Avoiding the Annoying Crowds and Lines at Tourist Attractions
If you’ve ever wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower, Colosseum or the Statue of Liberty, you should know now: you will likely run into hordes of slow-moving tourists with selfie sticks at any popular tourist attraction.
The Louvre in Paris was even forced to close for a day this week due to overcrowding. (Some of the museum’s union offices said tourists strangled renovations on the Mona Lisa into cramped, unusable spaces.)
While not uncomplicated, there are several effective strategies in getting away tourists while visiting popular travel hotspots; just remember to book your tickets in advance and use the city pass at your destination.
Book in the off-season or off-season
If you plan ahead, the easiest way to avoid the tourist crowds is to visit during the off-season, which will vary depending on your destination.
In Europe, the peak season is summer, and the off-season usually lasts from November to March. (The “ mid-season ” occurs during the transition months from peak season to off-season and vice versa). Meanwhile, the peak season in Australia is between December and February when the weather conditions are at its best and the low season is from May to August.
If you are visiting the Statue of Liberty, USA Today recommends visiting it in the fall or winter when lines are expected to be shorter. Visiting the Eiffel Tower? Waiting times are expected to be up to two hours in the summer and less than 30 minutes on weekdays in the off-season and off-season, writes SmarterTravel .
However, it is important to understand if a visit during the off-season is really worth it in order to avoid crowds; Maybe the cold winter in New York sounds awful, or the attractions have limited opening times, or they are closed altogether. (You should search the Internet in advance for any attractions you want to visit.)
A good compromise would be to book during the off season, as recommended by an expert on the points , when the weather can be a problem; Both off-season and off-season, you can usually expect to spend less on things like flights and hotel stays.
Buy tickets for attractions in advance and go early
Before even booking your flight, you can check for popular attractions; According to the New York Times , tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty, which require a ticket, can be booked several months in advance.
For this reason, you will want to buy your ticket as early as possible, which can usually be done online to visit major attractions. By booking in advance, you don’t have to worry about getting into the annoying queue for your ticket.
“Many popular attractions, such as the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, sell advance tickets online that guarantee admission at a specific time (often with a small booking fee that is well worth it),” writes Rick Steves on his website . “Considering how precious your vacation time is, it makes sense to book any attraction you need to visit — forsake some spontaneity.”
You may find that some cities also offer citywide tickets for a number of attractions. For example, buying a Madrid Card will allow you to visit a number of city attractions and skip any lines. (Some cities may offer combined museum tickets, which also work in a similar way.) You should explore any ticket sales options, for example by performing an online search on your destination’s tourism board.
If you have the option of choosing a time when purchasing your ticket, you should try to book the earliest option. The earlier you arrive, the less likely you are to bump into other tourists. If it’s a place like Times Square or Piccadilly Circus, this tip would work too. You will most likely meet fewer tourists in the early morning than in the afternoon; visiting places in the late hours can also be free of the crowds. Some museums, such as the Tate Modern in London, are open late on weekends.
Also, make sure you are booking through legitimate websites (not tourist bait scams); NYT recommends finding official attraction sites on popular travel platforms such as Lonely Planet .
Book a guide
If you need a guided tour, your host will likely know the best time to visit to avoid crowds. They may also be interested in attractiveness and skip lines for your group.
“In the Vatican Museums, you are immediately taken on a guided tour (this works in other places, such as Versailles or the Colosseum),” Steves writes on his website. “In Milan, you can sign up for a last minute bus tour, which includes an easy stop at Leonardo’s Last Supper, which is usually booked more than a month in advance.”
If you like this option, you can use platforms like TripAdvisor to find reviews from local guides.
And if none of the above tactics work for you, consider visiting less popular attractions! I recently took a “weird ride” tour of Tokyo, which was actually less weird than a trip to less familiar parts of the city. You can learn more about the city from its distant attractions and get a real moment to breathe, away from tourists posing for selfies.