11 Most Popular Places to Propose Marriage

You can look at this list of the most popular places to propose marriage as either a suggestion on where you should pop the question or as a list of places where you should NOT propose at to avoid cliché. Either way, this list will tell you where a lot of other couples – numbering in the tens of thousands – have had their engagement.

Coming up with this list was pretty challenging. After all, no one has ever made an official, accurate, and up-to-date tracker on where marriage proposals take place. What we DID find, in abundance, are a list of suggestions for the most romantic places for wedding proposals. For our own rankings, we have curated the suggestions from news, lifestyle, and travel sources the likes of CNN, MSN, The Lonely Planet, Marie Claire UK, Travel and Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, as well as the suggestions of global engagement photographer The Flytographer. We’ve also used the results from the combined user survey of USA TODAY and 10Best Reader’s Choice for the Best Place to Propose.

The popularity of the places listed here as top marriage proposal location choices are measured according to how frequently they appear on and how well they rank on the top places lists.

And if this article does, in fact, inspire you to pop the question, maybe our list of the 11 Most Romantic Things to Say to Her will also help you create the most important speech of your life.

11. Amalfi Coast, Italy

Amalfi Coast is one fine piece of Mediterranean beauty – the kind that is UNESCO-approved. There is not a shortage of places where to pop the question in here – everything is picturesque enough to provide your engagement photos a great background: from the villages and their fairytale-book houses, the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, to the beaches that are beyond compare. No wonder it’s become a favorite proposal spot for locals and tourists alike!

10. Bora Bora, Tahiti

While Bora Bora is more popularly known as a honeymooner’s paradise (especially for the rich and famous), Bora Bora is also one of the top choices for the most romantic places for a marriage proposal. And we cannot blame anybody for popping the question right here. The crystal blue waters, the soft powdery sand, the sun, and the tranquil tropical paradise perfection of Bora Bora can compel even the most cynical person to drop on his knees to wed the woman he loves. Make sure your speech is convincing enough for a ‘Yes!’, otherwise, Bora Bora will have become your most expensive heartbreak.

9. Sydney Harbor Bridge

Being the largest steel arch crossing in the world, Sydney Harbor Bridge is built to make a lasting impression – one that countless lovers, numbering in the thousands, have used to their engagement advantages. Its most popular tourist activity, the 100-step climb atop the peak of the 130-meter tall bridge – is also the most popular proposal methods hereabouts. Climbing the bridge and proposing at its peak has become so popular that, in fact, the management of the bridge tours operations has created a special ring holder for every lad (or lady) looking to pop the question on top. Certainly, that deserves a spot as one of the most popular places to propose marriage.

8. Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls is the quintessential North American natural attraction. Aside from being a favored tourist spot, the Niagara Falls are also a favorite spot for marriage proposals. Thankfully, this natural wonder does not disappoint and provides countless “perfect spots” for popping the question on either side of the border.

7. Hawaii

The whole island is a marriage proposal waiting to happen. No, wait, scratch that. Actually, Hawaii is every lover’s paradise – the kind that could make you think of careless, passionate, unadulterated love pretty much like a ‘The Blue Lagoon’ kind of tale. The beach, the waterfalls, the Hawaiian music – everything just begs for romance to happen making it the 7th on our list of the most popular places to propose marriage. The good part is, though a Hawaiian proposal is not as unique considering the tens of thousands of “Will you marry me’s” popped on the island, Hawaii offers a million other ways to make your proposal one of a kind.

6. The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is an engagement spot carved from millions of years of geological activity. And today, it is one of the most favorite places for proposing. Should you decide to actually ask your better half to a lifetime commitment, you’re in luck as the place offers up plenty of options to make your proposal unique. If you’re willing to shell out extra cash, go big with a helicopter ride above the canyons for a truly “over-the-top” proposal.

5. Rome, Italy

There is NOTHING that’s not romantic about Rome, Italy. You can easily be right at the corner of a street next to a man selling gelato and you’d still have a perfect spot for a wedding proposal. No wonder Rome is one of the most popular marriage proposal locations in the world. But the most popular spot for popping the question is the beautiful Trevi Fountain. A sight to behold, one look at it is enough an explanation why so many Yes’ have been uttered hereabouts.

4. London, England

London may be a bustling, busy metropolis but it is a picturesque one, not to mention historical, and the site of many beautiful love stories. These are just some of the reasons why London lands one of the top spots on the world’s most popular places for marriage proposals. It is no surprise at all that the most popular spot for marriage proposals hereabouts is the London Eye – never mind the long queues, star-crossed lovers will give anything just to propose to the loves of their lives with a bird’s eye view of the entire city of London as its background. Want to go beyond the Eye? Go for Hyde Park or London Bridge – or better yet, have one of London’s many, many proposal planners pick the spot and arrange everything for you!

3. Venice, Italy

It is without exaggeration to say that Venice is one of the most romantic spots on the whole planet. Whether pop culture, literature, or enterprising tour operators are to blame, the image of the floating city as a lover’s haven is ingrained rather deeply in our minds. When it comes to European honeymoons, for instance, gondola rides in Venice with the gondolier singing sweet love ballads is one of the first pictures to come to mind. So it is not surprising at all that Venice is one of the most popular spots for proposals. Some have called it a cliche, but when you have views as beautiful as Venice, even cliche sounds like a beautiful idea.

2. Paris, France

Of course the City of Love would be on this list! Because Paris has become synonymous to romance and marriage proposals that there should be a written rule against boyfriends or girlfriends taking their better halves to the city without the intention of proposing. We really can’t blame anyone for feeling all lovey-dovey in Paris – everything is just intoxicatingly beautiful, passionate, full of romance! And we’re not just talking about the Eiffel! Paris offers plenty of proposal spots from the Ponts des Artes to the Louvre, the Pont Neuf, to the many parks within the city. It may be harder to pick the ‘perfect spot’ than it is to actually pop the question.

1. New York City, NY

Just when you thought it was impossible to outshine Paris when it comes to being the world capital of love and romance, the Big Apple steps into the picture. The Big Apple is the most favored, most highly suggested location earning it the top spot on this list of the most romantic places to propose marriage, thanks to the unbeatable beauty of the Central Park, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, and even the overcrowded New York Times Square. If none of these popular picks inspire you, don’t fret: New York never runs out of options.

There you go: the 11 most popular places to propose marriage. Which of these locations are on your shortlist and which ones are on your blacklist?