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!

Also Barcelona Tapas were good enough but hotel rooms tiny expensive and I didn't enjoy the art and atmosphere there at all. wouldn't go back.

I did like Marseille especially the amazing market and our super villa with 10 rooms and infinity room.

Horses for courses i suspect.

I know this is taken from the 2012 article so things will be pricier but... :)

From memory, the tourist traps were just that, but as you moved away from the Canal, Strada Nova and St Mark's Square prices did drop and were quite reasonable. We had a lovely meal alongside the canal in the first picture in the Guardian article and it was nice too because we saw plenty of local people just going about their business on the canal.

Naples wasn't great - filthy and stinks, dog shit all over the place. Old town pretty unsafe with thieves preying on tourists and locals riding scooters/driving cars straight into crowded narrow passages. I was ready to come home after 3 days. It wasn't all bad - good pizza and gelato, good clothes shopping, interesting underground history tours.

Monaco I thought was pretty crap. I don't get the big fuss - there's not really much there of interest for me.

Pompeii I was really excited about but it was a bit of a disappointment really - hard to say why. I think if there were some displays of actual items found there it would make it seem more real on a human level, rather than sterile ruins. For me, it needed more info to put it all into context. Still impressive though.

This thread has been so entertaining, like reading TripAdvisor reviews from people who haven't done any research before going anywhere

I think expectations definitely have a lot to answer for. I think you should always travel expecting things to be ok so any improvement is then a bonus!

To those who are getting dismayed because people are dissing the places they intend to visit, I would say that I’m definitely starting to judge some posters rather than the places themselves.
Moaning that big cities are dirty, noisy and crowded - well that’s big cities for you.
Too hot/too cold/too wet - not hard to check the likely climate beforehand. I went to Córdoba and it was 40 degrees so just too hot to do a lot of the things I had planned - so hung out by the pool, walked round at night and plan to go back at a different time of year to do the things I missed.
I am a bit anal and like to do a lot of research before I go somewhere, so if I’m visiting very touristy bits will try & find out the best time to go. So for example had the Alhambra practically to myself in the early evening.
I like to wander about as well & see what I come across.
Perhaps I’m just easily pleased, but I think I would rather be like that than writing off entire countries (although obviously MN is very big on statements for dramatic effect!).

But take no notice of me, I even enjoyed a day in Peterborough!

really liked Krakow. inexpensive, loads of interesting things to visit, good food and vodka!

Most places are better if you stay away from the tourist traps - Venice is a case in point. You only have to wander a couple of minutes away and you'll have a calle/plaza to yourself. It's wonderful and I expected to be underwhelmed by it.

I'm rarely disappointed because I tend to go to places I feel sure I'd like. I guess the attraction I really don't get is the whole Cornwall thing, unless you can go out of season when there's nice weather. But why would you go in the summer when half the country is there?

I suppose I was a bit underwhelmed by Perth in Australia. I liked Sydney though and loved Singapore, which was on my bucket list (though I can't cope with the climate so it can only ever be a stopover destination for me).

I found Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius ((climbed in 42 degrees) really interesting. The reprise of the home owners and their businesses and the part remains of the furniture forced into the walls and the reasons why the human remains are so different between each site.

But then I’ve travelled to most of the places mentioned on this post and not been disappointed by any, I must be easily pleased!

Eden project, told by SIL not to bother...queues of shuffling uninterested people.

I’m so surprised at people writing off entire counties! It’s like saying ‘I hate the uk’ really you can’t find one thing you like?.

My dh hated Skye, it rained for the whole week and the mist was right down, I’ve been loads of times and so still loved it.

Don’t like Norfolk, the lack of hills gave me the willies, but enjoyed the food...

Totally agree MrsFezz!

Paris and Disneyland Paris. Total disappointment imo

Disney

Paris

I love cities - London, New York and Chicago being my favourites but Paris was dirty, unfriendly and scary near the sacre coeur. I had my dds with me and everyone was touching my dtds blonde hair. I wanted to scream "stop touching my dc!" - they were 3 and dh was carrying the suitcases. Lots of street sellers doing aggressive selling.

Totally agree MrsFezz!

Me too!

This thread brings to mind the saying 'what else do you want? Jam on it?'

Agree Hollywood, tacky and downmarket, same with Niagra Falls, what a shit hole

Goa. Was expecting it to be beautiful and a kind of hippy paradise. Was v disappointing, cows eating rubbish along the roadside, sleazy men taking pictures of young women on the beach, dreadful toilets, everything shut at 10.30, Kerala was much nicer!

Some of you do not sound like fun travelling companions

The only place I haven't liked was seeing Shakespeare's house right in a shopping area. That did disappoint me. Other than that I'm easily pleased.

I'm a bit at people writing off whole countries.

Sydney - LOVED every other city in Oz far more.

Plymouth Rock is the single most disappointing tourist attraction I’ve ever seen. It’s tiny, nondescript and at some point has been broken in two and crudely fixed with cement.
Somebody up thread said Costa Rica was boring. I assume they are not interested in scenery or wildlife. How can a small country with everything from crocodiles to volcanoes (not to mention monkeys, sloths and coatimundi), lovely friendly people and good food be boring? There is every activity from white water rafting to chocolate making demos on offer, did they just sit in a a hotel with their eyes closed?
I can’t think of many places I haven’t enjoyed. I would not go back to Las Vegas in a hurry, an ecological disaster full of stuff that doesn’t interest me, but obviously lots of people love it, so they’re welcome to it!

The Statue of Liberty. It's tiny.

Huh? No it's not. Were you far away?🤣

Empire State Building was a let down and only thing I wouldn't bother with. Was a really long queue so waited about 3 hours and the museum bits you look at while queuing was soooo dull and I love a museum! View was good but not worth the wait. Rest of New York was stunning - we went at Easter so not too hot and humid.

Oh and I loved port meiron, but we went on an unexpectedly nice weekend out of season and really late in the day, last car in the car park after we’d been for a drink. I thought it was bright quirky and fun and my expectations had been low!

I tend to be able to travel out of season, I avoid coach and day trips out to places if at al, possible and if all else fails I’ll find a cake shop or bar.

Loved New York, (we splurged on very central hotel), loved SF especially the Golden Gate Bridge cyclin* and Chinatown walking tour, but three days was enough at a time (been three times now), Yosemite, you have to walk up and away from the crowds; Venice, walk and get lost. There’s few locals there anymore which is sad, but it’s still stunning. Naples, don’t wear anything that could be seen as at all valuable!

India, go prepared for a massive culture shock.....and recognise its huge and varied and poor and rich and like nowhere else.

Paris. It smelt funny and i didn’t appreciate it would be so un-green. NY on the other hand, it was easy to find quiet spots.

Empire State Building we went at night and didn’t queu at all!

The Canary Islands.

Margate.