There’s little more frustrating than reaching your destination only to find there’s not a single parking spot in sight. Circling around for what seems like an eternity can really take the shine off a great day out.
And, it seems, that’s the case at some of the world’s most famous attractions and landmarks – with some tourists being forced to simply turn around and drive back home after failing to find a parking spot.
New research from Moneybarn Car Finance has revealed the top ten worst tourist spots for parking.
The rundown of car parking shame has been drawn up by analysing iconic attractions on their parking cost, spaces, reviews, distance to car parks, distance to the airport and local car hire costs.
The parking arrangements at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles have the worst reviews, with almost one in every five one-star reviews mentioning parking. The observatory is known for being challenging to park at especially during peak times such as weekends and holidays.
Niagara Falls has the second-worst parking reviews, with 9.82 percent of one-star reviews mentioning parking, despite 2,965 parking spaces within a ten-minute walk of the falls.
And, perhaps surprisingly, California’s Disneyland has the third worst-rated parking, with 7.32 parking of one-star reviews for its parking facilities.
However, on this side of the pond there are also some attractions where car parks are like gold dust – with Windsor Castle taking ninth place on the list.
Fuming tourists have taken to travel review site TripAdvisor to vent about their infuriating hunt for car parks. One who went to Griffith Observatory – the worst rated place for parking – had to go back home after failing to park up.
They said: “Alas, we went on a Sunday around noon. The road going up was absolutely packed, and there was no parking whatsoever. We had to drive by without stopping and leave.
“Unfortunately, I was not prepared for the large weekend crowds. Next time will try public transportation to the observatory.”
Another who tried to get parked up at Windsor Castle had a word of warning for those looking to make a trip there by car.
They said: “The advice to car visitors is to drop off you[r] car in the Riverside Station Carpark instead of some other street parking. It is because street parkings always limit your parking time to 1 hour or less and no return several hours after.”
Below we reveal the top 10 tourist attractions with the worst-rated parking alongside its percentage of one-star reviews that mention parking.
Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, USA, 18.18%
Niagara Falls, New York State, USA, 9.82%
Disneyland, Anaheim, USA, 7.32%
Magic Kingdom, Florida, USA, 5.57%
Dubai Mall, UAE, 4.78%
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA, 4.59%
Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia, 3.65%
Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood, USA, 2.51%
Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK, 2.16%
Pompeii, Pompei, Italy, 1.86%
