

Places like the Disney parks, unless we have grandchildren to entertain, I do not see ourselves visiting again. That goes for any amusement park, and even top zoos like the San Diego Zoo (we have been there 3 times). Once one has been to these "top" places, then it is time to venture out to lesser known places. And in an RV. It is too early yet for me to start thinking of an RV in Europe, but I still have some time left, I think.

 

[mickeyd]

disappointing as a physical destination.

Well that is certainly true when considering a group of about 180 visitors in the spring of 1836.

 

[REWahoo]

Well that is certainly true when considering a group of about 180 visitors in the spring of 1836.

Yep. I remember.

 

[Nords]

Yep. I remember.

You're talking about the battle cry, or was this from personal experience?

 

[REWahoo]

You're talking about the battle cry, or was this from personal experience?

Congratulations, you win the "I wonder who will take the bait" prize!

 

[Nords]

Congratulations, you win the "I wonder who will take the bait" prize!

I waited as long as I could...