Worlds most overrated tourist destination

One city I will say that is NOT over-rated is Washington DC. There is a ton to do and see in a relatively small area. Plus, with the Smithsonian museums being free, it's a bargain city for many tourists.

The degradation of society wrote:

beezo wrote:

Also, their are two Vegases: one for the masses and another for those with money. The trend now is the hotels within hotels with private entrances and luxury amenities. Vegas also has world class restaurants and shopping. If you have money there is no need to mingle with low-life.

Even the "world class shopping"- Gucci, dolce and gabana, balenciaga, Versace, tom firs, Prada, dsquared- is now filled with trash. And that's the high end. Go to the Forum shops at Ceasars, and it's like being in Walmart at midnight.

The Vegas Walmart after midnight is like a Halloween party that happens every day of the week.

Global Traveler #1 wrote:

messi wrote:

I am surprised no one has mentioned Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. Such a pain to get to, and no facilities. I guess you can hike around the rock (if you are a Lewis & Clark type). And watch the sunrise & sunset. But where do you toilet yourself?

Is it worth such a long trip?

Yea you have a point. Ayers Rock stinks. Not as bad as the Taj Mahal because it doesn’t literally smell bad, but pretty disappointing for all the effort it takes to get there. You could sit around in the bush almost anywhere.

Ayers Rock was definitely over-hyped, in the middle of nowhere and ridiculously expensive, but it's like Yellowstone. If you research it before hand and then get out and hike in some of the remote locations you can find some interesting and amazingly beautiful scenery.

India is the only place that I have ever been where they make people put shoes or socks on their feet when the come inside because they walk barefoot and their feet are so filthy.

Global Traveler #1 wrote:

For me it’s the Taj Mahal, hands down. It’s not better than in the pictures and it’s miserable. I’ve been there twice just to make sure.

Tower of Pisa is second.

I for one don't care to ever see NYC again. Just too much. Of everything. I am good.

I am not sure NYC as whole is overrated, but definitely Times Square and Liberty Island. Times Square is just an outdoor mall that's a pain to get to. Save time and money by seeing the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry. It's free, there are no lines once on the ferry, and the view of Manhattan is really good.

I 've been researching a trip to Australia and with all the other places to see there, I've crossed Ayers rock off the list. Compared to other destinations in Australia, it's expensive (flight, hotel), it's not near anything else, so I don't believe the value is there. I'll go to Devils Tower to see a monolith.

overrated:

St Louis, MO

Cleveland, OH

Cincinnati, OH

Houston, TX

Minneapolis/St Paul, MN

Naples, Italy.

EVERYTHING was covered in graffiti, streets covered in trash, felt generally unsafe.

lehrski wrote:Honolulu was WAY too touristy for me, so I didn't like Hawaii much, but I think if I had been able to get out to other places, Hawaii probably has some amazing spots.

I couldn't get a beer at Oktoberfest in Munich. It was a Wednesday. Everything was sold out. You had to get a table at noon or something. I just wanted one of those giant beers.

my top 5 of the major cities wrote:

overrated:

St Louis, MO

Cleveland, OH

Cincinnati, OH

Houston, TX

Minneapolis/St Paul, MN

I don't see how any of those cities can be overrated as most people think they are places to avoid.

Xdog....... wrote:

Portland, OREGON dumb.....boy!

There's a cool statue of movie director John Ford a few blocks from the waterfront in the Old Port district where you can eat fresh caught boiled lobsters and piping hot clam "chow-duh."

Take a ferry trip out to one of the islands in Casco Bay or see the statue of Joan Benoit at the L.L.Bean store.

[quote]Patriot Fries with Ketchup wrote:

Paris, France (obnoxious Parisians)

It's the city of romance taking your right hand is bound to be a bit of a letdown.

Philistine.

What about art and beautiful architecture. It's one of the few unspoiled cities.

+1

I wuz wondering when someone would get to NawLeans, that sheet hole.

Not one good thing to day about it and we tried, including hiring a Local" to take us around town, away from the touristy trap crap.

I even had two drug dealers nearly get into a fight over who was going to sell drugs to me even though i said i didnt want any, repeatedly.

tbushnell wrote:

FormerTree wrote:

+1 Yellowstone

I went in with such high expectations, and don't get me wrong it was beautiful with some very cool features. My lasting memories were a ton of buffalo & terrible traffic (thanks for people stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures of buffalo).

I could name at least a half dozen parks in the West the blow Yellowstone away.

I actually kinda agree w/ this. I really like Yellowstone, but there are much better places to visit in the west. Most people don't even know that Grand Teton National Park is directly to the south, and it is way better.

Psst, (Glacier Park, nothern Montana), awesome, but keep it on the down low.

The statue of Lenin in the Fremont area of Seattle. Really? A statue of Lenin.........in the USA? You would think with all of the Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in the greater Seattle area they would pull that statue down like the USA did in Iraq with the Saddam Hussein statues.

well,, wrote:

New York

Los Angeles

Las Vegas

Hawaii

I love all these place...in limited doses. I would not want to live in any of them.

Vegas seems to be getting a lot of hate. I love going to Vegas for a couple of days. Plenty of shows. Plenty of great food (I'm not talking about the fast buffet). I don't gamble any more, but if you do it's the best place to do it. Craps is fun in Vegas.

Now, is Vegas a place you need to visit. Heck no. Is it a great tourist destination. Heck, not. There's nothing unique, other than how the heck did it come into existence to begin with. But if I want a great meal and catch an entertaining show while not paying much to get a room, then in a 45 minute flight or a 4-5 hour drive I can be there. I'm always glad I did.

How can anyone think Hawaii is overrated? Maybe you stayed at the wrong place.

I would say "The Palace of Versailles." The pictures you see are usually of the Hallway of Mirrors, and that's fine enough, but most of the palace you cannot see, and a lot of what you do see is rather plain. The grounds in the back are quite massive, but really weren't anything special either.

The lines were absolutely awful. Thankfully I had a fast pass to get in else I might have just skipped the place.

Doge's Palace in Venice is a much better experience.

The first time I went to San Francisco I was pretty disappointed, but on subsequent trips, I have started to warm to the place.

Niagra Falls was a complete snooze fest and I would certainly never go there specifically again.

Oh Please wrote:

I would say "The Palace of Versailles." The pictures you see are usually of the Hallway of Mirrors, and that's fine enough, but most of the palace you cannot see, and a lot of what you do see is rather plain. The grounds in the back are quite massive, but really weren't anything special either.

The lines were absolutely awful. Thankfully I had a fast pass to get in else I might have just skipped the place.

Doge's Palace in Venice is a much better experience.

The first time I went to San Francisco I was pretty disappointed, but on subsequent trips, I have started to warm to the place.

Niagra Falls was a complete snooze fest and I would certainly never go there specifically again.

I really liked the Palace of Versailles. I'm not sure what you were expecting.

Gotta agree that Niagra Falls was disappointing. I was expecting something like a higher more natural falls like Bridal Falls in Yosemite.

I went to Yellowstone with low expectations, and I liked it more than I thought I would. Their grand canyon was not as grand as the Grand Canyon. Someone told me that they went on a bus trip and didn't see any animals. I probably got lucky, because I saw a herd of elk as soon as I entered near West Yellowstone. Then I saw hundreds of buffalo up in Lamar valley. The geysers and colorful ponds were pretty good also. Also, saw the town of Cody just to the east.

I like visiting Portland. Breweries, coffee, vudu donuts, rose gardens,..etc. Good if that's what you were expecting.

My wife and I avoided Niagara Falls and Pisa due to hearing for so long all the negatives mentioned in other posts about these attractions.

We ending up visiting both sites with the kids and I was blown away by each.

Riding the boat below the Falls is a truly awesome experience.

We walked through the narrow streets of Pisa after getting off the train and emerged onto the lawn containing the tower and the scale of the mistake is really astounding. The town is great, the other buildings around the tower are interesting and hey, you're in Tuscany. Worth a stop if you've rented a car or are taking the trains.