These Details Could Explain The Huge Numbers Of Tourists That These Attractions Get Each Year

Millions of visitors come to the Grand Canyon in Arizona each year — and for good reason. The formation’s among the most awe-inspiring sights a person’s ever likely to witness. The canyon was created by the Colorado River, which left a massive 277-mile-long chasm in the surface. The site’s littered with caves, most of which haven’t yet been explored. And on top of everything else, plenty of important fossils have been found there over the years.

For the past 4,500 years or so, the Pyramids of Giza have stood tall. The first and biggest of them — the 481-feet-high Great Pyramid — was started around 2550 B.C., followed by the second one around 30 years later and the third in approximately 2490 B.C. Part of a wider complex that also includes the Sphinx, these three amazing monuments continue to blow people away today.

There’s an interesting quirk about the world-famous flower market in Amsterdam: it’s the single one on Earth that floats. That certainly makes it unique but this place also has a fascinating history. The Bloemenmarkt was the site of one of the earliest major economic bubbles. It sold tulips, the prices soared to unsustainable levels and the bubble eventually burst.

Crafted out of solid rock, the ancient city of Petra’s a sight to behold. Situated within the desert of modern-day Jordan, this one-time capital of the Nabatean people was originally established in 312 B.C. And the place is full of royal tombs — about 1,000 of them, in fact. That’s even more than in Egypt’s famous Valley of Kings.

First things first: did you know Big Ben’s actually just a nickname? This world-famous clock’s actually called the Elizabeth Tower, a name it picked up in 2012. Before that it was officially known by the rather plain-sounding title of the Clock Tower. Another tidbit worth remembering is that the four enormous clock faces of the structure all measure an impressive 23 feet in diameter. And the bell’s extremely heavy, weighing more than 13 tons.

On a good year, more than 90 million individuals can be expected to pass through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. This famous marketplace was once at the very heart of commerce in the Mediterranean region, with products from Asia and Europe all passing through. So the place has been bustling for several centuries now.

The Kasanka National Park in Serenje, Zambia, is clearly spectacular — and it also hosts a unique event that makes it even more special. From October to December, an incredible thing happens each year. Fruit bats — about five million of them — migrate into the area’s forests, ahead of eventually moving on to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the most amazing sight and it attracts plenty of people each year.

Constructed more than six centuries ago, the Prague Astronomical Clock is among the oldest such contraptions in the world. This popular attraction shows people the time, naturally, but it also informs us of the date and points out the locations of important astronomical objects in the sky. With smartphones, this isn’t exactly necessary anymore — but it is charming.

Teotihuacan’s a place of mystery. This archaeological complex is just outside modern-day Mexico City but it’s a true relic of another time. And while we still don’t know much about the people who once inhabited the site, we can marvel at their achievements. Among the many, many monuments standing there, the Pyramid of the Sun’s perhaps the most impressive. This thing’s 216 feet tall, with a base of around 760 feet by 720 feet.

As world-famous tourist hotspots go, the Basilica of the Sagrada Família’s pretty unusual. Why? Well, because it still isn’t finished. Works to complete this elaborate structure are ongoing — and have been since 1882. But even though the building’s never been totally completed, it’s long been emblematic of Barcelona.

The Tijuca National Park has quite the claim to fame: it’s one of the biggest forests in the world that’s situated within an urban area. It may even be the biggest, though that’s up for debate. Some people say a forest in Johannesburg takes that title. In any case, though, this Rio De Janeiro park’s a magical place.

The Louvre’s one of the most famous museums in the world and it’s an extra special place for fans of a certain artist. If you’re particularly interested in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, there’s nowhere in the world that’s better to visit. That’s because the Paris-based museum contains a quarter of the man’s paintings.

As well as being the world’s smallest state, Vatican City holds another notable record: it’s also the biggest museum complex on Earth. The entire place is just littered with artworks and treasures, which draw people from all over. It definitely isn’t just religious people who take an interest in the Vatican.

A spectacular sight to behold, Borobudar’s the world’s biggest Buddhist monument. The site’s Indonesia’s greatest draw for tourists as well — and it isn’t difficult to see why. The complex is incredibly beautiful and intricate. The UNESCO website describes it as having “a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa.”

The Eiffel Tower’s the most iconic feature of the Paris skyline but it was originally meant to be temporary. Completed in 1889, it was the tallest manmade structure on Earth at the time — yet it was supposed to stand for just two decades. It’s far exceeded that projected timeline, of course, and it continues to attract millions each year. The tower’s no longer the tallest building in the world, though, but weirdly it got a little taller recently. An antenna was installed, raising its height by 20 feet to 1,082 feet.

The Acropolis of Athens is one of Greece’s most iconic sights. The ancient citadel stands upon a peak at the heart of the city and it consists of some of the most famous buildings of the ancient world. The most well-known’s probably the Parthenon, which was constructed throughout the middle of the 5th century B.C., during the city’s so-called “golden age.”

The biggest imperial palace on Earth lies in Beijing. The Forbidden City spreads out across almost 8,000,000 square feet of space and consists of close to 1,000 buildings. It’s a vast, vast complex and it has some strange quirks. For instance, you’re unlikely to see birds land on any of its roofs. They were designed specifically to keep the flying creatures away, so the birds wouldn’t leave a mess behind.

There’s no amphitheater on our planet that’s bigger than Rome’s Colosseum. It’s so big, in fact, that a contemporary soccer field could fit inside with total ease. Back in ancient times, the venue would’ve hosted 50,000 people looking for entertainment. And anyone who’s seen Gladiator will recall how violent the events here could be.

The Sphinx is an iconic monument in Egypt, of course, but its replica in Las Vegas is impressive in its own way. It’s more tacky, sure, yet it’s actually loftier than the real thing. Yes, measuring from the ground up, the Vegas Sphinx is taller by roughly 35 feet. There’s probably a bit more cultural heft to the original, though.

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper’s a remarkably impressive manmade structure. It’s taller than any other on Earth, shooting some 2,716 feet into the air. That makes it double the height of the Empire State Building! Millions of people are drawn to Burj Khalifa each year, fascinated to see such a vast architectural achievement firsthand.

Rio’s Christ the Redeemer is one of the most striking monuments on Earth. Completed during 1931, this wonder still attracts millions of visitors every year. The record for a single day came in 2011, when something like 14,000 people descended upon the statue. It seems they couldn’t resist seeing the world’s tallest art deco statue.

Iceland can get cold but the Blue Lagoon’s just the right amount of toasty. This is a geothermal pool where the water’s just ideal to relax in. It starts off underground, where it’s a scalding 464 °F. By the time the water makes it to the top, though, it’s about 100 °F. Perfect.

The Taj Mahal’s an awe-inspiring building — and in more ways than one. Aside from the sheer grandeur of its design, it’s also worth noting just how much material went into constructing this marvel. According to some estimates, the whole complex weighs something like 87,000 tons. Plus, around 20,000 different kinds of stone were used. And remember, no high-tech machines were involved during the build. It was two centuries ago, after all.

Back when he started making The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the late 1990s, Peter Jackson needed to decide on the perfect spot for filming scenes in the mythical Shire. He eventually found it on a farm in a place in his native New Zealand called Waikayo, which was where his team constructed their set. After filming had ended, some of the set remained and tours started taking place around it. Now this spot’s one of New Zealand’s most popular draws for tourists.

Visitors to Hawaii’s Molokai island often find themselves spending a lot of time in the most unlikely of places: the Hoolehua Post Office. That’s because this place offers an unusual service. Basically, it allows people to decorate coconuts and send them to almost anywhere on the planet. It certainly beats a simple postcard.

As Ireland’s most popular attraction, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin welcomes visitors from all over. People get to learn about the production process of Guinness, plus a little detail about the firm’s founder Arthur. This brewery’s been there for a while now and it certainly looks set to stay for plenty of time to come. That’s because Arthur Guinness signed a lease to use this specific site that’ll only expire after 9,000 years.

Whether you see it from the Canadian side or the American side, Niagara Falls is breathtaking. It’s actually composed of three separate waterfalls, the largest of which is called Horseshoe Falls. Within a single minute, around 45 million gallons of water can be expected to cascade down the Horseshoe Falls alone.

Vietnam’s Ba Na Hills resort’s situated up high. It’s actually close to 5,000 feet above sea level, so you can imagine the views from all the way up there. On top of that, visitors can enjoy those sights from the Golden Bridge, an incredible structure that looks like a pair of massive hands holding up a platform.

The Moai statues — the stone heads littering Easter Island in the Pacific — are something of a mystery. Not much is known about how they were created, which makes them even more intriguing for experts and tourists alike. Even though people all over the world recognize these heads, did you know they actually have bodies, too? It’s just that they ended up buried underground over the centuries.

The Golden Gate Bridge is iconic, in no small part due to its vibrant orange hue. But incredibly, it was never meant to be this color. Orange paint was initially used as a primer, with a different shade scheduled to follow. It became obvious pretty quickly that orange made the bridge seem even more unique than it already was, though, so a decision was taken to keep it this way.

On a typical day, more than 10,000 people can be expected to pass through Pompeii. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, as exploring the site’s like gaining a snapshot of ancient Roman life. You can even see human bodies there, though they weren’t discovered as they appear now. What we see today are actually casts in the shape of the remains of people that once lay on the site but have since disintegrated. They left holes in the ash layer that covered them, which were then filled with plaster.

Stonehenge’s a roughly 5,000-year-old monument in England that consists of a bunch of stones piled in a circle. These rocks are big, cumbersome, and very heavy, and experts still have no clear idea of how ancient people managed to move them. What methods were used to construct this place? We still don’t know, which definitely adds a further air of intrigue.

Kilimanjaro’s Africa’s biggest mountain and it also holds a record on the world stage: it’s taller than any other free-standing mountain on Earth. People travel far and wide to see Kilimanjaro, though they mightn’t be aware of one of its most notable features. The mountain consists of a trio of volcanic cones. Two are inactive — but one could actually still go off.

Disney World in Florida’s a place of dreams for kids — and many adults, too. It’s also incredibly vast, covering an area of land roughly double that of Manhattan. That’s a wild thought and it obviously requires a lot of people to keep such a huge site going, which in turn means something like 50,000 people work there.

Anyone in New York has to call in at the Met and take a look at all the wonders inside. First-time visitors might find themselves a little shocked by how familiar the place seems, though. There’s a reason for that, as movie buffs are likely to have seen the place before. The Met’s shown up in a whole host of films, including When Harry Met Sally and The Devil’s Own.

Pretty much everyone knows the Great Wall of China is the world’s longest landmark created by humans but there are still some misconceptions about it. Despite popular belief, the wall can’t be viewed by the naked eye from outer space. It’s way too thin for that. Still, it’s a remarkably impressive sight to see from the ground.

The Palace of Versailles is the definition of opulence and it continues to attract plenty of visitors today. The gardens alone are enough to take the breath away — and in the past they kind of literally did. That’s because the scent of the flowers was so strong that people would actually feel sick just by standing there.

Machu Picchu’s so impressive to look at, even more so when you hear how it was constructed. The Inca people who made it never used cement, instead just slotting the stones into place really, really carefully. You might think that wouldn’t be very sustainable, perhaps, yet the place is still very much intact — and it’s even capable of withstanding earthquakes.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat is bigger than any other monument of religious significance on Earth. It was initially associated with Hinduism when it first went up in the 12th century but later it came to be linked with Buddhism. The design of the complex is impressive, particularly in light of its close connections to astronomy.

Known for its innovative, unique design, Sydney Opera House’s probably the leading icon of the city it stands in. The building’s feats of design extend to far more than the way it looks, though. Inside, the place stays cool thanks to a novel system wherein cool water’s extracted from the nearby sea and used in the site’s pipes.