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!

Spain in general. Yes I like bits of it - the Alhambra was wonderful for example, but as a whole I am underwhelmed by the countryside, the food, the people.
I loved Italy though. Maybe it's just the comparison. Put it up against Belgium for example and I may love it

This thread is weirdly cheering, and wonderfully British.

Paris- every street looks the same, and you get pestered a lot.

Havana- Cuba is a beautiful country but getting pestered every minute in the Captial is very offputting.

Madrid- found it boring!

Munich- as above.

Love Berlin, Hamburg, New York, Bruges, Budapest, any Greek Island. They didn't disappoint.

I loved Lanzarote!

Fascinating volcanic park
Brilliant cultural / Arts stuff (Cesar Manrique)
Lively town beaches (Playa Blanca)
Fabulous wild beaches Papagayos, Formosa)
Lovely inland villages
A few things to do, Amusement Park ( didn’t go), submarine safari, etc.

I have been to places that I am not overly impressed by then places that I thought I would love and felt disappointed it’s a different feeling

I found Cuba a strange place, a facade of music and bright colours but so many people I met (who were very friendly) seemed depressed or they had no hope there felt to be so little hope there it made me feel sad

LockedoutofMN maybe so but we didn’t have any transport to actually get anywhere as there were no buses or taxis or anywhere to hire a car. There were plenty of Irish bars though so that made up for it I don’t think. The beach was nice I’ll give you that but I hated the town.

Why are people not allowed to dislike Scotland? I've been several times, and been completely underwhelmed. The Highlands are full of big hills, but they're all "dead-looking", no plants, no animals, no people. And the backdrop to this has always been (in my experience) gloomy, grey, overcast skies and lots of drizzle.

I feel much the same about the Lake District, if that makes you feel any better

You know that, unlike Florence, there was a war there in the ‘90s and the Old Town was bombed? Would you have preferred them to leave the roof tiles shattered and debris in the street to make it a bit more authentic for you?
Thanks, I don't need a history lesson or your patronising shitty tone. It could have been restored without turning it into rows of identical shop fronts for the cruise crowd. In my opinion. Which is all this thread is right?

Santorini was a massive disappointment!

The Highlands are full of big hills, but they're all "dead-looking", no plants, no animals, no people.

I wonder why?

Give some thought and research into that.

I agree with Dublin being underwhelming, nothing stand out or special about the city or architecture and the expense of it was depressing and really took the shine off the weekend I spent there. Edinburgh feels truly special and you feel like you are in a different country, the architecture is nothing like England and it has an atmosphere all to itself. I did think the west coast of Ireland around Clonakilty was stunning though, absolutely loved it.

foreign students and girls from ... China (Beijing) ... have all been in tears at the prospect of leaving England and going home. That puts me off visiting ...

NOOOOOOO - you mustn't be put off visiting Beijing!! Granted the pollution's grim (and this after they cleaned it up for the Olympics) but it's the most amazing place, full of fantastic sight and wonderful, welcoming people

I find that the trick is not to be dragged off to see the Great Wall, Xian, etc, and to stay in the city, mix with the locals and visit the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Park, The Olympic Park, the Summer Palace, the night markets, a few hutongs, the art district, etc, etc - all sights you won't forget in a hurry

And the shopping ... oh wow, the shopping!!!

This thread has been so interesting and has made me laugh out loud so many times.

I love lots of places people have decried, particularly Spain in general. Love Segovia, Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada etc and much of the south coast if you head away from the busier resorts. Lanzarote is also an old favourite.

I live near Stonehenge but NT members so it's free for us but wouldn't pay to go more than once -at a stretch. The newish visitor centre is a big improvement though.

Disappointed by:
Valencia, Bordeaux, Oporto, Barbados, Cyprus for differentry reasons.

My DH went to Paris with DS to see the end of the Tour de France and really loved it. I'm still not convinced.

We liked Dublin although can understand the criticism. We went to an Irish restaurant and had Irish stew while a band played the fiddle. We all liked the bog men in the museum. DD2 saw a ghost so a good time had by all

As said I love Spain. We did find the Spanish quite unfriendly however, we were not in a tourist area. Compared to Ireland and America where everyone we came across was super friendly and nice.

Also enjoyed Belgium. Easy to get to lovely cities, fresh waffles on every corner and great beer. Magritte in the galleries. Whats not to like?

We house swap hence lots of travel

I like Dublin, although never spent more than 2 days at a time there.

Loved Amsterdam, stayed well away from coffee shops and red light district, apart from to visit the Museum of Our Lord in the Attic, which was brilliantly done. I'd love to go back, we stayed in a stunning hotel, found public transport great, and enjoyed the food.

I like NYC but the first time I went thought it was nothing like I expected. Still think that now, but I like it anyway.

I lived in Melbourne for years and absolutely adored it. I think in lots of ways it is a locals' city though, I can imagine tourists being a bit bemused, depending on what they're interested in. I think the pp who derided it as a second rate city is perhaps meaning that in terms of as a tourist? It consistently ranks top, or very highly, in the most liveable city ratings.

I also love Hong Kong, for personal reasons.

I've never particularly regretted visiting anywhere, but wouldn't rush back to Madrid, Bilbao, Basel or Glasgow. I might be unfairly maligning Glasgow but the weather was shite both times I've been and that does kind of colour your impression of a place. The other 3 I enjoyed visiting but feel that I've seen what I would want to see in those places, and have no reason to go back.

But the point of this whole thread is, places you've been underwhelmed by, and these are the answers, whether you agree or not. Go to different places, form your own opinions. I've loved this thread but no need to be rude to others.

Taffeta, I have absolutely no problem with Brits, posh or otherwise, living abroad.

I find it odd when Brits just go to live abroad for the weather and make no effort to become part of the culture though. Gibraltar, being British, is a great place to do that; sunny, but with a great branch of M&S and lots of English pubs.

This is why I (because I gave my opinion- just like others on this thread) didn’t like it there.

I have met so many friendly people in Spain, Kerala. The memory that still makes me break down in tears is when a group of students practising carrying the heavy float for the Holy Virgin through the streets of Granada just before Easter stopped in the street and asked my disabled daughter for her name so they could speak it in their prayers when they lifted the carriage.

And the guard who stopped the train when we realised we'd got on the wrong one (due to a strike that we'd missed), and the passenger who raced across the track with us to explain and make the driver of the other train take us on board.

I found Vancouver really boring.
Didn't particularly like Copenhagen.
I love San Francisco though, so it just shows that one man's meat is another's poison!

The place that sticks in my mind for being underwhelming is Filey.
It's perfectly clean and fresh and I know people love it and I understand how lovely it must be to live there etc. I think I was expecting there to be more to do, like other sea side towns.

The 'beach' from the movie the beach - kho phi phi in Thailand. Couldn't see the beach for all the tourists - luckily the snorkelling was amazing

cory yes we have Spanish students and they are often friendly and really lovely girls not dissing all Spanish.

But place after place last year we found waiters brusque and almost rude. DDs went into a sweet shop and the owner was really rude and reluctant to serve them. Became a standing joke in the holiday how mean people were compared to Ireland.

The Statue of Liberty. It's tiny.

Huh? No it's not. Were you far away?

I'm crying.

This statue is small. That statue is FAR AWAY.

Oh no, Liverbird, I’m going to Copenhagen at half term! I’m hoping not to be underwhelmed...

loveablether I went to kho phi phi about seven years before the film was made it was absolutely beautiful a year after totally different I can understand why people are disappointed