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According to a study from Preply, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is Scotland’s most overrated tourist trap – ranking second in the UK overall – with 615 people venting their frustrations with the attraction.
The most “overrated” attraction in the UK was the London Eye, with 1028 reviews sharing their disappointment with the attraction.
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Edinburgh Castle took fifth place on the list, with 444 negative reviews.
Other locations which made the top ten list include Stonehenge, Madam Tussaud’s, the Tower of London and the Eden Project.
The study looked at popular tourist attractions throughout the UK and analysed visitor reviews from two leading travel platforms to identify which locations are deemed the most “underwhelming” and “overrated” by travellers.
The Royal Mile – with Edinburgh Castle at its head and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at its foot – attracted 1.9 million visitors in 2023, according to data platform Statista.
The report found that some visitors described the Royal Mile as “too busy” because it is such a popular tourist spot.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh Castle was described by visitors as having “underwhelming” interiors and overcrowding that takes away from the experience.
The study looked at a number of reviews which mentioned “tourist trap”, “underwhelming” and “overrated”.
Only attractions with over 1000 reviews were included in the final ranking.
