A sightseer is someone who travels to look at interesting or famous places. When your family visits Washington, D.C., and spends the day viewing the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, and the Smithsonian museums, you're acting as sightseers. The word captures that specific kind of traveler who goes places mainly to see what's there, not to work, visit relatives, or move permanently.

Sightseers fill cities like Paris, Rome, and New York, cameras in hand, eager to experience landmarks they've only seen in pictures. A sightseer might climb the Eiffel Tower, walk through ancient ruins, or ride a boat past the Statue of Liberty. The experience is about witnessing these places firsthand, taking in their beauty, history, or significance.

The activity itself is called sightseeing. You might spend a morning sightseeing in a new city, or plan a sightseeing tour of local attractions. While some people use tourist and sightseer interchangeably, sightseer specifically emphasizes the looking and experiencing part of travel. A tourist might be visiting for many reasons, but a sightseer is definitely there to see the sights.