Hilarious Tourists

Last updated on December 13, 2015

Tourists can be a ridiculous species whose capacity for confusion is almost endless. Some of their muddles are almost legendary like the mixing up of London Bridge and Tower Bridge and then there is the American nation’s hopeless knowledge of European Geography. I have lost count of the amount of anecdotes I have heard surrounding that subject! You know the ones – the people who thought Paris was the capital of London, the guy who thought Venice was near Paris etc. etc.

Pitiful Geography

If people don’t even know what country they are in then it is little wonder that they have trouble identifying particular landmarks. I always laugh when I think of the American receptionist at one of my old clients who once asked a colleague of mine if Helsinki was in Japan!

The Invisible River

A friend of mine spent some time a couple of years ago working at the London Eye which if you have never been there is situated on the River Thames on London’s South Bank. One day he was standing outside the ticket office when a tourist who appeared to be from the Middle East asked him where the River Thames was. As the gentlemen was standing approximately 20 feet from the water with an unobstructed view, my friend wasn’t sure how to respond and was reduced to pointing over the guy’s shoulder.

Confusing Dates

This week I read a story about another American Tourist who was visiting Windsor Castle and seemed somewhat annoyed by the number of planes bound for Heathrow Airport passing overhead. He was heard to exclaim “why did they build the castle so near the airport?” Clearly Americans’ poor grasp of European geography is rivalled only by their appalling lack of understanding of history.

Touring London

It is always a bit of an eye opener if you happen to take a tour of some kind in your own country. I am rather fond of walking tours in London which never fail to reveal a myriad of interesting facts about the capital that I have never heard before despite being a resident for several years. My favourite tourist was a middle aged gentleman (American) who could not be persuaded that Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character and was totally convinced that the super sleuth had really been a resident of Baker Street. There was also a couple who excitedly told me that they were travelling to Scotland to visit Arran because they wanted to buy one of “those” jumpers. I felt pretty awful explaining that “those” jumpers are from Aran which is in the Republic of Ireland!

Lost in New York

I know from personal experience that people can be equally confused on home soil. When I visited New York I was waiting for a bus near Wall Street when an American asked me which bus they should take to get to Madison Avenue. I asked if it was their first trip to the Big Apple and they informed me that they had lived there for 20 years! Happily I was able to point them in the right direction!

Great Quotation

My favourite tourist related quote is actually not the result of a silly misunderstanding but rather a moment of brilliant insight into the tourist condition by author Dave Barry who is of all things American. Of Paris he said “Another well-known Paris landmark is the Arc de Triomphe, a moving monument to the many brave women and men who have died trying to visit it.”

Sally Stacey is a keen traveller who always does her homework before visiting a new destination. It is nice to know what country you are in if only to ensure that you try to pay with the right currency!