Top 10 Most Visited Landmarks in the World in 2026: Annual Visitor Ranking
Updated: 2026-08-24Forbidden City (Palace Museum)
The Forbidden City, operated as the Palace Museum, recorded 17.624 million visitors in 2024. The Palace Museum is one of the world's most visited cultural landmarks and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Colosseum Archaeological Park
The Colosseum Archaeological Park recorded 14,733,395 visitors in 2024. The figure covers the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which operate under a combined admission system.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame welcomed more than 11 million visitors during 2025, its first full year after reopening following the five-year restoration caused by the 2019 fire. The cathedral became the most visited monument in France during the year.
St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica is one of the world's most visited religious landmarks, with commonly reported annual attendance around 10 million. Visitor numbers increased substantially during the 2025 Jubilee, when Rome received more than 33.4 million pilgrims overall.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall attracts millions of visitors each year, with commonly reported annual attendance around 10 million. Because the Great Wall consists of many separate sections, there is no single worldwide ticketing system that produces one perfectly comparable annual total.
Louvre Museum
The Louvre welcomed 9,046,000 visitors in 2025, making it the world's most visited art museum. Its attendance increased from about 8.7 million in 2024.
Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Sacré-Cœur attracted about 9 million visitors in 2024 and was reported as France's most visited monument that year. The basilica sits on Montmartre hill and combines religious importance with a major Paris sightseeing viewpoint.
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles recorded about 8.4 million visitors in 2025. The former royal residence remains one of France's largest and most visited historic monuments.
Taj Mahal
India's Ministry of Tourism data shows the Taj Mahal received 6,098,876 domestic visitors and 681,339 foreign visitors in fiscal year 2023-24, while 2024-25 reporting put total attendance at more than 6.2 million domestic visitors plus about 645,000 international visitors.
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower recorded more than 6.75 million visitors entering its levels in 2025, about 450,000 more than in 2024. Around 10 million people also visited the free-access forecourt, but the ranking uses paid monument entries for better comparison with other ticketed landmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most visited landmark in the world?▼
The Forbidden City, operated by Beijing's Palace Museum, recorded 17.624 million visitors in 2024, making it one of the strongest candidates for the world's most visited individual historic landmark. The Colosseum Archaeological Park followed with 14.733 million visitors in 2024.
Which landmark gets more visitors, the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre?▼
The Louvre gets more visitors. In 2025, the Louvre recorded 9.046 million visitors, while 6.75 million people entered the Eiffel Tower's paid monument areas.
What is the most visited tourist attraction in Europe?▼
There is no single standardized European ranking because attractions count visitors differently. Among major individual landmarks with recently published figures, the Colosseum Archaeological Park recorded 14.733 million visitors in 2024, while Notre-Dame de Paris received more than 11 million in 2025.