To ask what famous landmark or must visit place/thing were you secretly underwhelmed by?

[Midge1978]

I went to stonehenge this year and whilst I was trying to get in touch with my inner druid, trying to project historical importance and mystery onto the place, I just couldn't escape the feeling that I was just looking at some very old stones and it was actually (whisper) a little bit boring!! Dh thought it was all marvellous though so I have never told him!!!

I loved the Tower of London when I went two years ago, but was underwhelmed by the Jewel House - barely time to gasp and you're off the conveyor belt.
Was at the Tower a few years ago with husband and youngish sons and the Jewel House was so busy we skipped it. However, when we were coming back past it to
leave, there wasn't a single person to be seen. We assumed it was closed but no, still open. So we had a visit to the Jewel House accompanied only by three German tourists. Brilliant! Plus we were impressed by it.
But then I've been impressed by lots of places named here as disappointing. Loved San Fran-the secret staircases are amazing; loved the Grand Canyon-there for sunrise and could see why our ancestors worshipped the sun; Chichen Itsa-we have plenty of photos of it with no one around it; Venice-very interesting but really loved Murano and Burbank; thought Washington was wonderful and was really impressed the very first time I went to New York; ditto Rome, Genoa, Barcelona(LOVED all the Gaudi architecture and climbing up to the top of the Sagrada Familia was unforgettable); Vancouver -loved it, and the Rockies are unbelievable; loved Alaska, etc etc. Probably easily impressed I suppose, and I have to say I am envious of those of you who live in London and can visit the British Museum frequently-brilliant place.
The Mona Lisa was not what I as a fifteen year old had expected, I have to admit, and I wouldn't do a return trip to Las Vegas, though it was interesting to experience it for a few days-and its Trevi Fountain is bigger than the real one!

Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, a fucking shed and a pile of sandbags
Las Vegas tacky and depressing
Mount Rushmore, in the middle of bloody nowhere and a lot smaller then expected

Redcar vertical pier

It's as shit as it sounds.

A vertical pier sounds amazing.

The Romulus and Remus statue in Rome (once you find it) is tiny.

Giants causeway. Pretty, but basically a load of odd-shaped rocks.

Barcelona and Paris, papier-mâché theatrical sets, nothing under the surface.
(And I know both cities very well).

Milan, maybe I was expecting too much but left me cold.

The Rosetta Stone. Although it is not its "fault". It is completely surrounded by tourists who do not let you near it as they need all the space available in order to look at their guides.

Stockholm and Rome were disappointing the first time I visited. Stockholm because I felt some kind of "soviet mood" on it, but it disappeared after a day in Gamla Stan and a walk in Djurgarden
Rome because it was so dirty it was depressing.
But I have visited both many times afterwards and now I absolutely love them.

Btw, about people not being respectful in some places... I was in Rome this spring, inside the Apostles Basilica and there were five Japanese girls posing, poring, giggling and taking "funny" pictures with the sculptures as atrezzo. After a few minutes I got really angry and went to them and asked if they would like me and my children taking silly pictures and playing games in a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. They were pretty embarrassed, poor lambs, but claimed they had not realised their behaviour could be disrespectful...

A vertical pier sounds amazing

Until you think about it.

Eeeeeehhhhhh
It was "five Japanese girls posing, pouting, giggling..."

Disney Florida - didn't feel the magic only the sound of my purse emptying.

Most of Rome. Grubby, traffic everywhere. Lots of run down tacky places.Hated it.

traffic everywhere

When did you go? A lot of it is pedestrianised now.

Grand canyon. You look "wow what a big hole" and you're ready to go home

Venice, spoilt by tourism, so tacky now.
Chatsworth, as above.
Lands End, as above.
The Isle of Wight, couldn't wait to leave.

Loved Sienna but not Pisa.

I think a fair portion of the disappointment is people who don't like to use their imaginations or read about a place - so Pompeii you have to read the cards and imagine the street scenes. Ditto Egypt with recognising the god symbols and imagining the temples when they were fully erect.
I think probably you're the sort of person who appreciates things like that or you're not and If the latter you're best going somewhere that's completely "done" like Bruges or a beach

Siena is very underrated imo @starsorwater

White House. It's tiny. No idea how Trump fits his ego in there.

Some people are so hard to please!

Lots of these places are Tourist Attractions, so if you go in the summer they'll be full of tourists surprisingly. I loved most of these places because I went low season and at odd times. The

The Grand Canyon was out of this world. I hiked down it the first time and flew over it the second time. I suppose if you just peer over the edge you miss a lot.

New York has masses to see and loads of places to eat. You're on a film set every corner you turn. Times Square is awful admittedly.

The Taj Mahal was stunning (in 1988!). When I saw it I'd been in India for a few weeks and was used to the mayhem. The Taj Mahal was an oasis of calm at the right time of day. On a coach with a pack of other tourists not so much.

Went to Rome a few weeks ago. It was great. The Vatican was like being in a Japanese commuter train at rush hour. Very unpleasant. But St Peter's after was lovely. As was Trastevere where we stayed.

And Barcelona! My favourite city in the world. Modernist buildings. Gaudi. Picasso. Pinxos. Parks and Beach.

However. I hated Vegas and Dubai. Just sand, hotels and heat.

Mona Lisa -tiny and absurdly overrated.
Madame Tussaud's -the worst kind of crappy rip-off tourist trap.
Giant's Causeway - not really very giant at all.
Dublin -once you have done the Guinnesss brewery there's bugger all else to see and do except get pissed, expensively.

Pyramids/Sphinx in Egypt. Like someone else said, expecting something truly amazing - reality was lots of beggars, people trying to sell tat, armed security guards who try and take your camera and charge you for photos, dirty and totally different to any pictures you have seen. Made to look like it's in the middle of the dessert but it's right next to buildings including a McDonald's and Pizza Hut!!

Two places that were truly incredible though:

Taj Mahal - went at sunrise when there were hardly any tourists. The entire valley was full of early morning mist, creating an ethereal haze and the sunlight was glinting off the semi-precious stones embedding in the walls, making the whole thing sparkle. Magical.

Inca Trail - absolutely stunning scenery and a real sense of personal achievement which made it that much more special. And an early morning arrival at the sungate over Machu Picchu before the rest of the tourists arrive was really breathtaking and made us feel like we were discovering a secret.

The common thread to these two seems to be - go at sunrise! Good lesson

Margot Fonteyn's tutu in the V & A museum. It seemed rather small and drab, in among all the many other theatrical costumes. I don't know what I was expecting, but it seemed a bit sad and lost.

I agree with others on the Eden project. The national botanic gardens in wales are much more interesting. Cheaper and less crowded too.

Completely unimpressed by the Grand Canyon - I saw Yosemite 5 days earlier and thought it was amazing. Grand Canyon was such a let down by comparison.

I also hate Paris - I have been a few times but it just does nothing for me!

It's nothing to do with imagination. I know a lot about Rome and have been desperate to go for years but it's just so crap. It's run down - the medici park by the villa borghese/piazza del popolo is disgusting. The streets are filthy with graffiti and you can't walk for tripping over homeless migrants and hawkers selling tat everywhere you go in the city. The colosseum is better from the outside and not worth going in - there is very little information inside it you are essentially walking round a derelict football stadium. The forum is good. The Trevi fountain is probably lovely if you're not being elbowed so much and the Spanish steps are I dunno because they were absolutely covered in people.

It's just grim and run down and tired.

Have a look at the reviews for speedwell cavern www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g499576-d214411-Reviews-Speedwell_Cavern-Castleton_Hope_Valley_Peak_District_National_Park_England.html

Absolute marmite. From 'can you not feel the ancient vibes? ' to ' it's rocks, it's grey, it's wet, awful' and nothing in between.

How can you not like Rome?..

Giant's Causeway - not really very giant at all.
Dublin -once you have done the Guinnesss brewery there's bugger all else to see

It isn't called the Giants Causeway because of its size, I've seen this a few times.

As for Dublin well I'm not a major fan but if you can't find something to do outwith the brewery then there's nothing anyone can say to that.

You have the Book of Kells the GPO and the Abbey Theatre within about a half mile of each other.

Dublin Castle, St Stephens Green and the Four courts are within a stone's throw also.