Most overrated destination you’ve visited?

[Rnm62]

Just that really..

Most unfair. It's a lot more fun than Brum. And only nine times more expensive.

London - expensive, tacky and rude/unfriendly people.

My mistake - I meant continent of course! But it's true, all African countries are defined as third world.

Can't speak for Manchester. But Mobile seconded. I vaguely recall a battleship moored off the coast. Otherwise a malarial swamp hell pit with no redeeming features.

I agree with this Kuta is just like Magaluf, the beaches are not really anything especial but the centre of the island and the mountains, where you get to see the Balinese culture is just great.

Whilst not expecting it to be as exotic as Marrakesh or as vibrant as NYC, can I nominate the Eden Project? We drove miles and miles out of our way to visit as so many people had said we should visit if we’re in the West Country. Hugely expensive, overrated, shabby restaurants, pretty boring really - and I love visiting gardens!

Totally agree, we had the same experience, DH and I brought a giardia infection home with us from there and we were poorly for a long time. Also remember getting in a taxi back to the hotel, the taxi driver pulled over to let a kid drive who could barely reach the pedals! He drove like he was playing on the PS, we daren’t get out, did not want to stay in. We asked him to pull over as soon as we saw the entrance to the hotel complex but he didn’t. He almost drove into the security guards who then got their guns out. Not the best evening! Poor kid though. Made me feel uneasy that we were ushered inside. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

I've been to Venice three times in March or September, there was no smell. It's stunning and the joy of being able to walk around a city without worrying about cars or cyclists is an absolute joy.

Turkey. Absolute shithole

I went to New York and loved it but was underwhelmed by Times Square, all other places have been great

Hope you don’t mind me responding but I live here now 😀

LA can get unbearably hot especially July-August, closer to 40 depending on where you are (the coastal area tends to be 5-10 degrees cooler than the valley). I would absolutely pick October. Weather is usually very pleasant and the Halloween decorations and activities make it my favorite month of the year in LA!

@evuscha - of course not! It's much appreciated....I have a medical appt Whilst im there at cedars so I'll be in the Beverly Hills area.....my appt is already booked so I would have to change it! So part of me is like no just go and get it over with, big yea part of me wants to postpone it until October and change the appt....

Venice - loved it, winter and summer..
Pisa - better than I'd expected.
Tunisia - loved it though wish I'd seen more of the culture/history.
Morocco - yes Marrakesh is touristy and hassly in parts but also unique. Other towns are much quieter and more authentic.
The pyramids and Cairo are a whole world away from home and amazing. -personally I found the juxtaposition of ancient and urban fascinating (the Burger King must be relatively new!)

Zakynthos - so developed and nothing like the Greece I was hoping for.
Lourdes - icky tat.
Rome - meh, mainly traffic.

I'm glad, in a way, that the Eden Project seems overrated - I always felt I was missing something amazing by not having been.

Ohh I hope your medical appointment goes well.

I’d say if it does get too hot go towards the coast, Malibu beaches are lovely, Manhattan Beach is my favorite coastal town (a bit further from you), and if you miss the UK there’s a British pub in Santa Monica that does decent Sunday roast 😀 You can also rent a bike and cycle along the coast (though the area between Venice and Santa Monica is touristy and full of weird people)

Also museums - happy to advise depending on what you like, there’s a few around DTLA like Broad or LACMA, but there are also some niche ones like the Grammy museum or the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures…also California Science Center - free and seeing the Endeavour space shuttle is quite fun.

Might be hot to do a lot of walking otherwise (there are some lovely outdoor places to visit like the Huntington Gardens but July I usually avoid) - but one never knows, weather has been a bit unusual this year..

Worked in Basel for 18 years and it has some beautiful medieval architecture. But if you're not on Swiss wages then yes, it is expensive. Geneva is quite a bit more expensive though!

The Algarve was uninspiring, too windy and boring.
Tunisia was very unsettling - the poverty in some places was shocking, the hassle you get is a culture shock.
Dublin - overpriced and dirty.

I was pointing out the gothicness since someone had questioned my use of the term!

But I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings about your home city with my lack of enthusiasm. FWIW I very much enjoyed my visit to the National Gallery!

Botanical gardens, Madrid.
Flower beds with few or no flowers and badly impacted earth. My fingers itched for a fork.
Box hedges of which 90% had box blight.
Dead saplings.
I appreciate that botanical gardens are labour intensive and expensive to run, but they’d do better to reduce the space and care properly for fewer plants and trees.
We liked the green parakeets though.

Here to confirm the Eden Project is absolutely shit. Even the locals hate it.

They've recently had to make people redundant again (happens quite often!) So I guess their visitor numbers are going down.

Lands End is also a shit hole

These two places are owned by horrible money grabbing dickwads - so hardly surprising they lack soul.

Anyone down near Lands End could visit Botallack instead for pure stunning Cornish beauty.

And anyone up near Eden - Gribban Head has beautiful walks and views. Porthpean is lovely for swimming.

The Telegraph Museum is much more fun than it sounds. It's very interactive and fun! Very science, geek and techie focused.

Gutted about New York. It was my dream to visit there!

Centre Parks.

What is it about St Lucia that is awful? We were planning to go there next year. You’ve put me off now 😞

Also Bali - Why don’t posters like Bali?

These two destinations are on my bucket list. Maybe I need a rethink 🤔

San Francisco. No one told us how dangerous it was so we innocently wandered into the hood. I am not even exaggerating. And we accidentally stayed in a doss house. Rather terrifying.

I hated Vegas too.

LA was meh, again mainky because we stsyed in a dodgy area. But the rest of California does make up for the cities!

I'm another who loved Venice. And Florence.

And lolling at Mobile. My BIL lives there.

Brighton! We drove 3.5 hours to get there and it was so disappointing, felt really scruffy and run down. Was hoping it would be like Bristol.

@TheSillyPeach Majorca! Where did you go?! Magaluf?! You clearly haven't been to Valledemossa...