We love to travel and take the photo that hopefully shows a new angle on a much-photographed landmark (how many people have experimented with propping up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, for instance?). But sometimes a high entrance fee can make it seem really pricey to take that shot that you hope will wind up being a favorite. A new study from Heepsy crunches numbers from tourist spots all over the world, analyzing their entry fees and adding in their online popularity, their hours of opening, their visitation numbers, the possible need for photography permits, among other considerations, to come up with a ranked list of the world’s priciest and most popular places to take a tourist photo. On the list of the top 38, five are found in the U.S. We’ll admit to a little surprise when scanning this list, because many of the landmarks can be seen and photographed without actually visiting (going inside) and paying a fee. Let’s take a look.
No. 1 on the list is Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper. It’s also the most expensive and in-demand place to take a personal photo. Its entry fee of $108 beats that of the second on the list, Mount Kilimanjaro, by nearly $40. The Eiffel Tower can easily be photographed from vantage points all over Paris, yet its $39 admission fee to actually ascend the tower earns it a third place on this list.
The list goes on, but we’ll skip to highlight the five places in the U.S. that are included. No. 7 on the list is the Grand Canyon. To enter this national park, you must pay $35. At No. 15 is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Although vehicles must pay a bridge toll of $10 to drive across the span, better photos can actually be taken while you’re not on it...plus, bikers and walkers can use the bridge for free. At No. 16 is the summit of Haleakalā Volcano in Maui; you must pay $30 per car to enter the Haleakalā National Park. At No. 32 is Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Island of Hawai’i, which also carries a $30 fee per vehicle. And finally, at No. 34 is Antelope Canyon in Arizona, a slot canyon on the Navajo Nation, for which you must procure a permit and go on a guided tour. The permit only costs $8, but the mandatory tour guide can cost far more.
The priciest and most popular places to take a tourist photo:
1. Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates
2. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
3. Eiffel Tower, France
4. Big Ben, England
5. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
6. Sagrada Familia, Spain
7. The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
8. Machu Picchu, Peru
9. The Palace of Versailles, France
10. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
11. Sydney Opera House, Australia
12. Taj Mahal, India
13. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
14. Angkor Wat, Vietnam
15. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA
16. Haleakalā Volcano, Maui, USA
17. Mount Fuji, Japan
18. Petra, Jordan
19. Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
20. The Colosseum, Italy
21. Mount Etna, Italy
22. Banff National Park, Canada
23. Salar de Iyuni, Bolivia
24. Iguaçu Falls, Brazil side
25. The Acropolis, Greece
26. Stonehenge, England
27. Chichén Itzá, Mexico
28. Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe
29. Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
30. The Alhambra, Spain
31. Halong Bay, Vietnam
32. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Island of Hawai’i, USA
33. Sacred Valley, Peru
34. Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
35. Temple of the Tooth, Sri Lanka
36. Moraine Lake, Canada
37. Temple of Heaven, China
38. Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar