Tourist attractions in the United States

Times Square is the most visited public (not privately owned) tourist site in the United States, with over 41 million visitors in 2011.

This is a list of the most popular individual tourist attractions in the United States, lists of tourist attractions organized by subject region, and a selection of other notable tourist attractions and destinations.

Top tourist attractions

In 2011, the most visited tourist attractions in the U.S. were:

Place	Location	Visitors (millions)[1]
Times Square	New York, New York	41.9
Central Park	New York, New York	40
Union Station	Washington, D.C.	36.5
Las Vegas Strip	Las Vegas, Nevada	29.5
Grand Central Terminal	New York, New York	21.6
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World	Orlando, Florida	17.1
Disneyland Resort	Anaheim, California	16.1
Golden Gate Bridge	San Francisco Bay Area, California	15
Faneuil Hall Marketplace	Boston, Massachusetts	15
Golden Gate Park	San Francisco, California	13
Balboa Park	San Diego, California	13
Epcot, Walt Disney World	Orlando, Florida	10.8
Pike Place Market	Seattle, Washington	10
Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World	Orlando, Florida	9.8
Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World	Orlando, Florida	9.7
Great Smoky Mountains National Park	North Carolina and Tennessee	9
South Street Seaport	New York, New York	9
Mackinac Bridge	St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, Michigan	9
Navy Pier	Chicago, Illinois	8.7
Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf	San Francisco, California	8.1

Landmarks

As of 2007, there are 2,462 registered National Historic Landmarks (NHL) recognized by the United States government.^[2] Each major US city has thousands of landmarks. For example, New York City has 23,000 landmarks designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. These landmarks include various individual buildings, interiors, historic districts, and scenic sites which help define the culture and character of New York City.^[3]

Sports

Sporting events and their associated venues make up a significant percentage of tourist dollars in the US. Estimates of the US sports industry's size vary from $213 billion^[4] to $410 billion.^[5] In 1997, 25% of tourism receipts in the United States were related to sports tourism; this would have valued the market at approximately $350 billion annually.^[6] Many US sporting events routinely attract international visitors. The 1997 New York City Marathon attracted 12,000 participants from outside the US, out of 28,000 participants.^[7]

Hotels

Hotels can be both housing for tourists visiting a particular region or city, and destinations themselves, with many hotels having historic and cultural status.

Lists of tourist attractions in the United States

Lists by type of attraction

• Art museums
• List of botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States
• Amusement parks
• List of aquaria in the United States
• Beaches
• List of casinos in the United States
• List of castles in the United States
• List of festivals in the United States
• Mexican fiestas in the United States
• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of museums in the United States
• List of areas in the National Park System:
  • National Battlefield Parks
  • National Historic Parks
  • National Lakeshores
  • National Military Parks
  • National Monuments
  • National Parks
  • National Recreation Areas
  • National Seashores
• List of National Wildlife Refuges of the United States
• List of nature centers in the United States
• List of open-air and living history museums in the United States
• List of Renaissance fairs
• List of shopping malls in the United States
• List of ski areas and resorts in the United States
• List of auto racing tracks in the United States
• List of indoor arenas in the United States
• List of NASCAR tracks
• Seaside resorts
• List of U.S. stadiums by capacity
• Tennis venues
• reenactment sites
• List of U.S. National Forests
• List of U.S. state parks
• List of zoos in the United States
• Wine festivals

Lists by city or region

• List of attractions and events in Indianapolis
• List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area
• List of Orlando, Florida attractions
• Attractions in Silicon Valley, California
• List of Wilderness Areas in the Adirondack Park
• List of lands at Disney theme parks
• List of attractions and events in Jacksonville, Florida

Other tourist attractions and destinations

• Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the Boardwalk
• California's Wine Country
• Richmond Strip, Houston, Texas
• The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
• New Orleans Mardi Gras, Louisiana
• Hollywood, California
• Outer Banks of North Carolina
• Pennsylvania Dutch Country
• Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
• Salem, Massachusetts
• Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas
• Hanauma Bay, Hawaii
• Key West, Florida
• Aspen, Colorado
• Miami, Florida

Former tourist attractions

• Borscht Belt, New York
• Salton Sea, California

See also

• Lists of tourist attractions

Notes

1. Orcutt, April (5 December 2012). "America's Most Visited Tourist Attractions". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
2. National Park Service (June 2010). "National Historic Landmarks Program: List of National Historic Landmarks by State" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-03-23.
3. text by Andrew S. Dolkart ; Matthew A. Postal. (2003), Guide to New York City Landmarks, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-36900-4
4. "The Sports Industry", SportsBusiness Journal, Street & Smith's, 2008, retrieved May 19, 2008
5. "Sports Statistics", Plunkett's Sports Industry Almanac, Plunkett Research, 2007, retrieved May 19, 2008
6. Standeven & De Knop 1999, p. 176
7. Standeven & De Knop 1999, p. vii

References

• Standeven, Joy; De Knop, Paul (1999). Sport Tourism. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-87322-853-7.