The World’s Worst Tourist Traps in 2025, According to Visitor Reviews

Whether it’s the crowds, the cleanliness, the noise, long lines, or price gouging, some of the world’s best known tourist attractions just don’t live up to the hype—and a new analysis by eSIM company Nomad has unearthed where the world’s worst tourist traps are in 2025.

The study’s authors analyzed TripAdvisor reviews for the most popular tourist attractions in the world’s 50 most-visited countries, according to data from the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization. Then, taking the text from the online reviews, the study counted the number of times each attraction was negatively described as a “tourist trap” to uncover which of the world’s top destinations left their visitors the most underwhelmed.

1. The World’s Worst Tourist Destinations, Ranked
2. The Most Overpriced Tourist Traps
3. The 10 Worst Tourist Traps in the U.S.
4. The Top 10 Worst Tourist Traps in the UK

The World’s Worst Tourist Destinations, Ranked

There was a two-way tie at the top of the worldwide list for 2025, with two American destinations—Wall Drug, South Dakota, and Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco—both being labeled a “tourist trap” 1000 times each.

Once little more than a roadside drugstore and refreshment stop, Wall Drug is now part of a vast Western-themed attraction that, despite topping this list, racks up 2 million visits every year.

Likewise, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood welcomes a staggering 12 million visitors annually to its waterfront restaurants and souvenir shops, yet some visitors appear to be underwhelmed; according to one, it’s “only worth it to see the seals.” (They’re actually sea lions.)

Coming in second in the study was Europe’s most disappointing destination, the famous Las Ramblas promenade in Barcelona, Spain. This pedestrianized thoroughfare is lined with buzzy bars and restaurants, yet has struggled to lose its reputation as the world’s most pick-pocketed street—which might be one reason why it has picked up 826 visitors’ reviews calling it a tourist trap.

The remainder of the Top 5 were also located in Europe: Dublin’s Temple Bar district came in third overall (with 687 reviews); the former Cold War border crossing of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany, came in fourth (681 reviews); and Edinburgh’s famous cobblestoned Royal Mile came in fifth (539 reviews).

Elsewhere, Canada’s worst reviewed attraction—and the sixth worst reviewed in the world—was none other than Niagara Falls (483 reviews). Even the Eiffel Tower made the global Top 10, and was ranked ninth overall (with 303 reviews). Among the many other iconic landmarks and attractions to end up on the “tourist trap” list were such global heavy-hitters as Rome’s Trevi Fountain (ranked 11th overall), the Pyramids of Giza (15th), Chichen Itza (18th), the Acropolis (19th), Petra in Jordan (21st), Angkor Wat in Cambodia (25th), and Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace (33rd). Australia’s worst tourist trap, meanwhile, was Sydney Harbour (28th), and South America’s was Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue (30th).

The Most Overpriced Tourist Traps

Switching the parameters a little, the study also looked at which tourist attractions were also accused of being overpriced, by counting the number of times the words “tourist trap” appeared alongside a complaint about cost. Top of this list was Graceland (where a tour of the mansion will set you back $84) with 206 reviews, followed by Arizona’s Grand Canyon Skywalk, and North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate in third.

The 10 Worst Tourist Traps in the U.S.

Taking the data country by country, Graceland also crept in to the U.S. Top 10 tourist traps in ninth place, alongside the likes of Times Square, Chicago’s Navy Pier, and Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market.

You can see how other states’ tourist attractions fared in reviews mentioning tourist trap in the map below.

The Top 10 Worst Tourist Traps in the UK

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile topped the UK list. Other British spots to earn the “tourist trap” label were the London Eye, Covent Garden, Camden Market, the Tower of London, and Edinburgh Castle.

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