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.

@user1497207191 I'm suprised you hated Malaga as I thought the old part was incredibly lovely. Much nicer than I expected .

I've heard quite a few people IRL say Malaga was 'Much nicer than I expected' or words to that effect. Which is damning with faint praise, really but does make me feel like going to see it myself.

Gibraltar was a shit hole when I visited a few times (family friends have a huge house on Spanish side of La Linea.

We went when there was a Tescos/M&S there and were distinctly underwhelmed plus those disgusting Barbary apes…

Palma very pretty but small. Nice for a city break. Capital of Gran Canaria, Las Palmas I was pleasantly surprised by. Went for a day trip once and next time I visited GC we stopped off for 2 days there to see around.

Yes we did our homework and still got caught out by very 'professional' thieves acting as tourists needing help. Even in our hotel there were notices not to use the safe due to management being aware of the theft problem so it could have been someone from the hotel or just random theft. There were also so many scams at tourist attractions and landmarks, we avoided all of them so maybe that was why we were targeted/ followed. Never again.

Love most French cities, Paris included but don't like the poor French attitude to visitors.

Love the Spanish but haven't really enjoyed any cities in Spain and have been really disappointed with the food.

Love everything about Italy and love Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Verona, Naples etc. Many many wonderful return visits to Italy over the years.

Didn't really enjoy Budapest but loved Prague but then I went before cheap flights brought all the tourists and not had the opportunity to return.

US cities are too big and modern for me so would never go out of choice, only for work.

Enjoyed trips to Bruges and Amsterdam.

Love most Swiss cities although probably wouldn't choose to go back to Zurich. German cities are less interesting.

Love Dublin and Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff not so much.

I travel a lot, seek out the positives and generally warm to most places. I really dislike both Singapore and Geneva. Both so sterile and boring.

I don't think there are any cities I have hated, but a few that I wouldn't go back to. Amsterdam...I didn't like the seedy vibe. Paris has become much more run down now , and I've been many times. I loved Warsaw but probably wouldn't go back as I've seen everything that I wanted to. Marseilles, I didn't really like. Berne is soo expensive. I didn't enjoy Verona much. Or Frankfurt.
Ones I liked , I enjoyed Dublin..yes expensive, but we didn't go near Temple Bar. There is a lot to do, but depends on what you like.
Bologna , Berlin, Rome , Venice, Budapest, Bruges, Belfast, Strasbourg, Venice, Edinburgh, York, Glasgow, London, Bucharest .

Would you mind if I asked your ethnicity? I also experienced racism there.

Hated Paris, Dublin and wasn’t keen on Amsterdam and Melbourne.

Loved San Francisco, Vegas, London, Monaco, Rome

I think I’m one of the few people who dislikes Porto and Lisbon! I was fed up of being offered drugs on every street corner & awful poverty. I didn’t feel safe at night either! I really disliked Berlin and couldn’t stand the communist architecture. I was very meh about Los Angeles also.

Love, love, love: Washington DC, London, Rome, Barcelona, Singapore & Toronto

Oh and I love Athens too

Can you explain more as I have dual citizenship and we have been considering moving there.

We have visited Barcelona every year for the past decade as we holiday nearby. It's absolutely magical IMO and the people are amazing.

Paris though...we had to stay overnight near the Gare du Nord on our way home. We were so looking forward to it, but it felt so threatening and unwelcoming in comparison - we were genuinely shocked.

I wrote earlier that I was underwhelmed by Prague and Reykjavik, which I was.

I really love Venice - it’s overcrowded and frustrating, but it’s like nowhere else on earth.

I really enjoyed Marseille even though it didn’t feel like the safest city in the world. Emergency sirens were wailing almost constantly.

Berlin was fascinating.

Helsinki was a breath of fresh air, and I also enjoyed taking a boat trip to Tallinn.

Glasgow is rough in places, but it’s dynamic and full of culture. It still has space to grow and develop, which is exciting.

I happened to turn up in Cadiz during a religious festival and it was really memorable. I only went there on a whim, because the trains to Madrid were fully booked.

Sofia and Naples

Not a massive fan of New York, Barcelona or Florence. I can see why people like them but they just don't do it for me.

Lived very happily in Paris and Prague for a time.

Have loved Reykjavik, Boston, Split, Tallinn, Krakow, Venice and Seville recently (pre-COVID at least).

I haven’t disliked anywhere. Some are not big cities and visiting more than once might be limiting, eg Reykjavik.

DD lived in Geneva. The university area is dynamic. There's also the Patek Philippe watch/clock museum. Worth the air fare! Trips out of the city are a joy too. It’s a single visit city certainly but has its plus points.

No USA city has disappointed me. The op thought Amsterdam might be unsafe! That’s slightly odd and who on earth goes to the Rex light district? I guess seedy men on stag weekends but no one else when there’s so much else to see.

That’s the key. Finding out what’s there. Not going by hearsay. Doing some research. Why would you not go the museums snd galleries in Amsterdam? Go on the canals? Visit Anne Frank house? Shop in Haarlem? It’s unique. Nowhere is a truly devoid of merit but some African cities are hard to love.

Loved NY, Prague, Sydney, Krakow, Barcelona, Cologne,

not so much - Amsterdam, Paris

Hated - Cairo

Madrid - stank of piss (not everywhere, obviously, but to the extent that is our overriding memory of it) and just didn't seem to have any atmosphere.
Sad to see Barcelona on the list; have very fond memories of a break there about 20 years ago, I think it has become a victim of it's own success.

Loved Paris, best city in the world. We were off the beaten track, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, ate lots of bread and cheese in their parks and gorgeous wine bars

loved Seville, perhaps my fav city of all time.

Boston was fabulous and I felt very safe (solo travel).

didn’t enjoy Washington DC just so boring

NYC was awful hated it

Riga in February was horrendous. People were miserable and rude and nothing to see

But the worst place was Cairo followed by Luxor
travelling as a woman with no male partner wasn’t worth the agro
the men are absolutely vile.

We went to San Francisco this year and were worried by some of the things we heard about it. There were some "edgy" things about it, but then we live in a city ourselves and lived in London for a few years so are not exactly sheltered. It was quite sad seeing the homeless people shuffling around at dusk with all their belongings on their own clearly going to try to find somewhere safe to bed down for the night. We didn't stay out very late and stayed at Fisherman's Wharf where all the tourists are. I don't think the US looks after its mentally ill, which is why a lot of the homeless people can seem intimidating. We went with teens, wouldn't go with young children. We all enjoyed it and would go back.

Loved San Diego.

For the potential Seville visitors, be wary of the weather. We went in April thinking it would be warm. It was rainy, grey and freezing, about 12 degrees, and we didn't see it at its best. I had to buy a coat and was still too cold. The hotel told us it had been 26 degrees the previous week!

Not a fan of Manchester. It's too built up and traffic is fucking absymal. But then again, I may be biased because I'm from Liverpool.

Visited Paris 25 years ago and explored it thoroughly for 5 nights on foot. Had a great time. But not sure I'd go back, it seems like it's a different placr now.

Same with Monaco. Used to go regularly in the 80s, not it's just jam packed high rises. Awful.

I hear you. I grew up in North Africa, the harassment was relentless. The only way to survive as a woman is to make yourself invisible, either due to age or by giving off zero feminine vibes. Or surround yourself with your entire extended family whenever you go outside.

@CurlyhairedAssassin I love Liverpool- we live in bath so uk weekends away can be awkward as I prefer bath in all honesty to many other places- but Liverpool always hits the spot!! I may be in a minority but much prefer it to Manchester

I've been to a great many European cities and generally find lots of positives about each one. The only one I didn't connect with was Bucharest. Oddly though I loved Sofia when I went there a few years later and was mistakenly expecting it to be similar.