Study Finds Most Crowded Tourist Spots by Square Foot

Don’t like big crowds? Or maybe you are fine with crowds if they’re spread out, but you just don’t like a lot of people crammed into one space? Whatever your feelings, if you’re not keen on being shoved together with a bunch of fellow travelers, you may want to avoid some of these tourist spots.

A new survey looked at visitor numbers, city populations and geographical areas in square kilometers to discover which tourist destinations were most crowded per square kilometer. The study, conducted by Deluxe Holiday Homes, found Paris is the most densely packed city — at more than 350,000 visitors packed in per square kilometer.

Other most-crowded destinations were more crowded due to their smaller size relative to the number of tourists they received, as was the case with Bern, Switzerland, which took the second spot as most-crowded. Other destinations in the top five include Chicago, New York City and Stockholm.

“While Paris remains a favorite destination for travelers, a shift to less touristic places is observed, driven by wanting less-crowded experiences. Despite this trend, Paris continues to hold its position as the most preferred destination and is expected to draw even more visitors while hosting [the] Olympic Games 2024,” said a spokesperson from Deluxe Holiday Homes.