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.

Khazakhstan

[quote theDudesmummy]@IntermittentParps it didn't feel like France to me at all (I liked it much better than most of France), and everyone speaks English. It had something more European-feeling about it than other Canadian cities though, it just felt different somehow, in a good way.[/quote]
Thank you!
Really want to go.

Warsaw; Istanbul; Montpellier; Salerno; St Jean de Luz; Chatellion Plage; Belgrade; Tbilisi….

Any of that lot…amazing.

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.

Yes! Salamanca is magical. Maybe my favourite Spanish city. Beautiful architecture, historic university and lots of little hidden gems. You could say the city itself is a hidden gem as it's well off the main tourist trails so you don't get the crowds you get in Seville, Granada or Barcelona. The latter is one of the most overrated destinations to me.

Maastricht
Colmar
Strasbourg
Salzburg
Regensburg
All interesting with lots to look at, great food and wine, everything within walking distance.

We were so disappointed with Gloucester, so run down for what has the capacity to be wonderful. Many have agreed with us since.

@Roystonv

We were so disappointed with Gloucester, so run down for what has the capacity to be wonderful. Many have agreed with us since.

Wrong thread. This thread is about the places that exceeded our expectations.

Jersey. I'd been as a child but didn't really remember much of it. Some family friends used to go every year and I was always quite disparaging about their lack of ambition.

Decided to go back in 2010 and it was an amazing trip. Suits all interests - beach/town/shopping/history/country walks/decent food - you can do everything there.

We've been back most years since.

I've not been, but Zaragoza looked really nice on one of Michael Portillo's Great Railway Journeys.

I think Cardiff and Liverpool are both underrated - I really like both.

@FelicityFlops

Maastricht Colmar Strasbourg Salzburg Regensburg All interesting with lots to look at, great food and wine, everything within walking distance.

Agree with all of these!

I understand that but I was expressing surprise that a pp had said it surpassed expectations.

Lyon
Liverpool
Nottingham
Monmouth
Ardennes region in Belgium (near Liege, stunning scenery, can drive to Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg in under an hour and the honorary cottages to rent are out of this world and such good value)
Cork

Actually someone saying Bradford made me think of Leeds. That was a revelation too. I had been a couple of times before in the 90s but it has changed. It has great shops and some amazing buildings - lots of parks etc too.

@ANameChangeAgain

The centre of Birmingham will surprise a lot of people. The areas around the museum and the canal are really nice.

I came on to say Birmingham. I am biased as I live here but we do have a beautiful city. Canalside, etc

Fuerteventura. Better beaches than the Caribbean.

Naples, Italy. What a wonderful atmospheric place full of history. Very cheap, delicious food too.

I thought it was going to be a shithole and was pleasantly surprised. I did do a lot of research on what to see and eat!

Also, Ferrara in Italy near Bologna. Such a fantastic renaissance city. Proper local place, no tourists. Loved it.

Loved Egypt and was blown away by the Pyramids, Luxor, Aswan, and all of it.

Were you expecting them to look like a Romanian council estate? Why were you surprised that the pyramids and other world heritage sites were impressive?

Love the energy and bustle of Hong Kong and the junk trips to outer islands.

Unlike most people who go to Hong Kong for peace and quiet, eh? What an eye opener!

Loved the Angkor Wat in Cambodia- the temples

Yes, well most visitors to Angkor Wat hate it, of course.

Love NYC- the Met, the Guggenheim

What a surprise! Considering that most tourists would never consider visiting NYC or going to those museums. Kudos for going off the beaten track and finding that those places were ‘surprisingly good’.

@Toomuchnow

Also, Ferrara in Italy near Bologna. Such a fantastic renaissance city. Proper local place, no tourists. Loved it.

Ditto Brescia. Only about 15 mins away from Lake Garda on the train and hardly anyone there. Admittedly it can't compete with Verona, 15 mins in the other direction, but it was worth visiting.

Following, need some ideas for future places.

Newcastke, great city

Were you expecting them to look like a Romanian council estate? Why were you surprised that the pyramids and other world heritage sites were impressive

To be fair, I've been told that they are not very impressive because they are so encroached on by the suburbs of Cairo these days.

Also, just because "everyone" goes to a place doesn't make it good. Or better than everywhere else. Actually crowds put me off big time! I have been to Prague twice. The first time I was completely underwhelmed because it was a bank holiday in Austria and Germany and therefore packed. The second time I went it was much quieter and I liked it much better. But I don't suppose you ever get to see Prague without crowds anymore unless you lived there during Covid lockdowns!

@Toomuchnow

Also, Ferrara in Italy near Bologna. Such a fantastic renaissance city. Proper local place, no tourists. Loved it.

Agree about Ferrara. Visited for the day by train from Bologna. Apart from the bit around the station which had a slightly “dodgy” feel it was a lovely little city. Really enjoyed the castle.

Grand Canyon. We splurged on a helicopter ride into it. Breathtaking, proper "Wow" from me. Loved it.

Birdoswald roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall. Fascinating English Heritage centre, lovely cafe, and some beautiful walks along the wall nearby. The visitor’s centre is really lovely for children with a massive Lego table so that children can recreate sections of the fort themselves.

I have now RTFT and realise that people are saying Lanzarote and sweet little lesser known Greek islands, but I’m chucking this out there for anyone on a budget!

@JaceLancs

Delft in Holland Was just passing through on a touring holiday - booked 1 night in a hotel - then ended up staying a week

I think I spent the happiest day of my life wandering the streets of Delft on my own. It’s beautiful, and not too busy. The new church and the old church are both stunning.

@Iamthewombat

Loved Egypt and was blown away by the Pyramids, Luxor, Aswan, and all of it.

Were you expecting them to look like a Romanian council estate? Why were you surprised that the pyramids and other world heritage sites were impressive?

Love the energy and bustle of Hong Kong and the junk trips to outer islands.

Unlike most people who go to Hong Kong for peace and quiet, eh? What an eye opener!

Loved the Angkor Wat in Cambodia- the temples

Yes, well most visitors to Angkor Wat hate it, of course.

Love NYC- the Met, the Guggenheim

What a surprise! Considering that most tourists would never consider visiting NYC or going to those museums. Kudos for going off the beaten track and finding that those places were ‘surprisingly good’.

@iamthewombat haven't you got anything better to do than to mock and pick holes in other people's posts?