Most UNDERRATED destination you've visited

[YankeeDad]

I thought it would be just as interesting to hear about places visited where you had very low expectations, and were pleasantly surprised by how much these were exceeded.

I will start with three:
Turin, Italy
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Portsmouth, England

I'm so jealous!! Kazakhstan is on my travel bucket list. Have you also been to Uzbekistan?

And do you have any specific recommendations of places to visit in Kazakhstan?

"They say that the Danube appears blue to those who are in love. So maybe it's similar with Venice smelling sweet or stinky!"

Nah, I was dreading it tbh. Thought it would be the worst part of our trip. I can't abide most smells but there wasn't a whiff. My youngest is the same and he agrees.

New York however 😷

Must add, I do love NYC but it stinks

I loved Melbourne, much preferred it to Sydney.

Valletta, and Malta generally, was amazing, incredible architecture, museums, history, everything. Easy to get around by bus too.

I'm totally biased. We spent a long hot summer there when the kids were little . Tourist desert . You'd meet a few fishermen , mainly from the north of England. They came every year to the same places.
We were staying near Lough Gowna - there's too many lakes to name them all. Granard was our nearest village. Enjoyed the music during the harp festival. Lough Ree on the Shannon is lovely. Lanesborough used to have a peat fired power station. Abbeylara very pretty. Neighbouring counties like Leitrim worth exploring too.
No big mountains or beaches. No tourist tat. Just ...peace. Not for everyone I know.

Ps completely in accord re Cardiff. Lovely people, handsome city , reasonable prices.

Interesting with what people said about Malta. Thing is I think it's a great wander, full of interesting history and good architecture but it isn't picture postcard pretty and it's not really beachey either. I think of it more like going on a city break that just happens to be an island in the med- I suspect those who hate it were probably expecting a conventional sun, sand and sea type holiday and pretty and it isn't quite the case. I think of it more like going to Athens .

Bruges

It's famous for being picturesque

😳

Another Portsmouth vote! Love Old Portsmouth and when you drive around all the little harbours are great - and confusing when the water is on one side one minute and the other the next!

Also -

• Berlin
• Monmouth
• Barry Island!!
• Madeira

Another fan of Portsmouth here, I swear the waterfront is just as interesting as Boston! So much History. The Dockyard has great visitor attractions, the Mary rose is fabulous.

I think Birmingham is great! Well, maybe not parts of the city centre. We went there on our first staycation with DS (so I could go to cadburys world) when he was 4 months so I always have a fuzzy feeling about it.

I see St Malo has been mentioned - I went there 25 years ago and it was bloody brilliant. I came home
raving about it, much to my mothers surprise. The only downside was I got tummy ache from eating too many muscles and chips and drinking too much beer. Very underrated IMO.

Same. I want to live there now.

Bude

Ripon. I knew it would be nice but I adored it. More than York although I am fond of York.

Scarborough. Loved it. It has everything. Tacky and classy all rolled into one town. Two v different and lovely beaches. North Beach brilliant for swimming, South Beach brilliant for seafront entertainments and boat rides. Luna park funfair. lots of quirky and independent cafes and shops including The Vaults. More gardens and fish and chip shops than you can shake a stick at. I could go on and on.

Budleigh Salterton, East Devon. Like Sidmouth's little sibling really. V nice. Check out nearby Newton Poppleford also, a gorgeous little picture postcard type village. There is a river which is called The River Otter but also has beavers if you go there at dusk or dawn.

And you have The Deep there too . I've yet to go but I've heard it's great. You've got the Yorkshire Wolds and Scarborough not too far too.

Dresden, especially the main museum
Bilbao, it's not just the Guggenheim
Leiden.

Dusseldorf came up a few times. What is nice about it?

@blueshoes it has fabulous shopping and a lovely tree lined canal down the middle of the main street. Definitely worth a trip.

I've never seen a shopping centre so massive (as in streets and streets of shops, not a mall). And it's just nice to walk around, has museums, several Christmas markets if you are there that time of year and is close to other places like Cologne.

Agree with many above. Germany has some lovely towns and cities - Dusseldorf was surprisingly lovely. Most of the Netherlands is underated. Some beautiful towns - Leiden, Utrecht, Delft etc and fabulous sandy beaches. I like Rotterdam too. Strasbourg I found I preferred to Colmar which I wasn't expecting.
We went to Lyon for the weekend in January and that was great fun. Fabulous food. I'd only driven through en route to South of France before and it looked a bit grim from the road.

I do love German department stores, John Lewis has nothing on the one in Dusseldorf/Cologne/Bonn ❤️ can't remember the brand but it's always a treat.
Even Essen is ugly but has an unbelievable shopping mall.

Clovelly in Devon
Lulworth Cove

Glasgow.. Kelvingrove art gallery is amazing with kids.

Riga

We had a short break on the Lincolnshire coast by Anderby Creek. Lovely (for the UK!) sandy beach and interesting little stretch of coastline. Spoilt a bit by caravan parks but still worth a visit.

The West Midlands generally is underrated, there's some lovely countryside & towns if you know where to look!