| ranked #1 out of 10 attractions | rated 2.57 out of 5 | total 269 votes |
Cleopatra’s Needle
Why Cleopatra’s Needle is one of the worst London tourist attractions
Cleopatra’s Needle sucks! It’s an ancient stone said to be a present from Cleopatra, but it actually has nothing at all to do with Cleopatra.
Cleopatra’s Needle is located on the Thames Embankment in London close to the Embankment underground station. The obelisk was constructed for Pharaoh Tuthmose III and is adorned with hieroglyphics praising Tuthmose. Later, inscriptions were added by Rameses II to commemorate his victories.
It was brought to London by sea in 1878 to mark Britain’s victory over Napoleon 63 years earlier. Why this should rate as a London tourist attraction is beyond us! Well, it’s an obelisk from Egypt, but if you’re interested in Egyptian history you can either go to a museum or take a trip to Egypt.
But, hey, I’m in London and I don’t want to waste my time with boring stony tourist attractions!
Address
Victoria Embankment,
London SW1
Opening times/Cost
n/a
Related links
Read more about Cleopatra’s Needle
January 24, 2005 @ 1:21 am
Marissa said,
I totally agree! Cleopatra’s Needle is such a boring thing! Don’t try to find it, it’s really disappointing and you better spend your time with something that’s really interesting such as the London Eye or the Tower!
January 8, 2005 @ 10:30 pm
Harry said,
It’s just a big stone on the embankment of the Thames – nothing special.
March 28, 2005 @ 2:38 am
Francis said,
I think it’s interesting to think how a nation plundered monuments from occupied countries, don’t you think? It’s still happening today.
April 18, 2005 @ 6:25 pm
Kaylee said,
I actually went to London and one thing I saw while I was there was Cleopatra’s Needle. It was interesting to me and I was able to bring home some really beautiful pictures.
It’s amazing what came before us.
August 2, 2005 @ 3:57 am
Colin said,
The real attraction is not really Cleopatra’s Needle in isolation but the Embankment itself of which Cleopatra’s Needle forms a part – no trip to London can be complete without a stroll down both sides of the Thames at this location – and at different times of the day the atmosphere changes – so well worth several visits.
September 1, 2005 @ 6:43 pm
Sarah said,
I’ll have you know that i’ve visited London at least three times this past year…i’ve seen all the “worst attractions” you speak of…and I QUITE enjoyed them all. Obviously you’re merely some red neck hilliby from kentucky who just doesn’t appreciate the finer things in life. So back off London and start bitching about something else instead!
October 6, 2005 @ 12:15 pm
Georgina Abela said,
I find Cleopatra`s Needle fascinating, it is so old it probably was a familiar sight to Moses and here was I looking at it in the 21st. century.
It stood for 15 centuries before falling and eventually being covered by sand, more centuries passed before it was offered to England.
Six brave men died trying to save it in a storm but it was lost in in the Bay of Biscay. A freighter found it a few days later and it was towed to England.
During the first world war it was hit by shrapnel from a German bomb, you can still see the damage. Yes I find it fascinating.
November 4, 2005 @ 2:40 pm
James Weir said,
I agree with Georgina Abela 100%. My worst site is the Millenium Wheel. What an eyesore and waste of lottery money!
November 29, 2005 @ 3:55 am
Jonh Q. Astonished said,
A monument quarried and adorned with carvings by an ancient civilization. Some of which are by Ramses The Great Himself, the Pharoah that constructed more monuments than any other Pharoah and fathered more than one hundred children, more than any other Pharoah, from a civilization that lasted over three thousand years, and Londeners can gaze upon it any time they please…
I am ashamed to be from the same species as the person that simply states “it sucks”. Jack The Ripper probably admired it himself along with who knows how many other historical figures. If that’s not an appreciable history…
If I lived in New York and could visit Central Park where the sister “Needle” rests I would visit often, touch it in awe, and let my imagination take me away…
April 25, 2006 @ 1:56 pm
Marnie said,
How can you people say things like that monument sucks???
People died bringing it over, it has scars from the war, it is our human history.
I think it is just ignorant to down play such an amazing thing, the man who deciphered the writing on it is rolling in his grave in High Gate Cemetery at your blaz’e attitude.
Go play your Nintendo now in the comfort of your cushy neon life.
May 2, 2006 @ 4:13 am
Paul Close said,
Obviously a comment from a hillbilly who doesn’t even know that there is a sister needle standing in Central Park NY. His highlight of a trip to London was probably a visit to Hamley’s (Britain’s biggest toy store) where he bought a replica King Kong standing on the Empire State Building, fighting off the heroic pilots of the US Air Force
June 11, 2006 @ 8:38 am
dylan said,
I am humbled to see that some people see the beauty of cleopatra’s needle, there is more to it than meets the eye. You guys need to do some more research to find the “truth” behind it. Too true, a lot of people perished to bring such a treasure from egypt to us.
Ignorant or uneducated people really have no place in society. I wonder what it’s like to walk around in a daze of stupidity all your life.
forever in light…
August 5, 2006 @ 12:56 pm
sez said,
hey guys c’mon you even wrote lots of things on this site about this stone. Someone coming from outside must see this in order to say ‘ Ooo I have seen the worst thing to see in London
August 27, 2006 @ 6:35 am
Ali said,
When you are a tourist every pound counts where i come from it really does. So if i can avoid a “stone” in the middle of heck for a better site for my money thanks for the tip!
September 6, 2006 @ 4:35 am
suzan said,
yeah! its an egypt attraction ,not london one’s… as same as british musium,it’s nice BUT its not british one… it has from all the worls exept british!!!
January 25, 2007 @ 11:20 am
Bobby Boogie said,
The Needle is interesting.
Its free
its by the river, a great place to walk.
whats wrong with that?
Cheer up
complain about the price of any attraction, not the free ones.
May 22, 2007 @ 11:41 am
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June 2, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
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August 25, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
CARMEN said,
My daughter and I walked every where while in London. Walked from Victoria Station to the Tower of London most of which was on the Victoria Embankment. Saw the Needle it was intresting, if you dont mind the walk plenty of intresting things along the way. Battle of Britain Monument, Temple Church, St Dunstan’s in the East.
February 8, 2008 @ 2:45 am
khakichic said,
Im only a teenager but i’ve been to london three times it’s congested,the people that live there are rude, egypt is a far more interesting place,i’ve been there three times and egypt’s history should remain in egypt and not in a museum at london where it isn’t appreciated.
October 11, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
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August 16, 2010 @ 7:39 am
Crawf said,
Cleopatra’s Needle sucks! Well, I suppose its a comment that could be applied to any ancient artefact if the observer has no perception of what it is she/he is looking at. The tourist who thought it ‘sucked’ clearly had no idea what it was and who can blame him? Apart from the bronze plaques, there is nothing to tell the casual tourist what the Needle is all about.
Mind you, the same tourist could almost be excused knowing he was in good company – many eminent Londoners in the 1880s thought the Needle as unattractive and as unwanted as Nelson’s Column. Now, does Trafalgar Square suck? Probably, to a peon.
August 27, 2010 @ 4:14 am
terry adams said,
this attraction should be in no.1 for the worst museum in london and to top that you pay money to walk though the place looking at some of the worst movie trash which is falling apart is not signed up with the right spellings long along the original props , my kids where so upset and wanted to leave it felt like something had died in the place event the staff put on a brave face , i asked to talk to the manager of the venue mr jon sands and was told he has no time to talk to the customers ? what a micky mouse outfit bring back the BFI museum that makes this museum look like a rag and bone mans back yard , this attraction should be no.1 hope it closes soon as it is taking people money and not returning anything in return part form crap day out for anyone into movies , the chaplin and ray harryhusn part of the museum was way to dark and had no feel to it whatso ever old films kids really know or care about sorry , venue was just full of empty rooms , sorry i love movies and this was so bad it should be no.1 as the worst attraction in london , idd rather send and hour looking at the needle than go to the london film museum again
October 8, 2010 @ 4:38 am
John Bull said,
said to be a present from Cleopatra!!?!?!?!
This website is obviously for thick yanks
October 31, 2010 @ 1:29 am
johnny k said,
1. its sad to know that other nation’s history is being plundered by the British and the only comment you get ‘this is a wait of time’ ( even though its free) wow talking about cheap…
2. A reminder of the Greek marbles from the Parthenon.. hint hint how did they arrive here?
3. London would not be so ‘attractive if it did not loot all this history from around the world.
4. Bear in mind that all these monuments were created by other nations to reside and be appreciated by their communities (its their identity) BUT are currently ‘legally’ displayed in this country = ideologically this is wrong!
A nation’s history is priceless especially when their history out dates most of the present nations and have come through so many turmoil over the centuries. so stop posting disrespecting comments and start thinking rationally.
July 13, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
Daniel B said,
Man, some of the comments are embarrasing. It’s an obelisk. That you can see in pictures. It’s not much different to look at in real life than in pictures, unlike many other worthwhile tourist attractions. If you enjoy it, fine, but most people aren’t that passive and want some movement and interaction.
July 29, 2011 @ 1:15 am
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November 2, 2011 @ 7:06 am
S said,
errr probably one of the most fascinating pieces of history I have ever seen, and you’re saying “it sucks” because it is “a piece of stone”?! It only takes 2 minutes to look at, is free, and is A BEAUTIFULLY CARVED ANCIENT MONUMENT ALL THE WAY FROM EGYPT. Personally, it blows my mind. This has been in existence for well over 1000 years, older than London itself. please have some respect for this awesome monument.
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