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!!!

Were you staying near St. Lawrence Gap Miracle33 ? It's much nicer round the coast (and away from the hotel beaches).

I'm underwhelmed by almost everything which is why I'm happy staying near home, though I live in County Antrim & it's the best! So much beauty without any ridiculous price tags.

Giants causeway-my da days it's worth seeing but not worth going to see. This sums up most tourist attractions for me. I hate crowds & hate spending £££ to see stuff. Take me to Carnlough for an ice cream any day!

And if you do go to the Giants causeway, which is lovely & there's a big walk round if that's what you like-combine it with lots of other nearby stuff-within 20 minutes is the Bushmills distillery, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, lots of nice harbours & Portstewart strand to name a few! My motto with anything where there will be crowds is to get there early before the crowds!

Interesting - I loved the Great Wall of China. Went early - barely anyone there, overcast but amazing views and a real sense of the magnitude.

Definitely agree that weather/crowds/time of year can make a massive difference to most places though.

I was very underwhelmed by Madrid

There are different bits of the Wall of China though. Some places are overcrowded, some places are not.

Agree Mona Lisa.

Conversely was blown away by the sculptures in the Rodin museum in Paris. Just exquisite.

Pyramids were a disappointment. You'd think they were in the middle of a huge desert but Cairo is right next it with a busy road strip. Plastic bags floating around, unscrupulous policemen charging to take your photograph and watching a young scammer being battered by his mentor with a shoe until he was almost unconscious! Don't know why, Also went on a boat tour of the River Nile and had our lunch watching a dead horse float past!

The first sight of the Bayeux Tapestry underwhelmed me; I had expected it to be much bigger.
It is exquisite though, so once I got used to it only being about a foot and a half high I did appreciate it!

Love Liverpool maritime museum. Stunning model of the Titanic with its own room full of artefacts from the ship. Fascinating

What a shame to see so many mentions for the Grand Canyon. That has to be up there for me as being about the most spectacular place I've ever been. I guess it depends on where you go and how you get there (the private helicopter ride obviously added to the whole experience - sorry for the shameless boast )

Have to agree with the Sistine Chapel, didn't manage to see it the first few times I did Rome and was eternally disappointed when I did finally see it.

Love Liverpool maritime museum. Stunning model of the Titanic with its own room full of artefacts from the ship. Fascinating

With most of Liverpool's museums and galleries being both great and free, the waterfront with the three graces, plus the two cathedrals, you could have a great week there and spend very little. Totally underrated tourist destination.

Crunchymum the first time I went to the Grand Canyon it was in a helicopter and that was the time I was least impressed!

I've been three times since and liked it a bit more each time. I think I had such great expectations of it that it let me down. And it didn't compare quite as well to some of the more impressive places I've been.

honeyroar really?! I loved the helicopter ride - the part where you approach the edge of the canyon and it feels like the floor has fallen away and you are just a suspended in the air? Absolutely awesome!

Have to agree that Bryce and Zion canyons are also spectacular too.

Sistine Chapel - horribly overcrowded and visitors were packed in like sardines. It was so tight you could barely shuffle your feet on the spot let alone turn around.
It did look beautiful but was so claustrophobic there was no chance to appreciate it properly which was a shame.
I was glad to get out which is not what I expected from our visit.

Sydney Opera House - it was ok
I thought the Taj Mahal was amazing
Love the Eiffel Tower
Great Barrier Reef - weather wasn't great and so much damage

Wow people are so different. I absolutely loved San Fran and Vancouver. Spent a lot of time in each and the surrounding areas and there was just so much in terms of scenery, culture, food...
Anyway, I've been to most of the places mentioned upthreas but to throw a new one into the mix my main one of crapness would probably be the burning bush of Moses fame/ Mount Sinai. I'm not religious but it really was just a shrub. It didn't even look that old. Jerusalem had a real spiritual feel to it but that bush was pants.

The Sistine Chapel. I can't really explain why, we entered through the museum in the Vatican so perhaps because we didn't get the full view of outside but I just didn't really "get" it

New York and Budapest amazing

Barbados - the Crane on the Atlantic side stunning!!

Love the Parisian museums.

Agree with Landsend, but also Jamaica Inn, it felt like a service station.

Also totally underwhelmed by Dillan Thomas' boat house. Literally walked through 2 rooms and out again.

Pesto37 - a causeway for a giant might reasonably be expected to be pretty giant.
I love it too, by the way.

Those saying the Astronomical Clock in Prague do you actually know anything about it? It was made in 1410 and is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.

Everyone has different tastes but if you are not interested in something why go to see it? I have been places that I have spent hours at and seen other people spend about 10 minutes and spend about 10 minutes and go

I was underwhelmed by New York, Statue of Liberty was way smaller than expected. Found the city dirty and didn't feel safe. Was also disappointed with the shopping everyone raves about. However, would go back as maybe I did it wrong as most people seem to love it, would also like to see how it's changed since 9/11. Was also not impressed with L.A. (a big urban sprawl). Thought Cape Cod was pretty but coastline not as stunning as many places in UK. Underwhelmed with Barbados as not the paradise I expected - much nicer beaches elsewhere, esp Europe. Salem, MA very disappointing - lots of overpriced tacky witch themed attractions, very average town. Not impressed. Oh and yy 're Stonehenge, you can see enough from A303, certainly wouldn't pay for privilege! Madam Tussauds is shit - there are many better places in London.

Surprised to see Grand Canyon, Prague & Singapore on the list. Loved them all. Lindesfarne itself is nothing special I agree, but the walk to it is!

My MIL wisely says that how much you enjoy a holiday or outing depends on much more than the place itself.

Your state of mind, the weather, the time of year - in season or off season, who you're with, where else you've been etc.

So when I went to the Taj Mahal I'd been in India on the backpacker trail for a few weeks and was used to the noise and number of people. The Taj Mahal at the right time of day was peaceful in comparison. If you're staying in a nice hotel and are whisked there by coach with 50 other people you'll have a very different experience.

When I first went to the Grand Canyon I hiked down, swam in the Colorado river, stayed in the Phantom ranch and hiked out again at dawn. Amazing experience. I went a couple of years ago with DC (not walkers). Their first sight was looking over it alongside hundreds of others in cars. Not the same at all.

This thread is so depressing.

People don't make the effort to read up and know what they are going to see, people complaining about tacky tourists traps which would not be there wit ought the tourists in first place. People complaining about overcrowding, which is really ironic.

Mass tourism is evil, it destroys cities and natural habitats and only serves to build up inflated expectations of "holiday of a lifetime" which then bust in pieces and tears and leave behind the plastic detritus of everyday banality.

Holidayaddict you should definitely give New York another chance. I've been visiting regularly for 20 years now and it's absolutely my favourite place in the world. So much to see, so much to do and there's always something new. I do like the Statue Of Liberty but wouldn't bother getting the boat over to see it close up. Security before you've even left Manhattan is a pain in the arse for a start, the Staten Island Ferry gives you an excellent view for free.

I sort of agree with you about LA. I love the city, the surrounding area and all that's there but it's just far too spread out, traffic is horrendous and we've never really been able to make public transport work for us there so have always had to hire a car - and sit in never ending traffic.