Most-visited attractions in the world: Which list is more accurate?

Travel + Leisure magazine just issued its list of the 50 "World's Most-Visited Tourist Attractions."

It's a fascinating compilation. And should be taken with a suitcase of salt.

For example, I saw Boston's historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace coming in 7th internationally -- ahead of all the Florida theme parks except for one.

I love Boston and Faneuil Hall. But it's less than 400 square feet in area.

And somehow, the attendance numbers don't need to make sense, though the compilers of the T+L list  say that data is from "attractions themselves or from government agencies, industry reports, and reputable media outlets."

So I found another list ranking the top 50 attractions worldwide  that was posted at 

www.lovehomeswap.com. It says its information similarly is from "the attractions' own published figures (or internal data they would share), industry reports, government reports and other trustworthy media outlets."

Here -- you compare the lists for yourself. The rankings are in T+L  order; the lovehomeswap rank is in parentheses, to the right.

You'll start to note the differences -- and the gaps.

1. The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey  (11 on lovehomeswap.com list)

2. The  Zócalo, Mexico City (21)

3. Times Square, New York (2)

4. (tie) Central Park, New York, (3)

4. (tie) Union Station, Washington, D.C. (4)             

6. Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas (1)

7.  (tie) Meiji Jingu Shrine, Tokyo   

7. (tie) Sensoji Temple, Tokyo    

9. Niagara Falls (5)

10. Grand Central Terminal, New York (6)

11. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City         

12. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Fla. (8)            

13. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston (7)

14. Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo (12)

15. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.  (9)  

16. Forbidden City, Beijing (10)

17. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco

18. Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo (15)

19. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (13)

20. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (14)     

21. Balboa Park, San Diego

22. South Street Seaport, New York (29)            

23. San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio

24. Epcot, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.  (17)         

25. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

26. Great Wall of China (Badaling/Mutianyu areas), China (28)      

27. Sacré Coeur Basilica, Paris (18)

28. Disneyland Park, Marne-la-Vallée, France (16)

29. Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (22)

30. Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (23)

31. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan (24)

32. Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, Calif. 

33. Pike Place Market, Seattle (20)     

34. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (25)

35. Musée du Louvre, Paris (27)

36. Navy Pier, Chicago (26)

37. Disney's California Adventure, Anaheim, Calif. (34)

38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia (31)

39. Universal's Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla. (33)     

40. (tie) National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), Washington,  D.C.   (32)      

40. (tie) Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

40. (tie) Pier 39, San Francisco  (30)                                

43. Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France (49)           

44. Ocean Park, Hong Kong (35)        

45. Bourbon Street, New Orleans (47)

46. National Museum of China, Beijing

47. (tie) Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong  (41)

47. (tie) Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea (42)             

49. Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea (39)            

50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India  

Did you notice the discrepancies?

And on the lovehomeswap.com list but not the T+L: Tsima Sha Tsui Waterfront in Hong Kong (19);  Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (36); National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian (37); The Eiffel Tower (38), the British Museum in London (40); Nevada's Lake Mead (43); Universal Studios Florida (44); New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (46); Universal Studios Hollywood (48) and Japan's Nagashima Spa Land (5).

Lesson: Lists will only get you so far. The originating data for either list here, for instance, is obviously quite up for grabs.

Both lists, by the way, said Faneuil Hall had 18 million visitors per year. And I'm still skeptical.