The last thing any tourist wants is to buckle up for a boring attraction.
So a new study that reveals ‘the 100 most boring attractions across the globe’ serves a useful purpose for those keen to guarantee a holiday free from the mundane.
America, it seems, needs to up its game on the excitement front, with attractions in the country occupying the top seven spots, beating Shrek’s Adventure London into eighth place. And four Legoland Discovery Centers make the top 25.
The ranking, by Solitaired, was drawn up by an analysis of 66.7million Google reviews of 3,290 popular tourist attractions worldwide, spanning 384 cities across 71 countries. Researchers calculated a boredom score for each site by focusing on 11 keywords indicative of tiresome, lifeless and boring impressions, to determine the least interesting.
Branson Scenic Railway in Missouri takes the undesirable top spot as the world’s least interesting attraction, with a boredom score of five out of five. Departing from an old depot in downtown Branson, the heritage railroad travels through part of the Ozark Mountains on a 40-mile round trip.
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While some reviewers on Google praised the ‘beautiful’ foliage and ‘magnificent’ vistas, others were unimpressed by the views’ limited to trees on both sides of the train’ during summertime, with ‘Sheena Youngers’ commenting that they were ‘a little bored after a while of just seeing treetops’.
Illuminarium Atlanta, in the U.S state of Georgia, earns the runner-up spot with a boredom score of 4.5, with Google reviewer ‘Beata Lech’ saying they ‘left after 40 minutes’ despite paying $144 (£115) for four people and ‘Mardi Graz’ adding that it was ‘cool for about the first 15 minutes’ and ‘after that… just boring’.
But the immersive experience, which plays 4K interactive projections with 360-degree immersive audio and in-floor vibrations, also garners plenty of five-star views, with ‘Sunil Patel’ calling it ‘one of a kind’ and ‘Tiffany Rahming’ saying it’s a ‘must visit location’ with ‘beautiful images’ and ‘wonderful sound effects’.
Attraction | City, State | Country | Total Reviews | Boredom Score (0 – 5) |
1. Branson Scenic Railway | Branson, Missouri | US | 3,341 | 5 |
2. Illuminarium Atlanta | Atlanta, Georgia | US | 2,260 | 4.5 |
3. Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 3,112 | 3.7 |
4. Salem Witch Museum | Salem, Massachusetts | US | 10,176 | 3.4 |
5. Lego Discovery Center Atlanta | Atlanta, Georgia | US | 3,797 | 3.4 |
6. Adler Planetarium | Chicago, Illinois | US | 2,145 | 3.3 |
7. Museum of Science & Industry | Tampa, Florida | US | 4,469 | 3.1 |
8. Shrek’s Adventure London | London | UK | 6,063 | 2.9 |
9. Legoland Discovery Center Dallas / Fort Worth | Dallas, Texas | US | 4,832 | 2.9 |
10. Legoland Discovery Centre Toronto | Vaughan | Canada | 4,347 | 2.8 |
11. Telus Spark Science Centre | Calgary | Canada | 6,132 | 2.8 |
12. The London Dungeon | London | UK | 17,604 | 2.6 |
13. Museum of Ice Cream | New York City, New York | US | 5,880 | 2.5 |
14. The Shepherd of the Hills | Branson, Missouri | US | 3,245 | 2.5 |
15. The Hershey Story Museum | Hershey, Pennsylvania | US | 3,324 | 2.5 |
16. WA Museum Boola Bardip | Perth | 3,446 | 2.5 | |
17. International UFO Museum and Research Center and Gift Shop | Roswell, New Mexico | US | 2,226 | 2.5 |
18. Torture Museum | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 3,088 | 2.4 |
19. Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science | Miami, Florida | US | 7,489 | 2.4 |
20. MagiQuest | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 3,390 | 2.4 |
21. Jungle Island | Miami, Florida | US | 4,850 | 2.4 |
22. Skull Island: Reign of Kong | Orlando, Florida | US | 5,140 | 2.4 |
23. Miami Seaquarium | Miami, Florida | US | 13,755 | 2.3 |
24. Legoland Discovery Centre, Melbourne | Melbourne | 3,682 | 2.3 | |
25. Great Wolf Lodge Water Park Minnesota | Bloomington, Minnesota | US | 6,217 | 2.3 |
26. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 7,354 | 2.3 |
27. Lake of Dreams | Las Vegas, Nevada | US | 2,342 | 2.3 |
28. International Spy Museum | Washington, D.C. | US | 13,321 | 2.3 |
29. Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood | Los Angeles, California | US | 3,527 | 2.2 |
30. Omega Mart | Las Vegas, Nevada | US | 12,797 | 2.2 |
31. Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre | Hanoi | Vietnam | 13,452 | 2.2 |
32. Museum of Sydney | Sydney | 2,291 | 2.2 | |
33. Port Discovery Children’s Museum | Baltimore, Maryland | US | 2879 | 2.2 |
34. Saunders Farm | Ottawa | Canada | 2,345 | 2.2 |
35. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! | Orlando, Florida | US | 9,311 | 2.2 |
36. The Health Museum | Houston, Texas | US | 2,106 | 2.2 |
37. Tenement Museum | New York City, New York | US | 4,611 | 2.2 |
38. National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland | Dublin | Ireland | 2,782 | 2.2 |
39. Connecticut Science Center | Hartford, Connecticut | US | 2,817 | 2.1 |
40. Crayola Experience Mall of America | Bloomington, Minnesota | US | 2,662 | 2.1 |
41. Museum of Death New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana | US | 6,744 | 2.1 |
42. Ghost Town Museum | Colorado Springs, Colorado | US | 2,305 | 2.1 |
43. The Ride NYC | New York City, New York | US | 2,501 | 2.1 |
44. Choco-Story, Chocolate Museum | Bruges | Belgium | 7,059 | 2.1 |
45. World of Illusions Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | US | 2,552 | 2.1 |
46. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! | St. Augustine, Florida | US | 8,343 | 2.1 |
47. The Edinburgh Dungeon | Edinburgh | UK | 5,644 | 2.1 |
48. Canada Science and Technology Museum | Ottawa | Canada | 7,414 | 2.1 |
49. Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 13,538 | 2.1 |
50. Scandia Fun Center | Sacramento, California | US | 2,608 | 2.1 |
51. The New Children’s Museum | San Diego, California | US | 2,785 | 2.1 |
52. Immigration Museum (Museums Victoria) | Melbourne | 2,614 | 2.1 | |
53. Crave Golf Club | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 4,188 | 2.1 |
54. MOTAT Museum of Transport and Technology | Auckland | New Zealand | 3,841 | 2.1 |
55. Museum of Us | San Diego, California | US | 2,282 | 2 |
56. WonderWorks Orlando | Orlando, Florida | US | 9,177 | 2 |
57. TopJump Trampoline & Extreme Arena | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 3,790 | 2 |
58. The Biosphere, Environment Museum | Montreal | Canada | 5,438 | 2 |
59. Museum of Illusions Toronto | Toronto | Canada | 3,104 | 2 |
60. Liberty Science Center | Jersey City, New Jersey | US | 8,457 | 2 |
61. Guinness World Records Museum | Copenhagen | Denmark | 3,222 | 2 |
62. 1880 Train – Hill City Depot | Custer, South Dakota | US | 3,430 | 2 |
63. Fort Cornwallis | Penang | Malaysia | 3,310 | 2 |
64. Michigan Science Center | Detroit, Michigan | US | 2,534 | 2 |
65. Children’s Museum of Atlanta | Atlanta, Georgia | US | 2,736 | 2 |
66. Napa Valley Wine Train | Napa, California | US | 2,548 | 2 |
67. NASA Johnson Space Center | Houston, Texas | US | 2,564 | 1.9 |
68. Shankar’s International Dolls Museum | Delhi | India | 5,935 | 1.9 |
69. Ontario Science Centre | Toronto | Canada | 14,731 | 1.9 |
70. World of Coca-Cola | Atlanta, Georgia | US | 29,355 | 1.9 |
71. Heineken Experience | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 9,953 | 1.9 |
72. Edmonton Valley Zoo | Edmonton | Canada | 6,207 | 1.9 |
73. Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station | Denver, Colorado | US | 12,415 | 1.9 |
74. Vancouver Christmas Market | Vancouver | Canada | 3,119 | 1.9 |
75. Frietmuseum | Bruges | Belgium | 3,541 | 1.9 |
76. Mona | Berriedale | 11,067 | 1.9 | |
77. Downtown Aquarium | Houston, Texas | US | 21,323 | 1.9 |
78. Alcatraz East Crime Museum | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 9,435 | 1.9 |
79. Funhaven | Ottawa | Canada | 3,152 | 1.9 |
80. Luna Park Melbourne | Melbourne | 7,996 | 1.9 | |
81. Big Foot Goa | Goa | India | 7,387 | 1.9 |
82. Lisboa Story Centre | Lisbon | Portugal | 2,112 | 1.9 |
83. Pigeon Forge Snow | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 3,176 | 1.9 |
84. Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum | Las Vegas, Nevada | US | 8,689 | 1.9 |
85. RiseNY | New York City, New York | US | 2,120 | 1.9 |
86. AREA15 | Las Vegas, Nevada | US | 17,037 | 1.9 |
87. Pacific Science Center | Seattle, Washington | US | 6,400 | 1.9 |
88. Kentucky Science Center | Louisville, Kentucky | US | 3,420 | 1.9 |
89. Whales of Iceland | Reykjavik | Iceland | 2,355 | 1.9 |
90. Winchester Mystery House | San Jose, California | US | 13,773 | 1.9 |
91. Twycross Zoo | Warwickshire | UK | 15,711 | 1.9 |
92. The Bell Tower | Perth | 2,156 | 1.9 | |
93. Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show | Pigeon Forge, Tennessee | US | 4,374 | 1.9 |
94. Louisville Mega Cavern | Louisville, Kentucky | US | 7,813 | 1.9 |
95. Moulin Rouge | Paris | France | 10,715 | 1.9 |
96. Museo Correr | Venice | Italy | 2,011 | 1.8 |
97. Wien Museum Mozart apartment | Vienna | Austria | 6,746 | 1.8 |
98. Comics Art Museum | Brussels | Belgium | 2,726 | 1.8 |
99. Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours & Oddities Parlor | San Antonio, Texas | US | 3,864 | 1.8 |
100. Glazer Children’s Museum | Tampa, Florida | US | 4,124 | 1.8 |
Source: Solitaired |
A new study reveals ‘the 100 most boring attractions across the globe’ and Branson Scenic Railway (pictured) in Missouri takes the undesirable top spot
In third place is Tennessee’s Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride, which scored 3.7 on the boredom scale. The eight-minute boat ride, in Pigeon Forge, takes visitors along an indoor winding river passing jungle scenes with cave sets, waterfalls and mechanical dinosaurs.
Google reviewer ‘M K’ said the $18.99 (£15.25) amusement is ‘not worth it’ as it ‘was not maintained’ with some dinosaur statues ‘held together with tape’ and others with ‘garbage stuffed’ in their mouths. While others awarded it five stars, with one person hailing it an ‘awesome attraction to do with little children’.
In fourth place, with a boredom score of 3.4, it’s the Salem Witch Museum, a museum in Massachusetts based on the 1692 Witch Trials.
The 100-strong ranking, by Solitaired, was drawn up by an analysis of 66.7million Google reviews of 3,290 popular tourist attractions worldwide, spanning 384 cities across 71 countries. Shrek’s Adventure London is the least interesting site outside of the U.S, as this map shows
Illuminarium Atlanta, in the U.S state of Georgia, earns the runner-up spot with a boredom score of 4.5
The walkthrough experience offered by Shrek’s Adventure London gets a 2.9 boredom score, placing it eighth on the global list
This map reveals the least interesting U.S attractions. Those occupying the top seven spots also make up the top seven in the global ranking, suggesting that America needs to up its game on the excitement front
In fourth place, with a boredom score of 3.4, it’s the Salem Witch Museum, a museum in Massachusetts based on the 1692 Witch Trials
The London Dungeon (12th, 2.6) is the runner-up in the UK’s list
Coming fifth, it’s the Lego Discovery Center Atlanta in Georgia (3.4), which features a Lego playground with two rides, Lego build and play zones and a 4D cinema.
Shrek’s Adventure London earns eighth place with a boredom score of 2.9, with The London Dungeon (12th, 2.6) the runner-up in the UK’s list.
This walkthrough experience, featuring 10 fairytale themed live shows, was described by one Google reviewer as ‘very basic’ with actors doing ‘a little performance’ and another saying ‘everything is done at a sub-optimal standard’. While five-star reviewers described it as ‘an amazing experience’ with ‘so many things to see and do’.
‘s least interesting attraction, according to the ranking, is the WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth (16th, 2.5), which tells stories of Western through interactive exhibits.
Among more peculiar sites to make the list are the Netherlands’ Torture Museum in Amsterdam (18th, 2.4), the U.S’s Health Museum in Texas (36th, 2.2) and the Museum of Death New Orleans, Louisiana (41st, 2.1).
Travel has contacted Branson Scenic Railway for comment.