Destinations that turned out to be surprisingly good

[Pluvia]

Salamanca. On a trip through Spain we randomly stopped there for a night at Salamanca and loved it. Inexpensive bars and restaurants, lots of locals, no tourist hotspots — so much so that we spent the day looking round and stayed a second night.

Cardiff. A lovely, bustling, buzzy city with a beautiful river, park, castle, shopping, cafes and a harbour and history. I'd gone for the weekend to visit an old friend, ended up moving there.

Lucca. So beautiful and lots to do and see.

Istanbul is amazing.
I loved Phnom Penh too, and Ho Chi Minh City but expected them to be great.
Orkney, especially Hoy.

Valencia. I don’t really like Spanish cities but I was impressed
Isle of Man. Quirky but lots to see . Loved the folklore
Tallin is a great little city and we too took a day trip to Helsinki
Isle of Bute has fantastic beaches and I came face to face with a huge buzzard just sat on a gatepost .
Bournemouth. I expected a very staid place full of older people but I was quite impressed!

Zadar and Split in Croatia. We had perfect 30 degree sunny weather in September which probably helped. Loved both of them.

There are lots of places I love but places that really exceeded my expectations -

Malaga
Torremolinos - parts of it are full of Spanish people, fabulous food and a great beach.
Cadiz
Marrakech - before I went everyone told me how awful it was but I adored it.

@XelaM

Liverpool is one of the ugliest and most horrible places I have ever been to. Can't believe people are trying to pretend it's somehow beautiful on here. I even had to cut an overnight stay short because I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible

I don’t think anyone tried to claim Liverpool is “beautiful”? I didn’t think the thread is just about how pretty a place is.

Kos. I had zero expectations of the island, but we had a perfect week there. Our last holiday abroad before the pandemic

York - loved the wall and the river.

You’re easily pleased then. York is a huge world heritage site attracting visitors in droves for that reason and yet you found it surprisingly good because it has a wall and a river. OK.

You also say that Bradford has a ‘great university’. It currently ranks 89th amongst British universities. Are you talking up your alma mater?

Actually its Times ranking is even worse: 105

Who’s pissed on your chips this time, wombat?

@DinkyDiggies

Krakow, and Poland in general really. Thought it would be dull, concrete Cold War stuff with just cabbage to eat. How wrong I was. Beautiful old city, really good food.

I agree Krakow is lovely.

@Iamthewombat

York - loved the wall and the river.

You’re easily pleased then. York is a huge world heritage site attracting visitors in droves for that reason and yet you found it surprisingly good because it has a wall and a river. OK.

You also say that Bradford has a ‘great university’. It currently ranks 89th amongst British universities. Are you talking up your alma mater?

Did someone put salt in your morning coffee or what?

Has anyone said Nuremberg yet? We went simply because it was ridiculously cheap one half term, without any expectations. Pretty much everyone pulled a face and went "Ew...Nazis" as if we were planning to attend a far right rally. It is a stunning city, beautiful old town, lots of great, child-friendly museums, brilliant and cheap public transport to get around the city and the wider Franconia area (Rothenburg is like a Disney village).

We went with youngish children, but I'd like to go back when they're older to visit the places that examine Nuremberg in WW2 and the trials.

Wroclaw in Poland was fabulous for a long weekend. I also really like Zakopane.

Gibraltar, much nicer than I thought.
Kotor, Montenegro, I had no idea it would be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

And the Lake District, I knew it would be nice but I was like wow this is so stunning.

@MissAmbrosia nice to hear that about Wroclaw, my daughter lives there (is studying there) and I haven't visited there yet and plan to I am glad it is a nice place, for her sake too.

When I first went to Munich (initially for a conference not by choice) I also thought, oh, Nazis...just by reflex. What a lovely place it is! One of my favourite European cities...

Amersfoort is just lovely, only half an hour from Amsterdam, but way more relaxed. Nice to wander about. I also was pleasantly surprised by Brussels, it's got a fun, youthful buzz.

Naples.
Horror stories online - and I was almost pickpocketed...
But it has a dirty gritty charm to the street life.
Amazing Roman underground ruins.
Great food, obviously Neapolitan pizzas! But lots of fresh seafood.
Shopping - a whole street devoted to Xmas decorations.
I've been twice now and it's my next post covid trip.

@theDudesmummy

When I first went to Munich (initially for a conference not by choice) I also thought, oh, Nazis...just by reflex. What a lovely place it is! One of my favourite European cities...

I love Munich. It's so chilled.

@Blinky21

Hamburg

Adore Hamburg, such a vibrant city, easy to walk everywhere.

I haven't been to many places in Germany that I don't love, and some people might be surprised at how beautiful much of the landscape is.

@JaninaDuszejko

Also, is everyone else making a list now of places to go to? One of the places mentioned repeatedly on here is where we are thinking of going this year so that's really good to know.

What I find interesting is how many places on this thread also appeared on the other thread about over-rated places! Tends to prove that it's all about perception and what one's looking for.

Reading this (and having just had Covid, so even though I am quite a covophobe I feel a bit bullet proof for now) I am feeling happy planning, in my head for now, some city break weekends!