The Great Wall of China is amazing - and amazingly free!
As we all find ourselves strapped for cash it isn't surprising that we are keen to make the most of anything that's free. So if you want to do something awesome but haven't got the cash to splash out on something drastic, try one of our top free attractions and enjoy life - without having to dig into the life savings.
The Chinese may have won the race for Olympic gold but the Great Wall of China only managed to bag a bronze medal after it was voted the third favourite free tourist attraction in the world by the UK’s women.
Egypt took gold as the pyramids were voted into first place by 16% of women who said that the ancient tombs were the best free attraction to visit. Securing the silver was the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. Brazil saw Christ the Redeemer fall into last place with only 1% of people voting it as the best free attraction to visit in the world.
The research was released today as Visa celebrates the best free things to do abroad, whether that be a free tourist attraction to visit, a favourite free holiday activity, the world’s most beautiful free beach or the best view to look at, with the launch of its ‘Secret Summer Shot’ competition.
Taking the title of the best free beach in the world was Australia’s Bondi Beach which sailed into first position receiving 34% of the vote, beating runner up Copa Cabana beach in Brazil by an impressive 19%. Australia also walked away with another top score as the Great Barrier Reef was voted the natural wonder of the world most people want to see.
The research revealed that there’s little surprise that the Egyptian pyramids receive around three million visitors a year, as sightseeing is named British women’s favourite free activity when travelling abroad.
36% of women questioned said that visiting local attractions was how they preferred to spend their time on holiday, double the amount that chose sunbathing as their preferred holiday activity. The research also found that Welsh ladies `are the biggest bookworms whilst abroad, with 17% choosing reading as their favourite free holiday activity and girls from Yorkshire to be the biggest water babies with 18% preferring a dip in the pool to climbing a mountain.
The ‘Secret Summer Shot’ competition gives you the opportunity to win a fantastic holiday for two people, to one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions – the Statue of Liberty in New York! All you have to do is visit the visa website and enter the prize draw.
The top five free beaches:
1 Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia
2 Copa Cabana, Rio de JaneiroBrazil
3 Patong Beach, Phuket Thailand
4 Bora Bora beach, French Polynesia
5 Venice Beach, Los Angeles America
The top five free natural wonders to visit:
1 Great Barrier Reef, Australia
2 Grand Canyon, America
3 Northern Lights, Iceland
4 Niagra Falls, Canada
5 Table Mountain, South Africa
The top five free tourist attractions:
1 Pyramids, Egypt
2 Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia
3 Great Wall of China, China
4 Statue of Liberty, America
5 Taj Mahal in India
Top five free activities:
1 Sight- seeing
2 Sunbathing
3 Swimming
4 Reading
5 Trekking