Every year, massive numbers of travelers visit the sites of saints' and prophets' tombs, or partake in annual celebrations at holy shrines. At the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, in Mexico City, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared in the 16th century to a poor peasant, estimates for annual visitation to the basilica run as high as 20 million. According to a 1999 Vatican Council report, it was the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world. Today, Muslims can book five-star Hajj packages and Christians can join luxury cruises in Greece to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul. Religious destinations and pilgrimages have become more commodified.
20 Most Popular Religious Destinations

This Paris landmark was dedicated to the Virgin Mary by the bishop of Paris in the 12th century. The Gothic monument has been at the center of historic events: Crusaders prayed here before leaving for their holy wars; the church was ransacked duing the French revolution; Napoleon crowned himself emperor here. Today the Notre Dame is still a working Roman Catholic cathedral and a destination for more than 13 million visitors annually, a 650,000 increase from last year.
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SOURCES: Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris and Paris Convention and Visitors Office

According to the World Heritage Center, "three sacred sites-- Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan -- linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula." The sites draw reportedly draw 15 million visitors annually.
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SOURCE: World Heritage

The name of Iran's holiest city translates as "place of martyrdom"-- after the eighth Shiite Imam, Reza, a direct descendant of Mohammed. The Imam's tomb is the most important Shia site in Iran, and estimates of pilgrim numbers range from 12 to 18 million.
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SOURCES: Lonely Planet, Iran, Andrew Burke (2004), Press TV, Iran Daily

Vatican City is home to the Pope's official residence (the Apostolic Palace), as well as the Sistine Chapel, several museums and the Basilica of St. Peter, the first Pope, whose tomb is under the main altar. UNESCO's World Heritage Centre says the Basilica is "the largest religious building in the world." Estimates for visitors to the basilica range from 5,000 to 20,000 each day, and visitors to the Vatican as a whole are estimated at up to 18 million a year.
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SOURCES: Associated Press and Independent on Sunday

The Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared in 1531 to a poor peasant named Juan Diego on a hill at Tepeyac, northwest of what's now Mexico City. Believers maintain that Juan's cloak was miraculously imprinted with an image of Mary's face. That cloak hangs above an altar in a basilica built on the site of Diego's vision. Despite some controversy over the legend, Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. The basilica reportedly receives as many as 20 million visitors a year.
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SOURCES: Commonweal Foundation and Catholic.net/Zenit

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