Places you have been to that have exceeded expectations

[Ginfordinner]

On the back of another thread, where have you been to that you didn't expect to enjoy as much, or where you had no expectations?

When we went to Venice everyone said it was smelly and dirty. It wasn't and we loved it.
Our last holiday abroad was in Kos in 2019. Again, we loved it.
A couple of UK city breaks to Lincoln and to Carlisle made us think that both cities were underrated.

Zaragoza. We spent a night in the centre on our journey down through Spain. I picked it literally because it was the right mid way distance and I liked the look of Google images. We absolutely loved it. One afternoon and night was not enough. We stayed on the main square opposite the basilica. It was a little noisy, Inna traditional Spanish late night eating and drinking way, but well worth it. The food and the drink was amazing, the energy of the city was incredible....
Just wow.
I'd always stay on the basilica side of the city though. We didn't venture across the river but it looked a lot more built up and less beautiful.

Rhodes in greece. The sea was nicer than the tropical destinations I'd been to for the previous 3 years. And the food was beautiful.

Jordan....great food and people....Petra was amazing so went 3 times....then onto Syria...again great trip other than the dirty hotels which we had been warned about and then onto Iraq....lovely and friendly people...still have loads of saddam hussein banknotes...there was huge inflation so needed a huge wad to buy a bus ticket !!

Dubrovnik
Krakow
Berlin

Japan- was expecting all bright lights and city life as in the films and it was of course but in a great way. Then get on a bullet train and out into countryside and it's like you're in a different country, green and lush with rivers, lakes, off the beaten track temples, pretty little towns, historic buildings. Totally unexpected from the usual view we get of Japan!

Lake Garda - the food, the scenery, just perfection!
Hawaii - everything you imagine and more.
Malaga city (it's not just an airport!)
Toronto - if I ever emigrate it will be here.
Manchester - it has everything (and it's not ALWAYS rainy).
Bali - heard really mixed things but we LOVED it (and we're fussy!). Do your research though to avoid hippy hell.
Pembrokeshire - best beaches in the UK IMO
Iceland - like visiting another planet!
Quebec City - had absolutely no expectations, but it was beautiful!

Oh I forgot Santorini, Salzburg and Copenhagen!

Lythham near Blackpool is the perfect town, had a great day there.

Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. We went there in late November for a couple of nights in early December, not really expecting much.
We drove through some pretty run-down rural areas and I thought it was going to be a grim experience.
But when we got there the hilltop castle and walled town in the snow was a magical, fairytale delight. We stayed in a hotel that was part of the medieval town wall and our room was like a princess’s! The food was hearty and we dined on kilos of roast meats.
For some reason it was also full of Chinese honeymoon couples.
We want to go back with DC1 who’s a LOTR fan and was very jealous of the fun we had.

Romania is brilliant. Incredibly cheap and fun. Transylvania so beautiful and lots of people let you stay in their houses for a small fee, cook for you. Bucharest and Brasov very cosmopolitan.
I second Belgium.
Also Central Asia is just so breathtaking but quite hard work esp in terms of obtaining visas and the dictator vibe. But the 'Stans were hands down the best trip I have ever been on.

yy to the Taj Mahal.
In fact India as a whole was amazing, although I did stay in nice hotels and went in the hot dry season.

Grand canyon too. I kept looking at the lower layers thinking "that's when the dinosaurs were around '

@Tartyflette

Glasgow. Lovely museums, lots of regeneration and a diverse food culture. Also the home of Brewdog. 😀

It's a great city, but it's not the home of Brewdog! Brewdog originates north of Aberdeen.

Kotor, Montenegro. Breathtaking.
Maldives
Amsterdam

@SniffingOne

Vienna. It's stunning and an extraordinary European capital yet doesn't have the profile of Paris or Rome.

Vienna is better than both, and I'd take it outside with anyone who said otherwise.

Paris wishes it was Vienna. Viennese patisserie is vastly superior to French, the city is more beautiful and the people vastly more friendly.

Rome does have a good line in history, but the bustle of the place does it no favours, and Vienna has fountains that AREN'T surrounded by a thousand people at a time.

Vienna is absolutely lovely - interesting, great architecture, clean and great food - want to go again one day!

Bahrain - went with my parents and did not want to go to visit relatives working there as I thought it would just be a desert with a few camels. It was fab - lovely hotels, great food, very polite people and just SO different.

Hong Kong in 1995 - another wonderful place. We went to Macau for the day and it really frightened me to see the Chinese soldiers with machine guns just the other side of a glass wall - pointing them at people. Very scary regime.

Vienna is better than both, and I'd take it outside with anyone who said otherwise.

I agree. Every time I have been to Paris I didn't feel safe, unlike Vienna. I just loved everything about Vienna.

I've always wanted to go to Vienna. This thread has made me realise I need to make it happen.

Lyon is far superior to Paris. Beautiful city. Two rivers running through it. Stunning old town.

Malaga.
I had totally dismissed it in my mind as just the gateway to the costa del sol but it’s a great city. I can’t wait to go back (had planned to in 2010 but covid).

Another vote for Singapore- would love to move there.

Prague, expected loads of stag nights but we've only ever seen a few(and one of those was in a museum).
St Lucia I knew it was beautiful but wow

Antwerp for the churches and the interesting museums.
St Paul de Vence.
Rome.

I had low expectations of Newcastle when I first went there, but found it to be really lovely. I had no expectations whatsoever when I went to an event in Ipswich a few years back, but really liked it there as well.
I think many towns and cities in the UK are under-rated.

Leiden, NL. I went with DH, who was there for a few days on a work trip. We left wanting to move there. I loved that groups of teenagers were hanging out in the evenings but in a completely non-threatening way.

Toulon, FR. We went on a cheapie Eurocamp holiday and I wasn't expecting much. It was great and I'd happily go back. Lots of sandy beaches, a lovely street market with local produce and plenty of day trips to stunning places like Les Porquerolles and the calanques.

Further afield, I'd like to spend more time in Singapore but the inequality between citizens and non-wealthy, non-Western immigrants would put me off working there.

Newcastle is a lovely city @CornishW. DD loved it so much she went to university there.