Which city break did you NOT enjoy?

[pinkfishbluefish]

Where’s overrated, and why? Looking at making a 2023 travel itinerary and curious.

I wasn’t fond on Rome.

I would love to try Amsterdam but worried about safety: wouldn’t be interested in any of the ‘popular’ activities that folk do there, or the red light district. I more like the look of the food, culture, boat trips and museums.

Gozo, that’s what nice about Malta, sweet little ramshackle Gozo.

I forgot to mention Marrakech. Went with my mum and we were treated awfully out there. For that reason I'd never go back.

I don’t get the hate for Paris. I do think if you go to certain parts as a tourist it can be very dangerous (ex Japanese foreign exchange who stayed with DM said she was attacked there).

But I’ve had nice times in Paris, even when I stayed in the Bastille area.

For me, Paris seems similar to other French cities eg Bordeaux, which I didn’t like. But that’s because it’s where we fly when we visit (holiday home). I find Bordeaux a pain re the trams, lots of beggars near Bordeaux St Jean train station and very humid in summer. But friends love it. I much prefer Saintes (Roman town/city) or La Rochelle, latter a very pretty marina town/city.

Most people I know including me who go to Marrakesh aren’t treated well, bothered by men or the kids who offer to show you the souks for a fee.

Hated Vienna
absolutely fell in love with Florence

Toronto. I lived there for a year or so and it's nice to live in, but there isn't enough to do or enough of a vibe to make it worth going to specifically for a visit.

I love New York.
Didn't care for Amsterdam at all.

Loved Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Reikyavik, hated Paris, Madrid and Pisa.

Florence a bit meh.

Vienna - very dull, apart from the Prater which I enjoyed.
Paris/Amsterdam I can take or leave.
Prague - used to be my favourite city but now totally spoilt by stag groups/drinking culture and hard to find local food. Used to be magical 20 years ago.
I went to Porto years ago and was a bit bored. People who've been recently really like it so maybe I should go back.
Zadar in Croatia - pretty but the food was dismal.

I can't think of anywhere I've been that I really hated. Maybe I do plenty of research....

There are lots of fab cities in NL that I'd rather visit than Amsterdam - Utrecht, Maastricht, Leiden, Breda, Rotterdam, The Hague etc. And some lovely smaller towns in Zeeland. Ghent is nicer than Bruges imho, but I'm mystified that so many people hate Brussels and think it's unsafe. Some fab museums and lovely squares to drink beer on.

Love:
Rome
Budapest
Seville/Granada
Barcelona
Lisbon
Salamanca
Montpellier
Havana (though was a while ago)
Austin, Tx
Strasbourg - surprisingly lovely
Antibes
Liverpool

Like:
Oslo
Munich
Cologne
Krakow and Wroclaw
Colmar
Nice - loads to do, but better in the summer
Brno
Bratislava
Cadiz
Marbella (Old town)

On to do list:
Lyon - train strike ruined last weekend's plans, rescheduled for Jan.
Malaga - heard good reports
Pristina/Kosovo (friend of mine is moving there next year)
Naples - the marmite city - going to brave it.
Matera / Bari - might do this by train and stop off e.g. Bologna/Milan

Madrid on like list too. And someone mentioned Pisa - that wasn't hugely exciting. Preferred Lucca.

Can definitely recommend Amsterdam. Lots to do and a lovely atmosphere

Amsterdam is fine, just avoid the Red Light District. The Museum Quarter is lovely. I would move to Amsterdam tomorrow if Brexit hadn't taken away my right to live in the EU.

Sacrilege I know but I never get on with New York. I've been four or five times and just never enjoy it. It's like London on gak. Too fast, too tall, too much hustle. Give me LA, Boston, Phoenix or San Diego any day.

Barcelona. People loveit, but I wasn’t charmed at all.

I don’t like Gaudi, I’m not a fan of tapas and I don’t like ‘city beaches’. So it was never going to be a huge win. Then I witnessed three violent muggings in 3 days.

Not for me. There are far nicer and more interesting Spanish cities.

Lanzarote - freezing in the morning, nothing but volcanic mush everywhere. No greenery. Absolutely hated it.

Just realised you asked about city breaks. My bad lol!

It's some years ago now, TBF, but: Oslo. Appallingly expensive. Lots of 70s-style shopping precincts and apartment blocks. Locals with unironic mullets and stonewashed denim. Everything was shut on a Sunday, like small-town England in the early 80s.

Essaouira is more laidback and much less sleazy than Marrakech IMO. Not much in the way of formal 'sights' but a very pretty place, in a nice setting on the sea; cheap fish stalls and a nice fruit and veg market if you're self-catering.
Lisbon I really liked; friendly locals, pretty but also 'real' enough to feel interesting, good art galleries, nice architecture, excellent pasteis de nata everywhere you turn.
Absolutely loved Ljubljana; friendly, beautiful, a wonderful park, loads to do.

Enjoyed most cities I've been too but found Brussels a bit dull and Hamburg boring, no atmosphere.
Loved Valencia, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, nice, la Rochelle, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Carcassonne, Toulouse.

Oh Monte Carlo is awful and weird.
St Petersburg fascinating but wouldn't go there at the moment!

You obviously hate it so I’m not going to try and convert you.

Oh and Madrid. Perhaps not as beautiful or grand as you might expect, but lots to do, very easy to find nice food and drink etc, excellent flea/antique/junk markets, wonderful quirky little bookshops, very friendly for a big place, and of course the breathtaking Prado and Reina Sofia galleries.

Interesting so many people dislike Barcelona, I rather liked it, wandering up and down Las Ramblas and stopping wherever for food and drink, seeing all the Gaudi, visiting Sagrada Familia etc

I hated LA, so much poverty right alongside vast wealth and privilege, the vibe wasn't right for me at all.

Used to quite like New York many years ago but my last visit there ended on the night of 8/11/2001 – not entirely sure I will ever go back…

Had a trip planned for Seville, Granada, Cordoba which was cancelled by Covid, so pleased to see the love for those, looking forward to rearranging that.

I hated rejkavik! Naples is terrifying. Budapest was meh.

There is nowhere I've really disliked but I was less keen on Florence and Seville. I prefer Northern and Central European cities. That said, I do like Rome.

My favourites are Hamburg, Vienna and Copenhagen. Also really liked Belfast.

And Dusseldorf is a dark horse, much more there than I thought and very easy to combine with a trip to Cologne.

I've never been to Dundee but your comment is interesting. When ds was small we used to go to Scotland a lot and used to stay in a B&B near Loch Lomond. The people who ran it said that everywhere was good to visit in Scotland - except Dundee. They said the people were unfriendly. I've never been so cannot contradict or corroborate.

I’m not sure the people of Dundee are especially unfriendly. It’s just a really shit place IMO.

I think my problem is that, it’s a bit like collecting some of the worst things about Glasgow but forgetting to include the good bits. That’s Dundee IME. Like going on a city break to pollok.

I suppose the Dublin haters just went to Temple Bar and the Guinness Storehouse correct? Maybe a meal or two in the tourist traps and a bit of shopping? Correct? A few drinks in the tourist traps that were hugely expensive, correct?

Dublin is expensive. But it is a wealthy city and country now, and salaries and all the rest of it are far higher than in UK also.

Just a tip for those who might even think of a few days in Dublin, although judging by the comments here it's unlikely!

Go where the locals go. Camden/South William/Dawson/Sth Anne streets are jammed with Dubliners who know a good time when they see it! Prices are not cheap compared with UK but are a hell of a lot better than the dreaded Temple Bar which NO local would be caught dead in! You will meet the Real Dubs around that area.

There are museums art galleries festivals gigs galore. Music in pubs is a thing too and can be great fun. Parks like Stephen's Green and Merrion are lovely right in the centre.

Take the DART (local train) from the centre out to the coast, twenty minutes and it is glorious. Howth, Killiney, Dalkey (where the rich and famous live) are charming. Tourists, locals and the celebrities all mix. We had lunch in Finnegans in Dalkey once after a walk from Killiney and Bono (who lives there) was having a pint at the bar. No issue he was just a local!

I could go on but don't dismiss Dublin if all you will do is Temple Bar and Guinness.