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Not counting events (sports, concerts, etc.) or entry queues, What is the most over-crowded place you have ever battled tourists?
For me, I'd say the Smithsonian. I thought I'd spend a couple hours there, since I was nearby. It was school bus loads of kids packing the main concourse, I couldn't even turn around.
Luckily, I'm old enough that I saw things before the crowds. Mona Lisa alll by myself in an empty room.
The Met (Metropolitan) Museum of Art in NYC when they had an Egyptian (I forget which pharaoh) exhibit in for a time. It's been probably almost 10 years ago or so. It was teeming with people. You couldn't even get close to look at anything because there were already large groups in front of it staring and talking. Then when they eventually moved on, another large group of people took their place.
Forget standing in front of any work or art/artifact to observe it. At least 5 people would walk right in front of you, stand, and stare at the artwork as if you weren't already standing there. Then there are the whining and/or crying little ones who are fussy, tired, irritable, and sleepy (nap time). All this makes for terrible overly crowded tourist experience.
Sistine Chapel is the first one to pop up in my mind.
As for the Vatican Museums, the first time I went there I took a tour which turned out to be a mistake. Our guide bypassed some parts of the museum which I considered to be important, such as Raphael's masterpiece, the School of Athens. If I had not been keeping an eye out for that painting, I would have definitely missed it. For my second and third visits, I did my own research and acted as a tour guide for friends and family. We bought our tickets for the earliest timeslots. No crowds and we took our time taking pictures.
Last edited by Melpomene; 05-26-2021 at 02:16 AM..
Both places, if you weren't walking with the flow, you were getting trampled or carried along.
For anyone with claustrophobia, it would be absolutely terrifying.
I did feel bad for the earlier poster mentioning picking up lunch for her boss in NYC and trying to navigate back along the busy touristy sidewalks. Literally people just stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look up.... and getting mowed down....
... if you weren't walking with the flow, you were getting trampled or carried along. For anyone with claustrophobia, it would be absolutely terrifying.
I did feel bad for the earlier poster mentioning picking up lunch for her boss in NYC and trying to navigate back along the busy touristy sidewalks. Literally people just stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look up.... and getting mowed down....
That was me & your description is perfect... go with the flow or get trampled... carried along would be a blessing, haha.
Problem is, it's not the tiny tourists who get mowed down... but we locals who have to stop short behind them while speed-walking (you know how fast we city folk walk) & then trying to quickly navigate left or right back into the throng again, with very vocal people sounding their dissatisfaction at our quirky maneuvers. The phrase, "I'm walkin' ova he-ah!" was invented just for these incidents.
I still recall the day a group of retired mid-westerners stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk to ask where the Paul Revere statue was in Boston... I almost ran them over & covered them with 6 giant cups of coffee. I screeched to a a halt from 40-0 in 1/2-second & the guy speed walking passed me yelled at them, "Hey... we're not Rand McNally! Move over!" Welcome to Boston, mid-westerners.
I'll put in another vote for Yellowstone. I've been there several times. The number of people who go crazy over a simple deer astounds me. I'll add an adjacent vote for Grand Teton N.P., depending on which hiking trail you take.
I went to Disneyland in the early '90s, but I don't recall waiting more than 45 minutes for any particular ride.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I agree with the OP on the Smithsonian, but then the Statue of Liberty was ver close, and since I was in there on a really hot summer day, it seemed worse.
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