If you choose a city as a holiday destination what do you expect to 'do' there?

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I read the regular 'worst places to visit' threads with a morbid fascination & i'm always amazed at how many posters say they've visited x, y or z city & found it 'boring' with 'nothing to do'.

I find it incredibly hard to relate to this as its never been my experience. So it got me wondering- if you decide to visit a city what do you look for?

What 'things' do you want to do there?

I've been to 160 cities in 30 countries across 4 continents (I have an app). Some places I've been to once but many I've been to multiple times as I travel quite a bit for work.

I have never once found a city boring.

Certainly there are some i love more than others. Some i adore spending time in but would never want to live in - I'd live in Paris in a heartbeat but I wouldn't consider living in London though I love to visit regularly.

I'll start - when I plan a visit anywhere, particularly if its my first time its usually because I am especially interested in something related to thst place & in my case that usually means writers, artists, Historical figures.

Things I look for:
I read about the history of that city
Museums
Art galleries
If in Europe I love to look up the oldest 'Grand Cafe' & make sure to havea drink there
Historical walking tours - we've done brilliant ones in London, Dublin, Prague, Budapest, Trieste, Krakow etc
The best wine bars
The key attractions (i'll only usually do this once & once ive seen them i focus on other stuff on subsequent visits)
Booking tickets to an event - opera, performance, exhibition etc
Churches/ cathedrals etc
I've often read a book thats inspired me to visit a place or an area in a city so ee love mapping that out & locating it

We love sitting at streetsife cafes soaking up the atmosphere & people watching

Then at night we love research the oldest traditional bar, a jazz bar, a cocktail bar, the best place for steak or seafood etc depending where we are

Every city ive ever been to has all of these elements + more

So...I'm curious- if you've found places boring & couldn't find anything to do - what is it you look for?

The only time I’ve found a city boring is when I’ve been travelling for work and not left the hotel.

Oh that's a great list.
I love Rome, was there twice in my 20s & not since. But am going back this October & very much looking forward to it.

Istanbul is on my list - what did you love about it?

It felt so different and exotic, I liked listening to the prayer music in the background.There is a lot to do and the food was really good too.
It seemed as if it was more than a few hours away.

I’m loving reading this thread.

I’ve never understood the appeal of resort holidays with nothing planned except lazing by a pool or beach. I regularly research city breaks, look into interesting places to see, and use Google maps to travel the world.

But, I’ve never actually been out of the UK. Yet.

In 12 days time we are off on an Adriatic cruise. A cruise is purely because we couldn’t decide where to go. We loved the idea of Croatia, particularly Dubrovnik and Split. But also Slovenia, Montenegro and Italy appealed. So we’re getting a taste of these places with the hope we’ll return for longer breaks.

I’ve done a fair bit of research but if anyone can give handy tips for the following places I’d be very grateful.
We like: historical architecture, pretty squares and gardens. Bars to people watch, a nice stroll with a good view, football and good food.

Bear in mind we won’t be there in the evenings.

We’re visiting Dubrovnik, Split, Trieste, Koper, Ancona and Kotor.

Rome is a great example of a “non boring” city. Literally everything you look at is 2000 years old. They haven’t built a whole load of modern meh crap over it.
Even if you didn’t do “the sights” theres enough free stuff to amaze you.

Barcelona I love and go at least once a year. But yes it looks like Croydon in places. Spanish restaurants run non Spanish . I can see why people get jostled with 6000 people just of a cruise ship plus all the other tourists on their weekend break and think it’s nothing special.

I LOVE a walking tour, museum, art gallery, cultural stuff, etc
Sitting outside with a coffee people watching
Bliss

I’ve been thinking about the few places I would say I have been bored and it is mainly because they are places that I haven’t felt inspired in. I could easily find things to do for the time I was there but I didn’t feel leaving uplifted or inspired with what I have seen. That could be bad planning, or people I was there with or the circumstances and maybe not much to do with the place itself. I normally have felt bored when I’ve gone to places where I was visiting someone rather than visiting the city itself.

I think many cities are what you make of them & also how you plan your trip.

I love Barcelona for example, but last time we went it was the off season so not crowded and we'd planned and budgeted to visit some attractions that would be quite expensive if you were a large family. Since we were travelling as a couple, we were also able to enjoy things like stopping in the markets for jamon, seafood or a glass or two of wine.

I can well understand how our itinerary with a lower budget in the height of summer, 40 degree heat & wrangling a few small children might not feel like fun!

We're more into outdoorsy holidays, so don't do city breaks often. When we do, we both like to make sure we're well located, have good food & drink options (very much foodies) and have agreed at least a couple of things we definitely want to do and few things we might. It does take a bit more effort to plan than say, a resort based holiday, but very much worth it as IMO a bit of prior planning makes it much more relaxing while you're there.

That sounds like a fabulous way to get a feel for those places!

I've been to Dubrovnik but too long ago to be able to recommend anything. We did a boat trip along the coastline & it was spectacular so as you're arriving by ship you'll see all that.

I know Trieste very well & would be happy to recommend some stuff there if you'd like me to?

My biggest problem is getting a suitable length of stay.
I'm good at researching & planning what to do, but sometimes things go awry.

Taking into account airport, airlines, flight timings, hotel availability etc, I've often stayed too long in a city - rarely not long enough. (Singapore is a notable exception.)

If I ever feel like that I just take day trips. We’d jump on a train and head out into the countryside or to a beach or to another city. I can’t think of anywhere that we’ve been where there wasn’t something like that we could tag onto the trip if the city itself didn’t keep us busy for the full length of our stay.

I often add a night longer than I think I need, then I stay in a spa hotel and do a little bit less than I could each day so I end up having a busy but at the same time chilled break.

I agree. Having longer allows a slower pace of doing stuff & more time for just 'being' & enjoying soaking up the atmosphere.

We usually go to cities. We visit castles, art museums, markets, restaurants. We go just outside the cities to explore the area nearby and do anything specific to the city or area. We look for festivals or shows.

So in Budapest we went to the baths (obviously), the secret cave hospital, the ruin bars, Danube cruise, children's railway, a music festival, markets and took a trip out to feed bears at a sanctuary.

In Lisbon we rode trams and funiculars and that mad steampunk lift, went to a brilliant immersive theatre show, drank green wine overlooking one of the city's most beautiful views, walked along the beach front to that little fort, ate custard tarts and had a visit to Sintra's mad castles which was one of my favourite day trips of my entire life.

In Ljubljana we rode the funicular, visited the castle, went to the local museums, the gorgeous flea market, the weird artists' squat area, the lovely arcade cafes by the river then headed off for Bled and Bohinj.

In Barcelona we mainly looked at all the Gaudi stuff - the cathedral and beautiful houses, as that was our big reason for being there, but also went for tapas in the old town, visited the market, walked along the beach and people-watched in the lovely parks.

In Venice we spent two whole days at the Biennale art show, did a bvoat trip around the islands, and just walked forever, watching mask makers and gondoliers and Vogue fashion shoots in palazzos.

We did that in Osaka. We were bored after one and a half days (probably jet lag - I would like to go back now) so we just went to Nara for the day and that meant we got an extra day in Kyoto where there is SO much to see.

Osaka is one of my favourite cities in the world. Not so much because of what is in Osaka (although there are some cool things to see and do) but because it is such a perfect base city for day-tripping from. Great transport links and a great place to come back to in the evening for dinner, a couple of drinks and an evening wander. We’ve done day trips from there to Nara, Kyoto, Himeji, Kurashiki, Onomichi, Minnoh and Uji across our two stays in the city.

So much this

I posted earlier how I choose on flights

We are on a tiny income so I find the cheapest flights - anywhere

Then I find out accommodation costs,. We know we just need a clean bed and a good shower, we spend zero time in the accommodation outside of sleeping so I dont spend money there - usually look at around £40 a night budget

Our money is spent on having good meals , a few drinks and enjoying what the city has to offer and spending what we do have locally

A lot of the time we do budget tbh, we get a take out supper if we have had a restaurant lunch - usually the better value anyway - eat on the hoof for brekkie , have a bottle of something in the accommodation

We do live on a tiny budget but to go away twice a year for 3/4 nights really invigorates us. When I think of what we used to spend on beach holidays where we barely saw anything of the country, let alone get lost in the culture and history - I'm embarressed ( could be retired by now )

I am really enjoying this thread. I have always loved a city break, as I’ve got older and less mobile, I’ve become a big fan of the hop on/hop off bus tours. Like other posters I always enjoy finding different foods and nothing (for me) beats a look around a local supermarket!

thanks for all the tips for some new places for me.

I went to Dublin for 3 days on my own once en route somewhere else and had a bloody brilliant time! Did a walking tour, did the tour of the cemetery which was fascinating, went to the theatre, had a wee spa morning.

I love cities and bonus points if you’ve read a great book set there (like The Unbearable Lightness of Being for Prague or Our Man in Havana).

I think it’s a difference between wanting to go on a relaxing holiday and wanting to travel. The idea of sitting by the pool for 2 weeks just strikes me as a total waste of time but I guess many people would think going to the theatre by yourself in Dublin is abject misery.

Also I’m going to steal your grand cafe idea.

Singapore
Bangkok
london
Florence
Paris

Barcelona is also a firm favourite for the food 🥰

I’d like to explore more of the Nordic city’s over the next few years and Northern Europe, so many places to go.

I really disliked Venice, but it was raining, miserable, grey and the food choices I found limited and the people were rude, it was grubby and smelt unlike so many other city’s, so didn’t have a great experience and won’t be going back. It’s one of the few city’s where I felt I was being taken for a tourist mug!

That's a pity about Venice.

I think, perhaps more than some other cities, its a place where doing some research on where to eat really pays off.

Its easy to eat badly but its also possible to have very good food & at every price point. Usually further away from San Marco / Rialto.

Totally agree with you OP! I've never been bored in any destination I visited 🤷‍♀️

Thing about “researching where to eat” is that you clock watch trying to be in the right place at the right time for the restaurant / bar you want to go to. Or have to get back to the hotel to get ready and taxi specifically to somewhere which feels quite regimented.
I prefer just doing the city at my own pace eating when and what I fancy.

Inevitably you just end up with masses of tourists who researched in the same places you did.

I definitely research bars & restaurants but don't end up in places with hoards of tourists.

I wouldn't book something for every night so we have an element of spontaneity if we happen to see somewhere good.

In bigger cities we find it more helpful to know we've got somewhere lined up than to wander around hangry

But of course it's each to their own!

I'm on obsessive planner, I do loads of research and I absolutely have to have a paper copy of a rough guide or lonely planet before we land. Before we vudut, I have a day by day itinerary planned in one note, with the aim of covering the main sites, this almost never gets followed exactly, but it's a starting point and I rejig as needed to make sure we don't miss anything crucial. We were just in DisneySea in Tokyo and I literally had a list, ride by ride, of how to tackle the park to get round the big rides, where the unique food items were, what time the shows were, you can never be over prepared! I have no idea how many cities I've visited, but I've visited more than 70 countries, so it would be a lot. I rarely go back to the same city, but have visited some countries many times. All that said, don't think I've found anywhere boring.