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!

Ah Pippa that's interesting. I am thinking about a pilgrimage to Dingle maybe next year and we could maybe do Galway as well. Where is nice near there? Are there nice beaches/ walks etc?

Paris: dirty and didn't think very friendly (this was 14 years ago though...maybe cleaner now?!)

Lanzarote: a bit grim (20 years ago though)

Portland, Oregon: had heard great things but thought it was a bit blah

Surprised NY pops up on this list. Went for my honeymoon and LOVED it so much. Friendly, easy to get around on foot and subway, great food, so much to see. Could go back again and again (helped that our very central accommodation and some of our spending money was a wedding present. I can see it would be less fun on a tight budget)

went on a sandals holiday to St Lucia once what a hole !

Paris - felt like I was about to be pickpocketed, conned or mugged. Filthy place. Rude people.

London - felt the same as I did about Paris

The Cotswolds - great if you like water sports....I don't

Swanage - very dated, nothing to do

Bournemouth - grubby, nothing to do

I'm astonished that quite a lot of people have listed the Grand Canyon as an underwhelming place!

I haven't been there since 1989, so I guess the development has increased in the past 30 years or so. Some people have described it as "tacky". I take it that they're finding the facilities along the rim tacky and not the actual canyon itself. That's a shame, if it's been over developed along the rim, as I can see how that might detract from the awesomeness of the canyon.

In order to fully appreciate the full impact of the Grand Canyon, you have to walk in it. I was lucky enough to have done that; walked from the South Rim to the North Rim, spending a night in the open at Phantom Ranch alongside the Colorado River. It was an amazing experience, which I thoroughly recommend, if you ever get the chance. It was one of the top highlights of my life, arguably the number one highlight!

If it's not practical to arrange a long distance walk, I recommend going to the North Rim instead of the South. I don't know what it's like now, but 30 years ago the North Rim was completely undeveloped, whereas the South had lots of motels, shops, visitor centres etc and was massively more crowded. It's harder to get to than the South side and it's higher, so closed in the winter due to the snow cover (or at least, it was in the 80s).

Brussels. Ugly 60s planning with some Disney olde Christmassy stuff in the middle.

Very polite drivers though

I hated Florence with a passion, but I think if I went again I'd love it. It was 42 degrees, I was 35 weeks pregnant, needed the loo constantly, had such bad heartburn I had to sleep in a chair, a pigeon died on the terrace of the apartment we rented. DS, aged 14 months, hated Italian food, he was attacked by bed bugs in the apartment, the cobbled streets are awful with a McLaren buggy with no suspension. Garghh worst trip of my life.

The Cotswolds - great if you like water sports....I don't

Eh?

Pisa. Grotty, shabby and just not what I thought it was. The tower and surrounding area was crisp, clean and beautiful. Literally a five minute walk and you were surrounded by filth. Florence, on the other hand, was beautiful.

New Forest dull and oppressive.

SF dull and gritty.

Gran Canaria Awful, ugly dull, no beaches at times depending on the weather, so very shit, nothing to do or see.

Loved or liked:
NYC vibrant, such an amazing buzz and energy, just walking the streets is exciting. The museums and food brilliant.

Yosemite amazing nature, dense forests, quirky cabins to stay over night greta hiking.

Sant Diego great weather, beaches, restaurants, i loved rollerblading along the beach and trying out surfing.

Edinburgh People were super friendly loved Portobello, Museums, our hotel everything, would love to go back.

Greek Islands beautiful water, beaches, amazing food, simple but clean accommodation.

Wales amazing beaches, lots of independent art galleries, great sea food. Caught our own lobsters and cooked them in our cosy cottage with a raring fire followed by enjoying the beach opposite our house.

Stockholm beautiful city by the water, sophisticated, great restaurant and culture, very friendly people. best visited in the summer though.

Mallorca not half bad as long as you stay away from the most British places.

Mixed bags:
Istanbul although beautifully located and the food is out of this world and there are some interesting sites to visit, nightlife not half bad the men are sleazy, predatory men with vacant eyes walking the streets. I have been crotch and boob groped every time I ventured out by myself. I visited with my family for a couple of days when I was only 17 years and was groped by two different men in the span of 10 minutes near the Blue Mosque. I was wearing a maxi skirt and ice t-shirt at the time so definitely nothing on show (not that it should matter). I am not planning on take my daughters there as you can imagine.

Not getting the dislike of Paris, Berlin , Rome or Venice. I think they are lovely cities to walk around and just "explore". If you stick to main tourist bits, you will be disappointed. Get a map and just walk around. They are cities so they will be dirty in bits and have graffiti. But I loved them. Similarly with NYC and San Fran.

The only 2 places I really disliked were Verona and the Canaries. Canaries just catered to Brit abroad with chips and karaoke everywhere. Hard to get decent food.

Another vote for Dublin - pretty staid for a capital, shocking transport

Wow, I think the public transport in Dublin is fantastic. I'm from Belfast area though, so maybe my expectations are very low.

80s Mum I think you're right. We took a supposed helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon from Vegas. It was clear that it took us to the first point that could feasibly be called 'the Grand Canyon', we hung out and took some pictures, then went back. It was still pretty impressive but we don't entertain any notions that that was everything the GC has to offer.

Pisa. Grotty, shabby and just not what I thought it was. The tower and surrounding area was crisp, clean and beautiful. Literally a five minute walk and you were surrounded by filth

Did we go to the same city? Off the main drag to the left (facing away from the Plaza di Miracoli) is the university district. It's wonderful!

@treaclesoda
Your only option to get to city centre from airport is a bus (or taxi). I mean come on! This is a capital!

Berlin was the bomb. I fell in love with it as soon as I arrived. So low key, so cool, so friendly, such wide and airy streets. I loved how everyone I met let me continue on with my schoolgirl German, they would rephrase or repeat more slowly in German rather than do what they do in Italy, Spain or France (where they hear you say something correct albeit stilted in their language and then switch to even shittier English just to make a point).

Venice. Absolutely filthy & smelly. Full of litter. Very shocking. Wouldn't go again!

Your only option to get to city centre from airport is a bus (or taxi).

I don't understand, what else would it be?

@Pixiedust1973
Yep I read an article about the sad demise of Venise and mass tourism

@treaclesoda
?
An underground service, a tram, a train? Like in every other western European capital?

I loved Japan. Really friendly people. The furthest away from edgy and uncomfortable. We visited Kyoto, Tokyo and Hiroshima and it was an amazing trip. The culture, the food. It's so different from England.

Paris is filthy, full of graffiti.

Was underwhelmed by Dubrovnik. Nothing to really see or do.

Places I have not liked and would never return to:

Las Vegas
Orlando
Los Angeles
St Lucia
New York City (upstate NY, on the other hand, is lovely)
Panama City Beach in Florida

@LaurieMarlow first night was a roof top bar so more of a snack type food, it was cold and over priced (mini burger thing for about €25). It was “ok” but not amazing.

Second day, steak at a steak house, hugely over priced and it was average, I could make better myself at home. The restaurant itself was cramped full of people, we basically listened to the conversations of the two couples right next to us, they may as well have been on our table. We had an awesome meal on the 3rd day, but it was a treat and expensive.

I suppose we just didn’t find the restaurants that people rave about, or when we did, they’d be huge queues outside / fully booked.

We did have pizza I’m Brooklyn which was HUGE and amazing, and about €9 for the two of us! Funnily enough it was a place we probably would have walked passed but our tour guide recommended it.

Underwhelmed with Ubud in Bali. You can travel out easily but we didn't like the main street at all

YetAnotherSpartacus - I think this whole thread goes to show we don't all see the same places in the same light. I think expectations have a lot to answer for as well.