Amazing Tourist Attractions That No Longer Exist

Tourist attractions fade away for a variety of reasons: acts of war, natural disasters, new development, or the throngs just stop coming. No matter the reasons, we have photographs to remember them by, sometimes in their heyday. Here are noted sites around the world that have succumbed to the passage of time or will soon meet their end, including an iconic Hong Kong boat restaurant that's no longer floating.

Related: Once Popular Tourist Hotspots That Are Now Totally Abandoned

Hong Kong

An iconic fixture of Hong Kong's shoreline, the aptly named Jumbo Floating Restaurant, capsized in the South China Sea last year. The neon-festooned boat was 260 feet long and opened in the 1970s, hosting Queen Elizabeth II and countless celebrities along with an estimated 30 million other visitors. It had been closed since the start of the pandemic, with maintenance bills adding up to millions of dollars. Owner Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises was towing the ship to a new location when it hit bad weather and capsized. No crew members were hurt.

Related: Beloved Restaurants and Bars That Closed Permanently During the Pandemic

Las Vegas

One of the Vegas Strip's most explosive attractions is on the chopping block. The 30-year-old volcano in front of the Mirage hotel is going to be torn down to make way for a new guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel in 2025. But the demise of the nightly — and free — pyroclastic shows has fans up in arms. One devotee has started a Change.org petition to keep the volcano and its family-friendly multimedia entertainment. It's gotten over 8,700 signatures, but it's unlikely to refire the volcano, which isn't working until at least Dec. 9 due to construction for the Formula 1 Gran Prix, if it is turned on again at all.

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Tokyo

This distinctive high rise in the Japanese capital is no longer (mostly). Built in the early '70s, Nakagin was meant to usher in a new era of modular architecture, featuring 144 capsule-like apartments that were designed to be removable from the building's center core. But despite its draw as a pilgrimage for architecture buffs, Nakagin and its blocky capsules have been ill-maintained, and deconstruction is done, though 23 blocks have been saved and have been scattered around the world.

Related: The Strangest Home in Every State  

London

This man-made mound with a light exhibition inside was supposed to create a lush green space with grass and trees, plus a dazzling panoramic view of the city below, including Hyde Park. However, the reality fell far short of that vision when the site opened in July 2021. Visitors complained that the "monstrosity," which they paid a hefty fee to visit, was merely a heap of ground surrounded by scaffolding. Marble Arch Mound even had to temporarily close shortly after opening thanks to dying plants and grass. Now the site that has been called the "worst attraction in London" by some visitors shut down permanently — after officials spent a staggering 6 million pounds (roughly $8 million) on its construction — and was dismantled, with the greenery being recycled.. 

Related: Watch Out for These Tourist Traps in All 50 States

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North Korea/Vietnam/Australia

Opened in 1988, this five-star hotel once floated over Australia's Great Barrier Reef, beckoning divers who wanted to explore the wonders below in style, according to CNN. It had a nightclub, restaurants, a research lab, a library, a dive shop, and even a floating tennis court. But it took hours to reach from land, and bad weather was a nightmare for seasick guests. After just one year in operation, the hotel closed. It was sold to Vietnamese investors, who relocated it to the Saigon River, and then sold again in 1998 to North Korea, where it welcomed South Korean tourists until relations soured in 2008. By 2023 it had been demolished.

Hawaii

Hawaii's famous Haiku Stairs are still around for now, but they're on extremely borrowed time. The winding stairway on Oahu, built by the Navy in the 1940s, consists of nearly 4,000 steps up a mountain and into the clouds. It has become a draw for adventurers and all manner of tourists who want a cool picture for Instagram. The steps, some of which are in poor condition, have been officially off limits since 1987, but that hasn't stopped "rampant illegal trespassing," according to Honolulu officials who have voted to remove the stairs.  A $2.5 million contract to remove the stairs has been approved.

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Ecuador 

If you were planning on finally visiting the Galapagos Islands this year, you can cross off one site on your to-see list. The central section of this rock bridge formation just off the northern coast of the Galapagos — a popular attraction for tourists and divers alike — collapsed in May 2021. Ecuador's Ministry of Environment attributed the collapse to natural erosion, and CNN reports that some people have renamed the formation the Pillars of Evolution.

San Francisco 
This grand bathhouse opened in the late winter of 1896, housing a public saltwater pool complex named after San Francisco mayor and entrepreneur Adolph Sutro. It burned down in 1966, though it was already in the process of being demolished. Its ruins now lie within Golden Gate National Recreation Area in a beach inlet below the famed Cliff House.

Florida
In 1976, Disney World opened its River Country water park — with slides, a lazy river, and an artificial mountain that made it look like a fake swimming hole — next door to its Treasure Island bird sanctuary (rebranded Discovery Island in 1978). While initially successful, both closed by 2001 due to competition from Disney's other water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. A new resort named Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was set to open in the same spot, but there are rumors the construction might have been postponed or canceled. 

Mosul, Iraq
The tomb, the final resting place of biblical prophet Jonah, was revered by Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike, and a popular destination for religious pilgrimages. During its history, it has been the site of an ancient Assyrian palace and temple, a Christian church, and a 21st-century mosque. In July 2014, terrorist group ISIS blew up the mosque, destroying the tomb, plundering the site, and looting hundreds of items. While much of the site is still damaged, Iraqi archaeologists have found a previously undiscovered palace built in the seventh century B.C. for an Assyrian king, and a planned reconstruction is underway and expected to be completed in 2023. 

Malta
This 1866 opera house suffered extensive fire damage a mere six years after opening, then was reconstructed in 1877. It housed many performances until 1942 when it was nearly completely decimated by German Luftwaffe bombing. While reconstruction has been discussed many times since, it's never been realized, and now the ruins themselves are considered a historical landmark and tourist attraction in their own right, and a portion of the site is still used as an open-air theater for concerts, ballet, and more.  

New York City
This Beaux-Arts style theater was quite the spectacle in its peak years, with lavish spectacles complete with circus animals, diving horses, opulent sets, and 500-member choruses. It eventually became a vaudeville theater before suffering further decline and experiencing periodic but significant closings. It was finally demolished in 1939. The site now holds a modern office building. 

Lake Rotomahana, New Zealand
This painting by English artist Charles Blomfield shows these terraces, both along Lake Rotomahananear Rotorua, New Zealand, in all their glory in 1882. Often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, they were destroyed just a few years after this painting was created by a volcanic eruption. Today, you can still travel to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley location by boat tour and still see some geothermal features, but nothing quite like the terraces.

New York City
Originally titled the Ladies' Refreshment Salon, this 1864 building was designed as part of the original plans for Central Park and operated as a Gothic-style restaurant for female visitors to the park. It operated as a casino and upscale nightclub before being raided in 1930 as part of a Prohibition enforcement seizure. Finally demolished in 1936, it served as the site of a children's playground before being razed again to make way for SummerStage. 

Nanjing, China
This 15th century Ming dynasty pagoda was 260 feet tall, with nine stories, a staircase in the middle, and so-named for the porcelain bricks used to construct its exterior. Considered one of the seven wonders of the medieval world, it was destroyed in the 19th century during the Taiping Rebellion. With a 2010 donation of around $150 million by Wang Jianlin — reportedly one of the richest men in China — a replica was rebuilt near the same location, along with a museum that showcases the original's cultural influences. 

Las Vegas
It doesn't take much imagination to picture this 1960 photo of this classic Sin City casino and resort in full color. Located on 63 acres, the iconic Stardust, a reported mob operation for a portion of its existence, stayed open until 2006 and was demolished in 2007. Resorts World, a Chinese-themed resort, reopened in the same location in June 2021.

New York City
This 1910-built rail station served New York until 1963 when it was mostly demolished. In its heyday, parts of it were considered masterpieces of Beaux-Arts architectural design, and it had 11 platforms that served 21 tracks. Today, the plot of land it once stood on contains the modern Penn Station, Pennsylvania Plaza, and Madison Square Garden. 

Paraguay, Brazil
This was a site that gave Niagara Falls a run for its money, with a series of 18 waterfalls. According to Britannica, "the falls probably represented the greatest volume of falling water in the world, and they were a tourist attraction for many years." In 1982, a hydroelectric plant built nearby totally submerged the falls — the area is now the site of the Itaipu reservoir.

Malta
This rock formation located on Dwejra Bay was a natural arch and popular tourist spot until it collapsed during a storm in March 2017. If you still want to see it in its natural glory you can do so in films such as 1981's "Clash of the Titans," 2002's "The Count of Monte Cristo," and in "Game of Thrones" season one's Dothraki wedding scene. 

Afghanistan
Carved into the mountainside in the sixth century, these two huge representations of Gautama Buddha were safe until March 2001, when the Taliban blew them up, destroying them almost completely. Visitors can still see the recesses, as well as nearby caves, passages, and surface paintings. 

Budapest
Park-goers queue up to ride the Ferris wheel in 1910. This park closed in 2013 after more than 100 years in operation, and its land was eventually acquired by the adjacent animal and botanical park, according to Gizmodo.

Paris
Starting in 2015, officials started removing padlocks fastened to one of the city's main bridges, the Pont des Arts, more popularly known as the Love Locks Bridge, after a portion of the bridge collapsed under the locks' weight in 2014. In total, there were around 1 million locks, weighing around 45 tons, fastened to the bridge's metal grills by couples and tourists. The grills have since been replaced with panels painted by street artists. 

Oregon
A natural sandstone, hoodoo-esque rock formation in Oregon's northern Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, this once-touristy spot fell prey in 2016 to teenage vandals, who toppled the rock. 

London
Built in the mid-19th century in Hyde Park, the Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate glass project conceived to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. At the time, the marvel contained the most glass area ever used in a structure. After the exhibition, it was moved to another part of the city before being destroyed by a fire in 1936. Since, the site has been used for a number of purposes, including the now-dormant Crystal Palace Bowl music venue.

Yosemite National Park
A family is seen parked near the drive-through Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park in the 1920s. Families would continue to do that for about another 50 years. In 1969, the tree fell under the weight of snowfall. It can still be visited — only now it is known as the Fallen Tunnel Tree. 

Utah
Before its 2008 collapse, this Arches National Park monument stood for millennia and was the 12th largest natural arch formation in the world. No one witnessed the collapse. 

Related: Bucket-List Experiences in America's National Parks

Namibia
Another rock formation that eventually crumbled, this sandstone structure — also known as the "Finger of God" and incredibly popular with tourists in the country — was nearly 40 feet high and weighed around 450 tons. It collapsed in 1988.

Germany
Another now-abandoned European amusement park, this one was opened by East Germany's socialist government in 1969 and had 1.7 million visitors annually, according to Atlas Obscura. It was shut down in 2002, a fire destroyed much of it in 2014, and in 2019, more of its original attractions were removed. Though the City of Berlin has weighed plans to turn the site into a cultural and arts center, so far those haven't come to fruition. 

Related: 25 Amusement Parks: Then and Now

Syria
Shown here in 1971, the ruins of this second-century amphitheater were a popular spot for history-loving tourists until 2015 when ISIS members staged a mass execution on the theater's stage and then destroyed the theater's facade and part of the stage in 2016. 

Louisiana
Opened in 2000, this theme park had to close five years later after being mostly submerged by Hurricane Katrina. It remains an abandoned site, overgrown and overrun by plants and animals. In 2021, the city of New Orleans awarded a contract to a developer planning to build a new amusement park and other attractions on the site. 

Related: Best Cheap Or Free Things To Do In New Orleans

London
This once-prominent London arch and landmark, built in 1837, was the entrance to the Euston station. When the station was rebuilt in the early 1960s, it was torn down — by hand, since explosives would cause damage to the buildings near it. 

Related: 20 Spectacular Trails That Used to Be Railroads

Bolivia
At more than 18,000 feet, this area of Bolivia used to serve as a ski resort to apparently very fit skiers from the late 1930s through the end of the 20th century. (Its altitude is higher than Mount Everest's base camp.) A forecast by scientists that the glacier would disappear due to global warming happened years before predicted, in 2009. You can still visit the site by tour, renting a car, or by hiring a taxi to take you from nearby La Paz. Important tip: You might want to acclimatize to the altitude for a few days in the Zongo region before heading up. 

Related: World's Most Beautiful Glaciers to See Before They're Gone

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