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.

Niagara Falls. Everyone says it’s cheesy and the town itself really is but the falls themself were fantastic. We did the boat trip and just did not stop laughing.

Split in Croatia for me. Absolutely beautiful. Islands off the coast are beautiful too

Disneyland Paris... I've never been a Disney fan, and expected it to be a bit pink and plastic tacky!

Went in the low season with my DM and 2 DCs when they were 6 and 4. DM treated us to the Disney hotel which was incredible. It was early December so everywhere was Christmas themed and although freezing the skies were clear and blue everyday and the sun shone - so different to UK 'white sky' winter.

The whole experience really was magical, the place was immaculate, all the hotel and park staff so friendly and helpful. We were totally immersed in the whole 'make believe' bubble for five days and it remains one of my favourite holidays! So completely different to what I'd expected and I can understand now why people go back time and time again. Forgot completely about the outside world - we all did - and just had a fabulous time every day.

Aww, reliving some lovely memories now 😊

San Diego 🥰

@HiPieInTheSky I've also been to Dharmashala! I didn't really know what to expect but after 6 weeks travelling around hot, crowded, smelly Delhi and northern India, Dharmashala was an oasis of calm and and a refuge from the soaring heat! It really was bliss.

Vietnam, particularly the north - I was blown away.
Sri Lanka - very disappointed.

Norway- absolutely wonderful place. Scenery is outstanding and varied and the people are lovely and friendly. The only problem is the cost of food and drink which is eye watering. When lockdown lifts we plan to do the cruise from Bergen to the Arctic Circle...

Iceland and the Maldives were as amazing as expected.
The most unexpected great place...Seville.

Before I went to Suffolk I thought it would be awful but its so unique and charming.

Finland.

Not at Christmas either at Easter.

DH wanted to do it. I wasn't sure about the money and thought I'd prefer to spend on a sunny holiday but it was really amazing and worth every penny. The kids absolutely loved proper waist deep snow.
We had so many memorable experiences and the scenery was spectacular, the remoteness.

Seville
The Alhambra
The Taj
Sri Lanka
Bangkok
Berlin
Munich
Antwerp
Roman Forum
Iceland
Old town in Rhodes
Lytham St Anne’s
Valletta in Malta
Bavaria in general
Neopolitan Rivera
The Yorkshire Dales

Seville. It was a last minute holiday and I wasn't that excited as Spain has never interested me much. But it was spectacular! The architecture is so beautiful and on an epic scale. Apparently, it was the wealthiest city in Spain for centuries and that ancient glory is everywhere. We spent a whole day dreamily drifting around the Alcazar Palace, feeling like we were on a movie set.

Patara/Gelemis in Turkey.
DH had toured Turkey as a teenager/gap year and did the hippie trail. He fell in love with this little village and even though it's not picturesque ( Kalkan and Kas are) the villagers are lovely. He had made friends with a few locals in Kalkan and patara 40 yrs ago and when we went back a couple of years ago we found them - we were then considered as family from England.
If you want a lovely hotel (B&b) with a pool and a chilled no fuss vibe ( no kids pool or playground though) then we suggest Patara Viewpoint ...

I agree with Madeira. It's stunning. And you feel as if you are somewhere quite long ago and far away. I just wanted a cheapest, warmish winter break. I've been 3 times how.

Susie477
Yes! The Taperia de Columela was definitely a cut above, we loved it and went several times. The aubergine fritters were to die for. (this time last year we stayed near Cadiz El Puerto de Santa Maria for a month. The weather was incredible. )
But i have just noticed on Facebook that the Taperia has just closed down. So sad. I feel desperately sorry for the many small restaurant and bar owners who must be in such dire straits at the moment.
If and when we are able to return to our favourite places they will be much changed, I fear.

Musee de la Mer, Cherbourg. Absolutely fantastic museum, tons to see/do and very interactive.

We just had to fill some time before a delayed ferry and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our holiday!

California - all along the coast. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

Hobbyis whoops - I'm so sorry, we went to a Brewdog and I could have sworn it said somewhere that it was the original one! Perhaps it was just the first one Glasgow. 😳😳
(It was very good, anyway. I may have sampled the produce a little too enthusiastically )

@Lansonmaid

Norway- absolutely wonderful place. Scenery is outstanding and varied and the people are lovely and friendly. The only problem is the cost of food and drink which is eye watering. When lockdown lifts we plan to do the cruise from Bergen to the Arctic Circle...

On the Hurtigruten? It’s fabulous. Very non-cruise like I believe, from the grumbles of the snooty passengers. We spent almost all of our time on deck wrapped up in thermals, and got off at every stop over 20 mins to crunch about in the snow and explore the tiny villages.

I loved Newcastle so much I moved there for uni, never moved away. Well I moved about 15 minutes out of the city so that I would be in walking distance to the beach. It's the perfect mix of city, country and coast, great house prices, super friendly people. Feeling quite proud of my adopted little city getting a lot of love on this thread.
For me, I was pleasantly surprised by Butlins Skegness too as a PP said! Haha, and I really loved Berlin, but this thread has added a few new places to my bucket list: Washington DC, Vienna, Singapore, and I can't believe I've never been to the Lake District which is literately less than an hour from me. I can't wait for COVID to be under control, you have all given me a major travel itch.

South Africa but especially safari. Was hands down the best experience of my life.

Canadian lakes, absolutely breathtaking

@rookiemere

The buildings in Budapest were amazing (sadly that's mostly because Germany left them alone during WW2 as Hungary persecuted their own Jews) I liked Copenhagen more than I expected and think it's better as a canal based city than Amsterdam

In the UK visited Pooley Bridge in the Lake District by accident last year, and absolutely love it as a village that's closest to us in Scotland but amazingly we'd never been to.

I also really liked Swanage where my cousin has a holiday home - even off season it had a bit of a vibe to it.

Just to say Budapest was completely destroyed in the second wold war. The Germans declared it a fortress, meaning fight to death. What was not bombed by the Allies, was blown up by the Soviets and the Germans.

Apologies @YoutubeZoom just googled that - you're absolutely right Budapest mostly destroyed in WW2. Wow did not know that - in that case they've done an amazing job of rebuilding.

@rookiemere No problem. I hope you had a great time and we can soon travel safely again.

Oslo and Bratislava. Both much nicer and more interesting than I'd expected.

I had been to Copenhagen before but went again in 2019 and thought it was amazing - I didn't remember it being so nice.

I had muddled Prague and Budapest and didn't know Budapest had been smashed to bits in WW2, Prague survived much better though not unscathed.

Dresden was another place that I wasn't keen on the first time I went but loved it the second time. Although it was smashed up in WW2 as well, a lot of the patrician houses outside the centre survived and they are incredible.

I didn't know Bamberg was so amazingly pretty until I went there. I also fell in love with Freiburg in the Black Forest on sight and went back to spend a year there.