Do your parents ever have a hard time deciding where to go on vacation?

Well, here is a solution. These countries have the most visitors every year and they are great vacation spots. Here are a couple of new ideas to pick when going on vacation, so have fun.     

First on the list is France. They get 89.4 million visitors a year. France is very popular for a lot of things including food. Some of their most popular foods are the croissant and croque monsieur. Croissants are a crisp flaky buttery bread in a crescent shape. A croque monsieur is a hot sandwich made with ham and cheese. The sandwich was made in French cafés to be a quick snack. The name is based on the verb croquer (“to crunch”) and the word monsieur (“mister”). Some French desserts that are very popular include the macaron and crêpes. Macarons are comprised of two small round meringue like cookies sandwiching a creamy filling. Crêpes are a very thin pancake. They can be sweet or savoury. You can get a savoury one for a meal and a sweet one for dessert. Some of the top tourist attractions are the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre Museum. Did you know that in a year, the average French citizen eats 500 snails and drinks 112 billion glasses of wine?

Next on the list is Spain with 82.7 million visitors a year. Spain has some of the best soccer teams in the world including FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Churros and cheesecake are some of the popular desserts in Spain. Churros are fried dough with sugar sprinkled on top. Cheesecake is a delicious dessert consisting of many layers where the thickest layer is made with a mixture of fresh cheese, eggs and sugar. The Spanish people make a variety of tasty cheese and gazpacho which is a delicious soup made of raw vegetables. Some of the top tourist attractions are the La Sagrada Familia (which is an unfinished church) and the Aquarium Barcelona de Greg. La Tomatina is a fun festival celebrated in Spain where people throw tomatoes at each other. Spain is ruled by a king whose name is Felipe VI.

The United States of America is in 3rd place with 79.6 million visitors a year. Some of the famous tourist spots are the Grand Canyon in Arizona and New York City. American’s enjoy many delicious dishes but some of the most popular dishes include burgers, pizza and clam chowder, a creamy seafood soup! Ice cream with warm apple pie is considered a classic American dessert.  Did you know that there are 27 different versions of the American flag or about a city in Oregon called Boring?

China follows the USA with 62.9 million visitors.  The red bean bun and the sticky rice cake are popular sweet treats in Chinese cuisine. The red bean bun is a type of dessert that is filled with red bean paste. Common foods include spring rolls and wontons. Spring rolls and wontons are food that is wrapped in dough or rice paper and fried. Tourist attractions in China are places like the Great Wall of China or Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum. China is not the biggest country in the world but it is the fourth after Russia, Canada, and the USA. Did you know that on an average day Chinese people eat 17 million pigs?

Italy is last but not least in 5th place with 62.1 million visitors a year.  The most popular foods in Italy are pizza and spaghetti. Their delicious desserts are gelato, which is like ice cream, and tiramisu which is like a cake. The top tourist attractions are the Colosseum in Rome and The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa. Did you know that The Vatican City, where the Pope lives is a tiny country located within Rome or that tourists throw 3000 euros ($3521.02) in the Trevi Fountain everyday?

At IUP, you can do your school work from anywhere. Imagine joining a Live Lesson from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I think they have wifi up there. You get the opportunity, so why not use it? Travel as much as possible (when covid is over).

 I hope this list of the top 5 most visited countries inspires you to get your passports ready so you can travel and explore the world when Covid is done! 

Citations:

20 Most-Visited Countries in the World. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.farandwide.com/s/most-visited-countries-792c34d8901f4bc9

Higgins, K. (2019, November 04). 20 fun facts about France. Retrieved from https://www.roughguides.com/article/20-facts-about-france/

Vanner, A. C. (2020, October 08). Interesting Facts About The United States. Retrieved from https://www.mapquest.com/travel/interesting-facts-about-the-united-states/

Patryk, K., & Karolina PatrykKarolina and Patryk. (2020, April 03). 20 Fun Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About China. Retrieved from https://www.tripzilla.com/20-fun-facts-probably-didnt-know-china/38445

Anonymous 29/01/2020, Ginny Smith 29/01/2020 (2020, June 12). Italy’s free wine fountain, and 15 other fun facts about Italy. Retrieved from https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/fun-facts-about-italy/