This Park Was Just Named the No. 1 Tourist Attraction in the U.S.
New York City is home to the top tourist attraction in the country, along with 6 other winners.
Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure
Rowboats in the lake around the Bethesda Fountain in Central ParkAs Americans, we dream of summers on the French Riviera and spring in Japan, but travelers around the world aspire to visit the U.S. — so much so that the U.S. was named the top country for tourism in 2024 by the World Economic Forum.
Travelers come from all over the world to see the New York City skyline, peer into the Grand Canyon, and explore the Everglades, but there are certain sites that visitors have deemed a “must-see.” To determine which site is the top tourist attraction in the U.S., the retreat booking site BookRetreats.com analyzed 77 of the most popular points of interest across the nation, evaluating each on factors like place popularity, overall experience (according to over 7,500 visitor reviews), and hotel costs.
At the top of the list was a site that’s both natural and urban: Central Park in New York City.
The 843-acre park received a score of 4.075 out of a possible 5 points in the rating, making it the top tourist attraction in the U.S. The New York City park stood out for its popularity, maintaining a 4.8 rating on Google and garnering over 270,000 reviews. In addition, 91 percent of recent visitors raved about its beauty and abundance of free activities. (We’re guessing it doesn’t hurt that the park has its own castle and zoo.)
In addition to housing the top tourist attraction in the U.S., six other New York City sites made it onto the list, making the city an easy choice for travelers who only have time to go to one place. Interestingly, iconic spots like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty were surpassed by natural sites like The High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Following Central Park in the ranking were two more urban parks: Washington, D.C.’s long, grassy National Mall came in at No. 2, while Balboa Park in San Diego was ranked No. 3.
The trend toward nature-driven tourist attractions continues throughout the ranking, with natural sites making up 50 percent of the study’s best places to go.
Here's the full list:
Central Park — New York City
National Mall — Washington, D.C.
Balboa Park — San Diego
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Washington, D.C.
Times Square — New York City
Rockefeller Center — New York City
Niagara Falls — Buffalo, New York
Golden Gate Park — San Francisco
Magic Kingdom Park — Orlando
Brooklyn Bridge Park — New York City
Hoover Dam — Boulder City, Nevada
The High Line — New York City
Fountains of Bellagio — Las Vegas
Garden of the Gods — Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — New York City
Zion National Park — Utah
San Antonio River Walk — San Antonio, TX
ICON Park — Orlando
Golden Gate Bridge — San Francisco
Brooklyn Bridge — New York City
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