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!

I never thought I would need to share this but I love Haverfordwest. 💖

speakout thought and research? I don't need to research why the hills are like that, I'm just saying that's why I don't like it. Miserable and dull, whatever the reason.

I like everywhere I've been- that's because 1. I hardly go anywhere so 2. I only go to places I'm likely to like iykwim

Shout out for Derbyshire, tho, it's so CREEPY

I suspect some of the underwhelmingnesses listed are down to a mismatch between expectations, time of year & length of stay (as well as eg turning left instead of right when you depart from the leaning tower of Pisa )

We loved Copenhagen. Only had 1 short day there, a bit longer would be good. We were lucky with the weather, & saw a lot of it on a boat ride, which IME is always a great idea with limited time if it’s an option. Agree about the tiny little mermaid (but she actually looks a bit bigger from the water!)

Also loved Amsterdam. Had 2 nights/3 days in a cute hotel a short walk from the Rijksmuseum. Prebooked tickets for Van Gogh & Anne Frank. Did hop-on/off canal boat trips with guide. Weather again was fab. Walked miles along canals.

For Spanish cities try to avoid June-August. We visited Cordoba in early May, in a hotel right by the Mezquite. There’s loads to see. Granada in late October & in May - October was hotter - the Alhambra is a sanctuary on a hot day though. Lots of shade & pools & fountains. (What we also got at the end of October was the first snowfall in the Sierra Nevada - beach in the morning, snowball fights in the afternoon!)

Had 3 days in Paris during a heatwave in early April. (I’ve been pretty lucky with short break weather, thinking about it!) Boat trip was again a brilliant way of seeing some parts. We stayed in a small hotel (5 flights of stairs ) between Montmartre & Place Pigalle - wildly contrasting residents & a nice choice of metro stops. Fabulous.

Also not underwhelmed by Corfu, Crete & New York (lots more boat rides) & southern Spain - even places like Torremolinos have good points (lovely clean sandy beaches with sardine restaurants by the water!)

All the Tuscan towns I’ve visited recently have been interesting & picturesque - even Pisa. (We did swerve Florence - I last went 40 years ago, it was less busy then & I didn’t want to spoil the nice memories.) Siena, Lucca & San Gimignano were favourites.

Bath, Edinburgh, York, Canterbury, Newcastle, all lovely.

And the Cotswolds

Turnocks34 Sun 21-Jan-18 17:39:03
"Pisa. There is literally just a tower surrounded by a small market area and a few cafes."

Good heavens- have they pulled down the Cathedral??? And all the other medieval churches? And the palaces? And the art galleries? And the medieval town walls?..

The spa in Bath , it's an expensive swimming pool. Turkey and Tunisia for the same reason,the second you leave your hotel someone tries to get money from you

I loved Lucca too Lapdance. I remember a wedding there, where the stunning bride and groom ran across the square with absolute joy. It was a magical moment.

I was disappointed by Skye. So looking forward it, but despite being very beautiful it was so busy. Packed with people, roads stuffed with campers, really horrible.
Mull on the other hand is lovely and Islay very special.
Lots of islands I haven't visited yet.

The first time I went to Bangkok I flew home early as I hated it so much

I completely sympathise; I was supposed to be there for three days and got stuck for an extra six with the Icelandic ash cloud. At one point I rang my travel agent and said I'd willingly sit on the wing of the first flight out, just to escape the place

New York - I just couldn’t see the appeal. Noisy and rude and built up

I get the "noisy and built up", but rude? Seriously? TBF I expected the same myself, but actually found nothing but grace, friendliness and good manners ... it was almost a disappointment!! I did consider getting one of the notorious yellow cabs, but the driver would probably have been friendly too, and that would really have ruined the image

Loved most of the places I have been.

The Eiffel Tower was not great - queued for about two hours and it was very expensive indeed - £5 for a can of cola.

The views were great, but I don't plan to go again.

No idea why people like Sorrento. I also find Cornwall very underwhelming.
On the other hand, I loved Helsinki and indeed most European cities I've visited. Isles of Scilly are an absolute favourite.

Sorry, me again - do cruise ships count in this?

I once got a free one on Holland America's Ryndam in return for writing a full daily review with photos. So a cruise ship sold as 5 star is supposed to be a luxury experience, yes?

NO

If a stink of fuel throughout, filthy broken furniture, ripped fabrics and carpets, rusty decks, mucky windows and disgusting, tepid food - "we can warm it up for you if you like" - is your thing then fine. Otherwise, they could have paid me to go on it rather than it just being free and it would still have cost too much

The best holiday I ever went on was a cruise. I really didn't think it was for me but it was a transatlantic from Barcelona calling at The Azores and Nova Scotia. Was a true adventure

Barcelona.
Saw three muggings in one night, one particularly violent one against a lone woman. The vibe was just very strange and tense. I’m in no rush back.

@YetAnotherSpartacus The Guinness Storehouse is obviously very touristy, but I think it's worth a visit anyway, because the museum bit is a decent size. Particularly if you enjoy looking at vintage packaging and posters etc And the views from the bar at the top are good.

Molly Malone is likely to be a disappointment if I'm honest.

Dublin is great for a visit if you are interested in history. The GPO in O'Connell Street still has bullet holes in it from 1916. The hop on hop off bus tours are handy too because they will take you to places that are perfectly ok once you are there, but that you wouldn't necessarily want to walk to (either because of distance or because they're in not such nice areas).

It's not full of amazing architecture, but it does have lovely rows of Georgian buildings and squares with greens in the middle. It probably doesn't look 'foreign' to UK visitors since a lot of the buildings would have been built when it was still under British rule, so maybe that is why a lot of UK visitors seem to be disappointed by it?

It is expensive though, there is no getting away from that. Temple Bar is tourist central though, so if you avoid that area for restaurants etc you get better value for money.

I really do think it is a nice place and worth a visit.

Bristol. Friends moved there, raving about how amazing it is, all the independent bars etc.

I found it distinctly banal. I think from the way they went on, i thought it would be like Brighton... it is not.

Cairo. Feck sake it was a total disappointment. The pyramids were great and the Sphynx was ok. Good to see IRL. Have the pics to prove it ha ha!

But Cairo itself was unbelievable. I show people the vid from my time there and they just go OMG. The traffic, the people it is SO crowded. But I got through it. It is not the type of place where you would go out for a stroll as a lone Western female, let's put it like that! But each to their own.

Beijing. Again just so crowded and full of pollution. But the upside was the Great Wall and so many other amazing things. The city itself, nah, too confusing to find my way around, but that is just me. It is feckin heaving with people. But that's true of many a big city I am sure.

BTW I am a solo traveller. If that makes any difference I dunno.

But the great experiences outweigh the not so good, so it's all good generally. Everyone has their likes and dislikes, but there has to be a valid reason for dissing somewhere IMV!

I think that people who go on holiday expecting a comparable level of safety to the UK need to either wind their necks in or not leave their houses. Just get on with it for fucks sake. The world is not Western society.

Agree with Barcelona. Love doesn't some of the Gaudi architecture, but otherwise not a nice place.

Some places, like Venice and Florence, are so dependent upon the time of year. I would never go there during the peak tourist seasons. Venice in the November mists is magical. Venice in July/August when 10 cruise ships have moored for the day is hellish.

Just get on with it for fucks sake. The world is not Western society.

Exactly.

What do people expect with places like Cairo? It's not Europe.

@YetAnotherSpartacus

Stick to the Southside of the river. The Northside is edgy. But places like Howth (look it up) can be accessed very simply on the DART train.

Southside has a lot of Georgian architecture, lovely parks and pubs. I thought the Kilmainham Jail was amazing as was the IMMA in the Royal Hospital not too far away.

Everyone seems to concentrate on Temple Bar. No native Dubliner would set foot in the place. Sorryyy...... so I was introduced to South William Street and surrounds. Wow. And up around Merrion Street where a great pub called O'Donoghues is, complete with great music. Very safe area too. Natives go there and lots of places, but NEVER to Temple Bar.

Anyway, enjoy whatever you do.

New Year Niki,

I was a lone traveller. That can make a difference sometimes in a misogyinistic place like Cairo. Just to mention.

But I survived, not without a few heart stopping moments though!

Newcastle.

Fucking hell I was bored. Came for a gig with DD2 and there seemed eff all to do. It’s such a clubbing and drink culture there imo

I was a lone traveller. That can make a difference sometimes in a misogyinistic place like Cairo. Just to mention.

I'm at a loss as to what you expected.

A middle eastern country with a high FGM rate.

I would never go somewhere like that alone as I'd have a pretty good idea what to expect.

Devon and Cornwall - underwhelmed by both. Wales and Scotland so much better but v happy that lots of other people like south west and leave Scotland to me...