Tourism is the number one industry in these parts, which isn’t a bad thing at all, however some of the hot-spot destinations on the old fashioned trolley tour often leave locals shaking their heads wondering what the appeal could possibly be for a steam clock that no longer even operates on steam?

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Photo Credit: SqueakyMarmot ^[1] on Flickr

This morning while listening to the lovely Jeff O’Neil radio program on CFOX ^[2] they mentioned an article on MSN.com ^[3] featuring the top 15 worst tourist traps in the world. Here are the top (worst) places in North America from that list:

1. San Francisco: Fisherman’s Wharf
2. Chicago: Sears Tower
3. Washington, D.C.: International Spy Museum
4. Las Vegas: Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay
5. New York City: Times Square
6. Seattle: Experience Music Project
7. Boston: Faneuil Hall Marketplace
8. Los Angeles: Hollywood
9. Orlando: Animal Kingdom
10. Chicago: Navy Pier
11. Las Vegas: Stratosphere Tower

Another quick Google search lead me to CNN’s list ^[4] compiled last summer of the most “disappointing sites” around the world:

1. The Eiffel Tower, Paris
2. The Louvre, Paris
3. Times Square, New York
4. Las Ramblas, Barcelona
5. Statue of Liberty, New York
6. Spanish Steps, Rome
7. The White House, Washington DC
8. The Pyramids, Egypt
9. The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
10. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Let’s say there was a “top ten worst tourist traps” for Vancouver, which would you pick? I already stated one of my preferences for such a title in the first paragraph but I’m certain there are others.