Travel can be associated with clicking a lot of photos (and checking in). And photos can be associated with one thing - social media, mostly Instagram. With more than 300 million users Instagram is increasingly becoming an extensive platform with a lot of international photos being posted on it.

We recently read about the 10 most Instagrammed places in 2014. What was interesting is that the number of places outside USA shot up to 5 in the last year from 2 in 2012.

Here are 5 places people were seen online the most in 2014:

1. Musée du Louvre, Paris
Musée du Louvre is the French name for the Louvre Museum, one of the the world’s largest and most frequented museums. A landmark of Central Paris, it spreads over 650,000 square feet and sees almost 10 million visitors a year, about 70% of them being tourists.

2. Madison Square Garden, NYC
The only place in USA included in the list, Madison Square Garden, which opened in 1968, is now considered to be the oldest and most attractive sporting and performance stadium in New York City. And Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appearance before an enthusiastic crowd was one of the most historic moments of 2014. The Garden was filled with chants of “Modi! Modi!” where the PM addressed a massive gathering mostly of NRIs.

3. Siam Paragon, Bangkok
Opened in 2005, Siam Paragon is a massive shopping mall in Bangkok spreading over 21 acres. It includes a wide range of specialty stores, eateries and restaurants, 15 large screen multiplex theaters, the Siam Ocean World (the largest aquarium in Asia), the Thai Art Gallery, an exhibition hall and an open arena for concerts. Inaugurated in 2005, Siam Paragon was one of the most Instagrammed places in 2013 and continues to stay on the list in 2014 also.

4. Gorky Park, Moscow
Located in the heart of the city, Gorky Park is Moscow’s central park which sees more than 40,000 visitors on weekdays and over 250,000 visitors on weekends and public holidays. The park, which spans over a massive 294 acres, offers free entry, WiFi coverage, events and zones of modern design, which make it attractive to youth, elders and families alike. Established in 1928, this tourist spot is a hit with people and Instagram.

5. The Dubai Mall, Dubai
Opened in November 2008, the Dubai Mall spreads over a lavish 13 million square feet (the equivalent of 2 football fields). It has a 250 room luxury hotel, 22 cinemas and 120 restaurants and cafes to add to almost 1200 shops on lease. The Dubai Mall attracts an average of 750,000 visitors each week and sees a huge surge in visitors during the Dubai Shopping Festival. One of the main attractions of this place is the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre, which again makes it a popular place to be seen at on Instagram.

We haven’t included Disneyland, the Yankees Stadium and New York Times Square since those places feature on the top 10 Instagrammed places list every year. Of the 5 places in the above list outside USA, 3 have featured for the 1st time, showing that more people are posting photos of international travel on Instagram.

It is lovely to visit places and share photos, isn’t it? What’s also lovely, though, is sharing these moments with loved ones - people who are really close to you, the relationship with whom transcends beyond merely online interactions. Enter free online calling apps. These apps let you make international calls - mostly online, some let you call offline as well though - and share your experiences with those who matter, wherever you are. These free online calling apps are device agnostic, meaning that you can download them on your smartphone, tab or PC and start using them. You can also make international calls to people who don’t have smartphones because call rates offered by the apps definitely affordable.

2014 was a good year for travel. While we don’t have the exact figures, the number of travelers grew at most travel destinations. The sharing economy has played an indispensable part in encouraging people to travel to destinations they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford.

Which were the most memorable places visited by you in 2014? Would you recommend them to others as a must-visit? Do let us know in the comments.

Author's Bio: 

Ramanujan Sahay is a Digital Evangelist he has been writing articles on free internet calling apps on Android, App store. He is expert on online app promotion for telecom, social networking since last 8 years and is an open networker.