Official ticketsBest dealTips & tricks
See the world’s great sights, the smart way
Which ticket to buy and where, how to skip the lines, whether a guided tour is worth it, the honest deals and the local tricks. One page per sight, researched and dated, so you can plan your visit in ten minutes.
The great sights
Start with the big ones. Every page says what to book, how far ahead, and what the official site costs compared with the resellers.
Eiffel Tower
Paris, France
Gustave Eiffel's 330-metre iron tower, with lifts to a summit 276 metres above Paris.
- From
- €14.80
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours for the 2nd floor, 2.5 hours with the summit, plus security
Colosseum
Rome, Italy
Rome's great amphitheatre, with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill on the same ticket.
- From
- €18
- Time needed
- 4–5 hours for Colosseum, Forum and Palatine; 75–90 minutes inside the Colosseum itself
Sagrada Família
Barcelona, Spain
Gaudí's basilica and the world's tallest church: a stone forest lit by coloured glass.
- From
- €26
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours; about 2.5 hours with a tower
Louvre Museum
Paris, France
A royal palace turned into the world's most visited museum, home of the Mona Lisa.
- From
- €22 EEA citizens and residents; €32 everyone else; free under 18
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours for the highlights; a full day only scratches the surface
Machu Picchu
Aguas Calientes, Peru
The 15th-century Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba, reached by train and bus.
- From
- S/ 152 foreign adult, S/ 200 with a mountain route(€40 · €52)
- Time needed
- 2.5–4 hours on one route; a full day if you add Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain
Alhambra
Granada, Spain
The Nasrid sultans' hilltop palace-city, with the Generalife gardens above it.
- From
- €22.27
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours; 5 if you linger in the Generalife and the museum
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
New York, United States
New York's copper giant and the island 12 million immigrants passed through, on one ferry.
- From
- $26 adult, $23 senior 62+, $17 child 4–12, under 4 free
- Time needed
- 4–5 hours for both islands; 90 minutes–2 hours for Liberty Island alone
Alcatraz Island
San Francisco, United States
The Rock: a federal prison in the middle of San Francisco Bay, told by its guards and inmates.
- From
- $47.95 adult Day Tour, $29.15 child 5–11, $45.15 senior 62+, under 5 free
- Time needed
- 2.5–3 hours including the 15-minute crossing each way; Night Tour about 3 hours
Palace of Versailles
Versailles, France
Louis XIV's palace, the Hall of Mirrors and the fountain gardens, 45 minutes from Paris.
- From
- €35 Passport
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours for the Palace; a full day for the Palace, gardens and Trianon
Tower of London
London, United Kingdom
William the Conqueror's Thames fortress, home of the Crown Jewels and the Beefeaters.
- From
- £38(€45)
- Time needed
- 3 hours at least; half a day if you join a Yeoman Warder tour
Taj Mahal
Agra, India
Shah Jahan's white marble tomb for Mumtaz Mahal on the Yamuna, best at first light.
- From
- ₹1,050 foreigners online(€10)
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours inside (tickets have been limited to 3 hours since 2019); half a day with Mehtab Bagh
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The fortress on Castle Rock, with Scotland's Crown Jewels and the One o'Clock Gun.
- From
- £23.50(€28)
- Time needed
- At least 2 hours; half a day with the museums
A weekend in the city
What to do in a weekend in each city: the big sights done the smart way, the places most visitors miss, an easy trip out of town, where to eat at every price and where to stay. Every price dated, every tip sourced.
NetherlandsA weekend in AmsterdamRembrandt, Van Gogh and Anne Frank by day, canals and brown cafés by night.14 sights and gems
GreeceA weekend in AthensThe Parthenon at 8:00, the old market at noon and souvlaki and meze late into the night.13 sights and gems
SpainA weekend in BarcelonaGaudí by day, Gothic lanes and tapas by night, and the sea at the end of every street.14 sights and gems
GermanyA weekend in BerlinWall history, a glass dome, Nefertiti and currywurst: a big city that is cheap to see.14 sights and gems
United KingdomA weekend in EdinburghA castle on a volcano, free national museums and a hill to climb before breakfast.13 sights and gems
PortugalA weekend in LisbonHills, river light and custard tarts: Belém, Alfama and Sintra in two or three days.13 sights and gems
Skip the line: book before you go
At most of the world’s famous sights, the people in the long line are the ones who did not book. A timed ticket bought on the official site a few days or weeks ahead usually gets you in at your slot. Every sight page says how far ahead you need to book.
Skip-the-line tickets, explained →What every sight page gives you
- The right ticket: the official site, every ticket type compared, what skips which line, and how far ahead it sells out.
- Guided tours: when they are worth it, the kinds on offer and what they cost.
- Honest deals: free days, discounts, passes and combos, and when the official ticket is simply the best buy.
- Tips and tricks: the quieter entrance, the best hour, the free viewpoint, gathered from forums and locals.
- Scams to watch for, getting there, accessibility and what to combine nearby.
Hidden gems
Less famous, just as memorable, and usually far less crowded. Places we think deserve the trip.
Hidden gemČeský Krumlov Castle
Český Krumlov, Czechia
A Renaissance castle town in a loop of the Vltava, with a Baroque theatre that still works.
- From
- 300 Kč(€12)
- Time needed
- Half a day for the castle; a full day or an overnight stay for the town as well
Hidden gemSassi di Matera
Matera, Italy
A whole town of cave houses and rock churches carved into a ravine in southern Italy.
- From
- Free to walk; 1 rock church €4.50, all 3 churches €10, 8-site ticket €25
- Time needed
- One full day for the Sassi and the churches; add half a day for the Murgia; two nights is better
Hidden gemQuinta da Regaleira
Sintra, Portugal
A millionaire's mystic garden in Sintra: a spiral well, dark tunnels, grottoes and towers.
- From
- €20 adult
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours; allow a half day in summer, when the queue for the well adds time
Hidden gemHampi
Hampi, Karnataka, India
The ruined Vijayanagara capital, scattered among giant boulders on the Tungabhadra.
- From
- ₹550 foreigners online(€5)
- Time needed
- Two full days for the main ruins; one long day covers the highlights
Hidden gemJerash
Jerash, Jordan
A Roman provincial city with its streets, temples and theatres still standing, an hour from Amman.
- From
- 10 JOD foreign visitors(€13)
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours for the main sights; 3–4 hours to walk the whole site and see the museum
Hidden gemMogao Caves
Dunhuang, China
A thousand years of Buddhist cave art in the Gobi, and how to land a scarce ticket.
- From
- CN¥238 regular ticket(€32)
- Time needed
- 4–5 hours for films, shuttle and the cave tour; a full day with the dunes in the afternoon
Hidden gemSedlec Ossuary
Kutná Hora, Czechia
A Gothic chapel decorated with the bones of tens of thousands, an hour from Prague.
- From
- 220 Kč(€9)
- Time needed
- 45 minutes for the ossuary and Sedlec Cathedral; a full day with Kutná Hora's old town
Hidden gemSaqqara
Saqqara, Egypt
Djoser's Step Pyramid, the first pyramid, and painted tombs without the Giza crowds.
- From
- EGP 600(€10)
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours for Saqqara; a full day with Dahshur and Memphis
What applies everywhere
The sight pages hold what is local. The guides hold the rest: how to plan a visit, which tickets actually skip lines, whether city passes pay off, and the scams that follow tourists everywhere.
- How to plan a visit to a famous sightThe famous sights now run on timed, named tickets that sell out, and most of the ways a visit goes wrong happen weeks before you arrive. Here is how to book at the right moment, on the right site, and turn up with the right things.
- Skip-the-line tickets, explainedMost famous sights have three queues, and no ticket skips all of them. After reading this you will know which line your ticket saves you, when a skip-the-line label is worth paying for, and when it is the official ticket at a higher price.
- Official tickets vs resellers: how to tell them apartThe top search result for a famous sight is often not the sight's own ticket shop. This guide shows you how to find the real one in a minute, when paying a reseller makes sense, and what to do if you already paid the wrong site.
- Are city passes worth it?A city pass saves money only if you would have paid full price for enough of what it covers, in the days it is valid. This guide shows you how to do that sum in five minutes, and where the passes for Paris, Rome, London and Jordan stand in October 2026.
Sights by country
- Australia2 sights
- Austria2 sights
- Cambodia1 sight
- China4 sights
- Croatia2 sights
- Czechia5 sights
- Egypt7 sights
- France8 sights
- Germany5 sights
- Greece5 sights
- India6 sights
- Italy7 sights
- Japan5 sights
- Jordan3 sights
- Mexico3 sights
- Morocco2 sights
- Netherlands4 sights
- Peru2 sights
- Portugal5 sights
- Spain6 sights
- Turkey6 sights
- United Kingdom6 sights
- United States6 sights
- Vatican City2 sights
Questions people ask
What is Sightsale?
Sightsale is a guide to the world’s great sights and how to visit them best. Each sight page covers the official tickets and what they cost, which tickets skip which line, how far ahead to book, guided tours, honest deals, local tips, scams to watch for and how to get there. Country pages list each country’s sights, and guides cover what applies everywhere.
Do you sell tickets?
No. We point you to the official ticket site first, and list resellers and tour companies only where they add something, saying what you get for the extra money. We can never guarantee a seller, tour or deal, so always check the details on the seller’s own page before you pay.
How up to date is the information?
Every page shows the date it was last checked, and every price has the month it refers to. Prices, opening hours and booking rules change often, so check the official site before you book. If something is out of date, tell us through the contact page.
How do I skip the lines at famous sights?
Book a timed ticket on the official site before you go: at most big sights that gets you past the ticket line, though rarely past security. Go at opening time or late in the day, and check each sight page for the quieter entrance and how far ahead tickets sell out.