Places you've been underwhelmed by

[HannaPintura]

I just love going away and have really loved most places. One place in particular really Underwhelmed me...Gibraltar...just like Britain in the sun! I'm sure it has so much to offer, but I couldn't wait to cross the border back to Spain!

stonecolddiva
Stonehenge is what you might expect _ a huge stone circle. It’s the site and the story about how the stones were transported that grips you. You can’t go inside the circle or touch the stones but view from a short distance away. Not sure what some are expecting from a Stone Age circle.

Bath _ love it. Lots to see and do, and great independent shops. Good Christmas markets.

Very expensive accommodation though, like Edinburgh and York.

Bondi beach. Tiny. V disappointing

Oh yeah, and all of Stonehenge is set in Concrete after the stones were stabilised after WW2

Eden project. Absolutely awful. Wish I'd saved my money and gone to the local naice garden centre instead. Lots of people seem to love it there though, so it's nice we are all different

The thread reminds me of fawlty towers and basil enquiring what the guest moaning about the view expected to see out of a Torquay window " hanging gardens of Babylon?:) "

New York for me, I was excited to go but found it to be a dirtier, more cramped and expensive version of London (I do really love London I live just outside of it and travel there regularly). Everything just seemed really small compared to how I imagined it and what you see on TV like Times Square and Rockerfella plaza for instance. I did however eat at some absolutely fabulous places and Central Park was nice to walk around.

Munich. Away from the centre round the Odenplatz, it's a lot like Croydon.

Yes Lavender I thought that too.

TalkinPeace I’m will try to visit the stones then, I’ve only even seen them from the car but always fancied a visit.

The Isle of Skye.

Best thing about it was seeing Alexander McQueen's headstone in a cemetery.

New Zealand was wonderful in many ways (and beautiful). There was loads to do, but the people were awful. Unfriendly, snooty and often racist.

San Fran is an amazing city but just stunned by the thousands of homeless and destitute people everywhere. It’s just not cool. People will think it’s an exaggeration but it’s so in your face it’s the first thing you notice about the city. Virtually every street, and every suburb. Horrendous.

I think very often people's expectations are so high and they are misled by the airbrushed photos in travel mags. Just think of photos of Santorini at sunset compared to the tourist-rammed reality.

Some of the comments though, Gibraltar for instance - everything I've seen about it makes it plain what it's like.

My personal "let down" might have been the Mona Lisa (ok not a place) if I hadn't read in advance that it would be impossible to get near it for hundreds of tourists.

As for Paris itself, first time I thought it was awful but I've been twice since and loved it.

There is a lot of hate here for the people in Paris, but I found them to be very polite. People were saying sorry to me left right and centre if they accidentally bumped into me on the Metro etc. And waiters etc were fine as well.

I find that in general we have always had a warm welcome wherever we have visited (although I'm not claiming to be a seasoned world traveller, but I have been to quite a few European cities). But I do wonder if the welcome that you get abroad might partly depend on where you originate from.

Scandinavia is great, Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, haven’t been to Finland, but all are mighty expensive and far better in summer than winter IMO

TalkinPeace I'm not obliged to like Cornwall. I've stayed in Padstow at least twice (including Darkie Day but that's a whole other story) and have worked across the whole of Cornwall in different towns, driving through it probably 20/30 times over the past few years. It's pretty barren in places. I really really wouldn't holiday there out of choice, sorry!

Agree re the eden project. Might be better now as i felt it needed to grow. Seen better garden centres

julies
The homeless issue is across all temperate parts of the US
the land of the free does not "do" mental health care

Parisians were very friendly and helpful on both occasions I have visited, the most recent time was 3 yrs ago. We did make an effort to speak French though. So many don't and wonder why they get a rebuff.

I seem to have had a different experience in Paris. All the waiting staff were delightful to us. In fact, I was disappointed that the rude Parisian thing wasn't true(!) although I was fed up of all the street scammers at all the tourist attractions.

Lanzarote was dull and the food was awful, but to be fair, I didn't particularly want to go there which may have clouded my judgement

The weather & time of year can make a big difference on whether you enjoy a place. I visited Santorini last May & loved it as it was just starting to get busy. Likewise Venice in March was nice, not smelly or too busy. Freezing though!

What Stonehenge needs is a replica Iron Age village at the visitor centre that you can visit. They kind of have a half hearted attempt at one, but it’s pretty poor. It could be a lot better.

I’ve thought of another. The London Dungeon. I used to love it when I was a kid and it was at Tooley St. I bigged it up to my kids and took them recently and my god it was DREADFUL. All the interesting history (the plague, the reformation etc) and dummies being boiled alive were gone. Just actors shouting incomprehensibly at you and lots of waiting about in the dark in queues. Rubbish.

New York. Really don’t get it. Loved nearly all the other cities I’ve been to but found New York just meh. Hate not being able to see around - having to look vertically to see the sky.

Paris. The other city that just doesn’t do it for me. Been there absolutely loads, used to work there lots.

Legoland. We won tickets and it was still awful. Very long queues for 10 second rides.

The Grand Canyon. Tacky and touristy. Far better awesome sights in the vicinity. Grand Viewpoint Overlook in Utah knocked it into a cocked hat. All your geography lessons in one.

I am by the person whose life long ambition was to visit Stratford upon Avon. I'm not surprised you were disappointed, it's a pleasant enough place but really is just a small town with a theatre, river and couple of historical houses..... It's strange to big anywhere up to quite that extent.

I'm not a massive fan of Cornwall that much, amazing coastline but inland not so much. Lanzarote total dump. Very underwhelmed by lego land, average rides with massive queues. New forest, crowded countryside with massive traffic queues into every village. Brighton.