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.

Palma and Malaga - pretty similar in vibe I thought and I loved both places. Have very happy memories of finding an amazing tapas bar down a side street in Malaga (which we then couldn't find again! Did it really exist?!)

Belfast - great food, great drinks, lovely people.

Rotterdam

I liked Genoa a lot more than I was expecting to

Salamanca and Lucca are famously lovely. Surely not a surprise..?
Cardiff, if true, belongs on this list!

@MrsSkylerWhite

Tokyo and Lisbon. In the UK, Hereford and Herefordshire, just beautiful.

Oh, you've reminded me of Hereford Cathedral. Took a relative who was visiting from abroad whose grandad had been born there. I was expecting it to be a bit dull. We went to the cathedral and saw the Mappa Mundi and it flipped a switch in me — I thought it was amazing that back in the 1300s in the cold and dark with just pens and a bit of leather they'd put together a world map full of monsters and imagined lands, and some of it was right and some of it was totally bonkers and here I was, in 2019, looking at it and connecting with those who'd made it. I spent about an hour hogging it and had to be dragged away raving like a madwoman. Honestly, have a look:

www.themappamundi.co.uk

I love moments like that. Time travel. When people say 'I'm not interested in history' I feel so incredibly sorry for them.

Torremolinos. Beautiful sandy beach, still authentically Spanish. Not crowded and nowhere near as commercial and tacky as I was expecting.

Galway
Silloth
Aberporth

Agree on Belfast. Went for work and was blown away. Also lanzarote, really did not expect it to be like it is. Absolutely beautiful, under developed and wonderful food. Also agree on palma, an absolute gem so often over looked

Riga, Krakow, Prague. Happy memories of all those places, so pretty, lovely buildings/architecture/rivers.

Granada in Spain! Sits under stunning mountains, there is beautiful palace and everywhere you go if you order a drink you get FREE tapas!

Maldives. Which sounds stupid, because obviously Maldives is a dream destination, right? But I like adventurous holidays and the thought of being stuck on a tiny island (however idyllic) for a week did not appeal at all.

But under the water…oh my goodness it’s like being in another world! We learnt to scuba dive (big deal for me as I am quite scared of water) and it was incredible. So beautiful.

Pluvia

MrsSkylerWhite
Tokyo and Lisbon. In the UK, Hereford and Herefordshire, just beautiful.
Oh, you've reminded me of Hereford Cathedral. Took a relative who was visiting from abroad whose grandad had been born there. I was expecting it to be a bit dull. We went to the cathedral and saw the Mappa Mundi and it flipped a switch in me — I thought it was amazing that back in the 1300s in the cold and dark with just pens and a bit of leather they'd put together a world map full of monsters and imagined lands, and some of it was right and some of it was totally bonkers and here I was, in 2019, looking at it and connecting with those who'd made it. I spent about an hour hogging it and had to be dragged away raving like a madwoman. Honestly, have a look:

www.themappamundi.co.uk

I love moments like that. Time travel. When people say 'I'm not interested in history' I feel so incredibly sorry for them.”

Incredible, isn’t it? And the chained library. We didn’t allow nearly enough time and will be going back in spring.

Yes to Lanzarote. We hired a car and there was loads to see. The Cesar Manrique architecture was really interesting and the volcanic landscapes.

Seville - Went because it was cheap but was shocked at what a beautiful city it was. We spent many an afternoon drinking (very reasonable) wine in rooftop bars
Zante - Very random choice last summer after we had lots of holidays cancelled. I wasn’t expecting to do much except lay by the pool but we rented a car and drove all over the island, went snorkelling with turtles etc. There was just so much to do and it was so much more beautiful than I’d imagined

Lithuania....compact and so beautiful....food a bit tricky
Poland...so green...lots of parks and lakes....went 3 times
Sicily...also been many times....

MrsSkylerWhite — thank you for that. I sometimes wonder if there's something a bit weird about me that I get so carried away. Lovely to know I'm not the only one to appreciate it.

California including LA and SF which get a lot of disappointed reviews. I absolutely loved it. Maybe still channelling LA Story but to me it had huge charm and was oddly private.

Oh - Gothenburg. So beautiful. Extraordinary.

Hamburg

Lake Ohrid,
SARDINIA

Seville!

@Pluvia I saw a copy of the Mappa Mundi in Dover Castle earlier this month and it was mind blowing! I'd never heard of it before and I'm desperate to go see the original in Hereford now. I totally get what you mean, it has really stuck with me, such an awe inspiring thing!

Boa Vista, Cape Verde, stayed in the islands tiny capital and had the best time. Most amazing sandy beaches.

Budapest - I didn't quite know what to expect but I loved it, beautiful architecture and fabulous food.

Malaga - such a lovely compact city, fabulous tapas, sherry, proper cosmopolitan vibe.

Cuba. Absolutey beautiful country. Beaches are awesome. Locals are friendly. Loved it.

Sicily. But sssshhhh don’t tell anybody, I want to keep it to myself…

I want to visit Krakow next.