Tourist attractions attract millions of people to the countries where they are located every year. Attraction has to do with everything from their beauty or charm to who or what they represent. While most tourist attractions remain untouched to ensure that generation after generation has the privilege of enjoying their essence, we’ve uncovered five of the dirtiest attractions that still draw crowds for various reasons.
Five dirtiest attractions around the world
Forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater (California, Hollywood, USA)
Grauman’s Chinese Theater is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, United States.
The theater’s forecourt is a popular tourist spot as it bears the signatures, footprints and handprints of famous people from the 1920s to the present day.
You can visit the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater and use your hands to measure your idol’s hand or foot size, but the question is, do you want that? The handprints and feet of numerous stars of world cinema were left in the wet concrete, and millions of fans crowded in to touch the resulting prints. Problem? Nobody ever disinfects them. So if you absolutely must feel the feel of your idol’s concrete hands, put on a glove or wash your hands immediately.
The second dirtiest attraction on the list is the Blarney Stone, a block of carboniferous limestone carved into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland.
Tourists travel from far away every year to visit this castle and kiss the stone, which, according to legend, will give the kisser the gift of eloquence and skill of flattery.
Because of this, thousands of people desire eloquence and flattery touch the stone with their lips, leaving behind billions of microbes. Also, kissing the stone requires a lot of physical effort due to the angle at which it is placed. But all for eloquence I think.
Tomb of Oscar Wilde (Paris, France)
The grave of Oscar Wilde, a well-known and verybrilliant Irish poet and playwright is one of the dirtiest attractions. The tomb is in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France. It is a popular tourist attraction for admirers of the writer who died in 1900.
A huge monument in the form of a winged sphinx is located on his tomb and has the unique privilege of being decorated with many kisses. Book lovers and admirers express their love and respect by touching their lips to the memorial, leaving multiple lipstick marks. However, Parisian authorities decided in 2011 to erect a glass fence around the monument. Fans now leave marks on the glass and throw flowers and notes over the fence.
St. Mark’s Square (Venice, Italy)
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as Saint Marks Basilica, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, Italy.
It is Venice’s most famous church and one of the best-known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture.
The church is a major tourist attraction for its opulent design, gold-ground mosaics, and status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power. It’s a very nice place but has one negative thing, that’s the hundreds of hungry pigeons flying over the heads of tourists.
That may not sound too bad, because pigeons are beautiful. Until they leave their poo everywhere, including your clothes and body.
Gum Wall (Seattle, Washington)
The Market Theater Gum Wall is a brick wall made from used gum in an alleyway in downtown Seattle.
This unsanitary attraction is said to have started in the ’90s after theatergoers who had to brush their gums while waiting in line taped them to the wall. The wall had since morphed into a gumball field, which some found to be one of Seattle’s brightest sights but others found repugnant. Today, however, you can consider it rounding out our list of the dirtiest attractions.
The wall was completely cleaned last year but people are trying to restore it to its original condition as rubber is still stuck to the wall.