Wherever you’re traveling in the U.S., you’ll want to know which attractions are worth your time and which are OK to skip. A new study by BookRetreats ranks the best U.S. attractions for tourists, offering insight you can use when planning your next trip.
To determine this all-important ranking, the global retreat platform examined 77 of the nation's most popular attractions, analyzing factors like popularity, overall experience, affordability, and safety. The verdict? New York—not surprisingly—reigns supreme as the ultimate tourist destination, boasting seven of the top 20 spots, including the coveted number one.
Topping the list of the best tourist attractions in the U.S. is Central Park, which scored a stellar 4.075 out of 5 for tourist appeal. This sprawling urban oasis is a crowd favorite, racking up a 4.8 rating on Google and over 270,000 reviews—the highest in the study. Visitors rave about its beauty and wealth of free activities, with 91 percent of recent guests singing its praises.
Coming in second with a score of 3.994 out of 5 is the National Mall in Washington D.C. This historic hub draws visitors to landmarks like the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Budget travelers rave about the free entry, and nearby three-star hotels average just $129.80 per night for two.
Surprisingly, some lesser-known New York spots outshone the city’s more iconic landmarks. The High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park left the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty in the dust, earning top marks for visitor experience out of all 77 attractions.
On the other hand, the ranking calls out the attractions most likely to leave tourists underwhelmed. The shocking news is that 70 percent of the bottom picks are theme parks. SeaWorld, Disneyland, and Six Flags all tanked in the rankings, but it’s the Hollywood Walk of Fame that takes the crown for being the worst U.S. attraction. Scoring rock-bottom for experience (0.68/2) and popularity (0.42/1), 20 percent of visitors summed it up as "dirty" and "run down."
The top 20 U.S. tourist attractions
- Central Park
- National Mall
- Balboa Park
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- Times Square
- Rockefeller Center
- Niagara Falls
- Golden Gate Park
- Magic Kingdom Park
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Hoover Dam
- The High Line
- Fountains of Bellagio
- Garden of the Gods
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Zion National Park
- San Antonio River Walk
- ICON Park
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Brooklyn Bridge