A recently published list of the world’s most photographed cities begs the question, “What draws the shutterbugs to these urban destinations?”
Life.com has uncovered the world’s 10 most photographed cities. Or, at least, they’ve conducted a search of Flickr photos and determined which 10 cities are tagged most often by site users.
You can check out the list at the source, but here’s what made the cut:
10. Toronto
9. Barcelona
8. Berlin
7. Seattle
6. Tokyo
5. Chicago
4. San Francisco
3. Paris
2. New York City
1. London
It’s impossible to know which cities are actually photographed most frequently (I’d wager Beijing), but a quick perusal through my own electronic album seems to put me in the company of the Flickr aficionados — I have around 1,000 shots of London, taken during a quick 10-day visit last September.
What does this list say about the cities on it? Are they more attractive than others, or do they simply host more tourists (or more Flickr members)?
Do you agree with the results? What cities feature most prominently in your collection? Create your own top 10 in the comments!
Community Connection:
For tips on how to bust out killer travel photos, read up on Ryan Libre’s Studies in Travel Photography: Perspective, Timing, and Themes.
We can’t all get the perfect shot all the time. For the post-processors out there, here’s a rundown of Free Photo Editing Software to Enhance Your Travel Photography.
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11 Comments... join the discussion!
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If they counted cell phone photos, then Tokyo would probably be #1.
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@Keith: Thanks for adding those, Keith. A very diverse selection!
@Tim: Interesting concept for a website, eh? Flickr for picture phones…
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Can’t believe Beijing’s not on there! We used to go take photos of people taking photos in front of the Forbidden City. The strategic Mao shot is like a rite of passage for any tourist to Beijing.
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Hal-
Great idea for an article! And I think I’d argue that maybe these cities are most photographed because they’re also the most visit. I’d wager that some of the most beautiful cities are those that are least visited by tourists (Mexico City has some pretty spectacular sights, don’t you agree?).
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Julie, you’re definitely right…it’s an indication of what cities are the most visited. As far as beautiful, photographic cities, I’d definitely add Vancouver (and not just because I grew up there) and Sydney – for the opera house alone.
Where’s Rome though??
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And Venice…
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Santiago, Chile features prominently for me, because I live here and because after a rain with the snowcapped Andes behind, there’s nothing lovelier. I recently came back from Montevideo, which I thought was pretty photogenic as well. But I think part of what people like to take pictures of is stuff their audience already knows, thus the list. What do you think? Oh, and Rio should surely be on the list, too!
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What, no Prague? I have never seen so many snapshooters (with 20 megapixel cameras) in my life…..
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your totally right tim tim
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I don’t understand why Barcelona is on the 9th position….i can see people taking pictures since 9am in the morning until 2am….
Congrats on ur blog!! i love it!!↵
