Top 10 Tourist Destinations

The most difficult part when it comes to traveling is deciding where to visit. Everybody has different tastes, be it history, night-life, sight-seeing, swimming and culinary. Fortunately enough a lot of countries offer all of those. But what countries are visited most? According to the World Tourism Organization, the most visited countries in 2007 were these:

France

Number of visitors – 79,100,100

Yes the number is right. Paris alone attracts millions upon millions of tourists every year all year round. Most tourists travel to France for history, beaches and food. After all where can you get the best dish if not in France? Well known history sites include the Louvre, Bastille and the Eiffel Tower.

Spain

Number of visitors – 58,500,500

If you go in the summer make sure you hit the beaches and if you visit in winter make sure that you don’t miss the fun skiing in Spain. If you like art and history make sure you don’t miss Barcelona and Madrid. Spain also has a lot of World Heritage Cities like Cordoba, Toleda, Salamanca and Segovia.

USA

Number of visitors – 51,100,000

The United States attracts varies types of tourists. Theater lovers can’t miss New York City, beach lovers must go to Florida and for those who love beautiful scenery then it’s California or Montana. The most popular cities with tourists are Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Miami and New York City.

China

Number of visitors – 49,600,000

Going to China just to see the Great Wall is already enough. But that’s not all. Tourists can also enjoy Beijing, Dunhuang Grottoes, the Ancient Silk road, the tidal bore at the QianTang river and the beautiful scenes around the lakes.

Italy

Number of visitors – 41,100,000

Italy offers something for everyone. The Alps are for ski lovers, Rome and Firenze are for history lovers and make sure you visit the Coliseum and the Uffizi Gallery. For a romantic trip, Venice is known to work its magic. The Duomo in Milan is also a major tourist attraction. And last but not least, the food.

UK

Number of visitors – 30,700,000

The list of major attractions is endless in the UK. In London, England there is the London Eye, London Zoo, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Big Ben and St.Pauls Cathedral among many others. In Scotland you can see other things besides the famous Loch Ness. There are a lot of castles and cobbled medieval streets.

Germany

Number of visitors – 23,600,000

Germany is the perfect place for history and architecture lovers. Berlin, Bonn, Cologne and Munich are all top tourist attractions. One should not forget about their famous bratwurst and beer. If you like walks in the nature, then the Black Forest is the perfect spot for you.

Mexico

Number of visitors – 21,300,000

Besides being cheap, Mexico has an endless list of main attractions. From Machu Picchu, to the beaches in Cancun there is something to please everyone. The scenery can be breath-taking and the food is to die for.

Austria

Number of visitors – 20,300,000

If you like architecture, prepare to be impressed in Austria. There are churches, monasteries, castles and palaces all over the country. If you are in Salzburg make sure you visit Mozart’s birth house, the Werfen Ice Caves and Hangar 7 which is at the airport and offers arts and fine dining.

Russia

Number of visitors – 20,200,000

Moscow has so much to offer for everyone. You can see beautiful architecture, a perfect flowing river, the Kremlin and the very famous Red Square. St.Petersburg is also a main tourist attraction and it is considered as the Venice of the North. If you are into ancient cities then make sure you visit Velikiy Novgorod which is more than 11 centuries old.

Sources:

http://www.unwto.org/index.php

http://www.spain.info/US/TourSpain/Destinos/mapas/sus+Ciudades+Patrimonio.htm?Language=en

http://www.chinaplanner.com/attractions/

http://www.travour.com/travel-to-italy/tourist-attractions-in-italy.html

http://www.austria.info/xxl/_site/en/_area/408019/_subArea/408044/_subArea2/408196/_aid/590935/index.html

http://www.asiatravelbest.com/site/1391530/page/938129