The Most Overrated Attractions from Around the World

There are hundreds of attractions around the world, but it can be hard to decide where to start. Sites like Trip Advisor contain reviews from users who have visited the attractions, giving their opinion and rating on what they thought of them. We wanted to delve into this wealth of data for some of the top attractions from around the world to find out which were the most overrated, potentially saving tourists a lot of time, hassle, and money. 

To prepare our list, we selected some of the most discussed attractions on the Internet, we then set about comparing their average to terrible review ratings. Trip Advisor uses a five-star rating system, ranging from excellent (five stars) to terrible (one star). To work out their average review rating, we took the total number of reviews (including four and five stars) and calculated the percentage of users who have rated the attraction average (three stars) or below.

Our research found some interesting results, with a massive 57% of the Trip Advisor reviewers considering The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue) from Denmark, the most overrated attraction in the world.

A few reviews about the Little Mermaid:

• “It’s a tick box attraction...”

• “It’s a nice little statue, but the crowds are terrible”

• “Insanely crowded for nothing spectacular”

• “Nothing special, only fame.“

• “Don't know what the fuss is about”

 Taking 2nd and 3rd place were two of Britain’s best-known attractions, Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace, with 20% and 16% of reviewers rating them average or below.

Stonehenge’s reviews range from:

• “Bunch of Large Ancient Stones”

• “English Heritage left a sour taste”

• “Overrated and crowded”

• “Expensive for not a lot”

•  “Very disappointed”

 Buckingham Palace reviewers where not impressed:

• "No idea why tourists flock here!”

• “Horrifically overcrowded - avoid the Changing of the Guard!”

• “Amateur operation with staff that don't care”

• “Probably one of the worst national monuments in Britain"

• “Overpriced, underwhelming”

Outside of Europe, America’s most overrated attraction was Times Square with 15%, closely followed by China’s Forbidden Palace, and The Strip in Las Vegas, both with 12% of reviewers classing them as overrated.

The Most Overrated Attractions

On the opposite end of the scale, joint first place with a 97% reviewer satisfaction rating were Machu Picchu in Peru, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in the UAE and the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood in Russia.

Reviews for the top attractions where less varied and much more positive:

Machu Picchu:

•  “Reason number two to get to South America”

•  “Wow- just wow”

•  No words can describe the beauty of Machu Picchu!”

Sheikh Zayed Mosque:

•  “A must see venue!!”

•  “Most beautiful mosque in the world”

• “It's really a wonder - must to see!”

 Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood:

• “Amazing roof shapes! Spectacular building”

• “The symbol of Saint Petersburg"

• "Awe-inspiring Russian church”

The Best Rated Attractions