cities you've been disappointed with....

[brimfull]

Barcelona was a big disappointment to me,couldn't see or feel the charm that everyone went on about.

Seattle also...was expecting a fab place that was voted number one place to live a while ago.Just another big city..nothing special imo.

What cities did you find disappointing?

Has anyone been to Niagara?

As in Niagara Falls? Yes, when we visited Toronto. Very tacky but I was prepared for that, the falls were still lovely and we just went overnight.

yep, singapore - seems to be one big shopping centre

seattle - not as cool as i expected at all, quite quiet and dull feeling

I love Barcelona. It's great in March, love grazing on pintxos going from bar to bar, going to the parks. Might not be such a great city with children though - haven't been brave enough to fly with DS yet.

Dublin is overrated, and I was disappointed by Budapest. Grim, and lard on toast is not my idea of good food...

Seoul. Not an inch of green space and a kerzillion cars. Yuk.

I also think Brighton is rather over-rated.

admittedly, Brighton has gone off a bit.

Venice was big, smelly disappointment for me, around Easter time when I was a teenager.

I love monte carlo, and I wasn't with rich friends! There is a lot of history there, the palace to see, beautiful scenery, etc. We had great fun sitting down the front jsut people watching, and drooling over the yachts.

If Frankfurt/Main is bad, you have to check out Frankfurt/Oder on the border to Poland which is the worst place I've personally ever visited in Germany. Frankfurt/Main is soulless but dh claims the area around it (Taunusgebirge I think) is beautiful.

I wasn't disappointed in Frankfurt/Oder since I expected it to be a dump - which it was. I think it takes the cake for the worst town I've ever visited

Casablanca was a let-down.

Sandy - never mind, you'll always have Paris.

Teehee, UQD!

Madrid, Palermo. (loved the rest of Sicily though)

Brussels - terrible, just terrible

Singapore - ditto one big shopping centre (actually some parts like Orchard Road virtually are just one long shopping centre). Absolutely nothing to do but shop and eat. Great for a day. Very boring for longer.

LA - it's not a city, it's a sprawling over-polluted connurbation which takes an hour to get from one tiny good bit to another tiny good bit.

Anywhere in the Ruhr valley (Dusseldorf, Dortmund etc) - heavily industrialised faceless German cities anyone?

Warsaw - one delightfully pretty little central area does not make up for the grim Soviet-isation of the rest of the city.

Can we also have a thread about places that were surprisingly good? My nominations would be Sydney, Hamburg and Vilnius.

oh no, I find Palermo so beautful and tragic at the same time, I love it!

helsinki
what a dump

I think that's the point, Anniemac - some cities are utterly charming on a fleeting visit where you don't know the locals, others aren't.

Boston. it would be a lovely place to live. and New England is great but a few days' holiday in Boston, just didn;t do anything for me.

I rather liked Warsaw, though a bit grim admittedly. Love Budapest, although I was only there for a three-day business trip and would like to go back.
Not keen on Munich for some reason that I can never quite put my finger on. A bit twee and smug I think. Frankfurt is Dullsville. I think I may have been to Hamburg, but it didn't make much of an impression. I love Berlin though so not totally down on German cities.
American cities I have hated include Atlanta and LA. Also Las Vegas, although that is more theme park than city really. However, I love New York and San Francisco.
Didn't think much of Brisbane, which is the only Australian city I have been to.
Manchester, gah. Birmingham likewise.
Baku was not pleasant, but I didn't really expect it to be. Kiev I thought would be awful but was lovely.
Reykjavik was charming and I want to go back there one day.
Italy, a big yes to Turin and Florence, and a totally capricious thumbs down to Milan.
France, Paris wonderful, Lyons, bourgeois dullsville.
I think I might have been a bit arbitrary here

I got very drunk in Helsinki. all in the call of duty of course. fed "Finnish water" and caviar (which I hate) by the head of the chambers of commerce. what an interesting person he was

absolutely love:
Paris
Vienna
Toulouse
Bordeaux
new York
San Francisco
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Chicago
Berlin
Verona
Bratislava
Sydney

Hate:
Geneva- so dull expensive and boring in a nice setting
Tallinn- beautiful old town but it will take you an afternoon to see everything. outside of the old town is Russian Built panelaks and grey grey grey
Rijeka- just dull
Helsinki- dull and expensive
Naples- a hell hole and smelly ATM
Dublin- just too many people and has got so themey.
Adeleide- just a bit boring really

I forgot Chicago Cremolafoam. I loved it muchly.
Also Hong Kong which I would love to go back to even though I spent my entire week there pining for DD1 who was only about a year old.

I loved chicago. Just a great and interesting place.And a free zoo!
really meantI was disappointed with the dull places.NOT hate really.You have a good time if you want too i suppose.But some cities have extra kaboom!and you just don't want to go home.Sydney forinstnce. i cried all the way to the airport.lol

Some cities are really hard if you're a tourist. Like Sydney is so sprawling and tough to navigate between all the different beaches as public transport is rubbish.

And I loathed LA for first 3 times I visited, then last time, a friend showed me round, we went to lovely places and I finally saw the point of it, that kind of feeling of being an outpost in the harsh landscape. But it is not a city at all really.