r/AskReddit • u/midnightsonofabitch • 3d ago
What was the most disappointing, tourist infested place you’ve ever been?
2.0k
u/outerproduct 3d ago
Nassau, Bahamas. It was like being in a very expensive prison.
1.0k
u/watermama 3d ago
My grandpa was born and raised in the Bahamas. We used to visit periodically to see a gang of old lady relatives who lived in Nassau, starting in the 1970s. There used to be a nice old fashioned island feel to the place, lovely old shops and awesome quiet beaches. Once they built Atlantis and all the cruise ships started dumping people in town everything started looking like a crappy strip mall and everything fell apart. Now it's dangerous and horrible and all the Bahamians hate all the tourists and can't be bothered.
→ More replies→ More replies277
u/Coookie_Thumper 3d ago
Prices they charge you for the quality you get is downright criminal (looking at you Atlantis).
→ More replies283
u/jpiro 3d ago
Atlantis flat-out isn't "The Bahamas." It's a theme park that happens to be in The Bahamas.
I absolutely love that country, but also 100% get why people who've only ever been to Nassau or GBI hate it, particularly if they've visited either on a cruise.
→ More replies
7.6k
u/Appropriate_Panda467 3d ago edited 2d ago
The room with the Mona Lisa in it.
Couldn’t get anywhere near it and it’s not that big of a painting to see from the back of the room when all the people in front of you had giant cameras. Maybe it’s better in the age of cell phone cameras - but I doubt it.
Edited to add I am so excited many of you agree with me! I saw the Mona Lisa when I was 18 back in 2005 and many other pieces in the Louvre partly led to my getting a degree in the history of art. But, damn, that was a crowded room!!
2.0k
u/ImGonnaCum 3d ago
So specific and so correct. I was just telling my brother how crowded that room is and the palace of Versailles tour was like one long shuffling queue.
1.4k
u/Tiara_at_all_times 3d ago
I fully acknowledge that I’ll sound like an asshole for this, but — for my 40th birthday last month we stayed 2 nights in the hotel on the grounds of Versailles, and part of the experience is an after hours / behind the scenes tour of the palace, with just us and a guide. It was AMAZING
→ More replies459
u/bb_LemonSquid 3d ago
That sounds very nice & expensive! 🤑
→ More replies821
u/Tiara_at_all_times 2d ago edited 2d ago
It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime type splurges! Our normal hotel budget definitely isn’t that (The backstory is that my husband thought the only way I wouldn’t be a basket case on my 40th is if I woke up at a castle. Edit: he was correct )
231
u/YourNeighborsHotWife 2d ago
I have a few years until I turn 40, I’m going to add “wake up in a historic castle” to my plans to help avoid waking up with an existential crisis.
→ More replies→ More replies517
877
u/PhysicistInTheGarden 3d ago
The tour of the palace was awful but I could roam around the gardens at Versailles for weeks.
→ More replies612
u/mstakenusername 3d ago
If possible go in the dead of winter, I had a lot of fun roaming the halls with maybe 100 other people in the whole place.
→ More replies357
u/mkculs 3d ago
40 and raining. This WI woman had the gardens all to herself for a bit.
→ More replies→ More replies217
u/Canuck-In-TO 3d ago edited 2d ago
Pre booking your tour times and booking an early morning appointment is a huge must.
Unbelievable, how great we all felt walking by the massive line waiting to buy tickets. I think we waited all of 10 minutes to get in.Next time, we’d also rent a cart or bicycles (at the centre of the gardens) . My feet were killing me from walking the gardens of Versailles.
→ More replies→ More replies758
u/trustons 3d ago
Not only that, but it's probably one of the most underwhelming famous paintings ever. It's small and you've already seen it 10000000 times.
Skip it.
My friend and I saw SO MUCH amazing stuff in the time our friends waited to shuffle up to the Mona Lisa.
→ More replies429
u/ClownfishSoup 3d ago
What is amazing are the MASSIVE murals in the other galleries. Like floor to ceiling murals of battle scenes. One day really isn't enough to wander the whole Louvre. But unless you really like art, it does get boring. (Sorry art people!).
→ More replies161
u/tonytroz 3d ago
Even if you really like art those kinds of museums can be exhausting. They're huge and you're on your feet for hours. We did the Denon wing audio guide highlights tour and it was a perfect length.
→ More replies
3.5k
u/Phader24 3d ago
Hollywood blvd … literally a worse version of NY Times Square (which also sucks)
1.1k
u/lost40s 3d ago
Came here to say this.. I remember the smell most of all - a heady mixture of weed smoke, urine, and tour bus exhaust.
→ More replies330
325
u/RadRhubarb00 3d ago
Moved to LA and figured I should go the the Blvd to check it out at least once. Got there, walked around for like 5 minutes and was like "WTF thats it!" and left to never go back lol.
→ More replies448
u/TheUnicornCowboy 3d ago
Hollywood Blvd looks like if the Tenderloin and Reno had a baby.
→ More replies376
u/TheSchwartzIsWithMe 3d ago
You can always tell a tourist on Hollywood Blvd because they're the only ones not trying to leave
→ More replies→ More replies205
u/mmmatthew 3d ago
There's a bunch of cool old spots dripping with history and old school hollywood charm on/near the blvd--Musso and Frank Grill, Graumann's/TCL Chinese Theatre, Boardners, Frolic Room, The Magic Castle--but yeah the street itself is grimy chaos.
IMO it's worth experiencing for like 10 minutes if only to see how different it is than what you've imagined, before seeking out one of the spots above and/or leaving. LA has hundreds of better areas to visit.
→ More replies
2.0k
u/Korpikuusenalla 3d ago
The leaning tower of Pisa.
A field of tourists trying to take a picture of the tower without other tourists in it and souvenir shops trying to sells those tourists stuff.
1.2k
u/hikebikedive 3d ago
I remember a group of young Chinese tourists taking their time going through the souvenir items, one of them looked at me apologetically "we don't want to bring home something made from home." when it was my turn to look at the key chains in particular, indeed, the souvenirs are made in China.
→ More replies497
u/Plasibeau 2d ago
See that a lot with the Chinese nationals that come to shop the huge outlet malls in California. My SIL will come over with my brother and they'll drop 20k in a day. Then they'll buy a couple of large pieces of luggage (pretty sure that's why there's always a luggage store at outlet malls) fill them to bursting and fly back to China with the goods. Depending on the product, its value is heavily dependent on brand, (luxe brands are 2-3x expensive in China) but according to my brother, they can fund their entire trip plus some by doing this.
They like to come over around Thanksgiving to catch Black Friday sales.
→ More replies248
u/TucuReborn 2d ago
I had an older coach in HS who said he used to sell jeans in Russia over summer break when in college. Said that designer US brands sold like hotcakes in some cities, and he could get hundreds a pair in profits. He'd just take a couple of suitcases with just jeans, flip them, fly back, and do it all summer long.
Not sure how true it was, but I can believe it.
→ More replies36
u/TurnOfFraise 2d ago
An old boss of my brothers was stopped when he was in Russia and offered quite a bit of money for the pair of (designer) jeans he was literally wearing at the time. He ended up selling all the jeans he had with him at the time and made a decent bit of money.
A friend of mine also did an exchange program in highschool, I want to say Belgium? Either way there were very strict instructions on what and how many of certain items you were allowed to bring due to people selling clothing. Nothing could go over with tags.
→ More replies→ More replies348
u/The-Only-Razor 3d ago
The tower is neat, as is the cathedral next to it.
It's the rest of the city that's a complete shithole letdown.
→ More replies164
u/Hot_Dot8000 3d ago
I had zero expectations for Pisa and I roamed around for a bit and it was ok!
Not somewhere I'd spend a few days, but a few hours was fine
→ More replies
4.0k
u/Lallner 3d ago
Every cruise ship port in the Caribbean
1.8k
u/BGFalcon85 3d ago
A coworker had a cruise re-routed from its original itinerary to the Bahamas because of a hurricane. He was pretty upset and called the Bahamas "the McDonalds of the Caribbean."
→ More replies1.2k
u/HottestGoblin 3d ago
I don't even get off the ship anymore in Nassau. I just enjoy the opportunity to have a mostly empty ship and drink cocktail after cocktail on the pool deck and enjoy the scenery of the clear blue waters around the ship.
The port at Nassau is overrun with pushy vendors, scammers, and shady characters and the Bahamaian Government needs to do something about it because it's gotten a lot worse and it has to be hurting the bottom line since Nassau has gained quite a lousy reputation recently. Other ports will have this to a degree too, but it's nothing like Nassau.
492
u/tacknosaddle 3d ago
Other ports will have this to a degree too, but it's nothing like Nassau.
If you ever stay in a place that cruise ships visit it's like two completely different places when they are there or not. If you hit the shops & vendors when the ships aren't there it's way more chill and they're a lot more open to negotiating down the prices.
→ More replies97
u/BxGyrl416 3d ago
I was in Ocho Rios for the day and it was completely different once the gargantuan cruise ship left. I think all ports are kind of sketchy to a degree.
→ More replies313
u/JoeyCalamaro 3d ago
I don't even get off the ship anymore in Nassau. I just enjoy the opportunity to have a mostly empty ship and drink cocktail after cocktail on the pool deck and enjoy the scenery of the clear blue waters around the ship.
We learned this trick on our very first cruise, which happened to pass through Nassau. The stops were very touristy and after the first destination or two, we decided that we'd either make the stops very brief (I'm not sure we spent even an hour in Nassau) or we'd skip them altogether.
Hanging out on the ship was much more enjoyable —especially considering it was mostly empty.
→ More replies→ More replies389
u/JExmoor 3d ago
I'm a birder, so when I hit a port on a cruise without a specific itinerary in mind, I usually just end up walking somewhere to look for birds and wildlife. Nassau was beautiful once I made it maybe half a mile from the cruise terminal. I walked down streets with beautiful houses and went to a small bird preserve. Then I walked over to the beach where the taxis take tourists, which looked horrible, but the greenbelts and ponds nearby were lovely.
The whole cruise experience is very different for me, actually. 99% of the ship is in the casino or drinking by the pool while I'm watching a pod of 1000 dolphins, albatrosses, etc.
→ More replies128
u/MaxParedes 3d ago
It's often surprising just how little ground you have to cover in even the most touristy places to get away from the throngs. When I was in Florence the difference between Piazza della Signoria and (e.g.) the Sant'Ambrogio area was like night and day, and it's less than a 15 minute walk between them.
→ More replies→ More replies637
u/joey1886 3d ago
Jamaica was the grossest and most depressing place I've ever been. It was terrible. Crowds of kids and people grabbing in your pockets constantly. Following you around like a zombie movie
289
u/MonkeyManJohannon 3d ago
We watched 3 men sell “weed” to several cruise passengers getting off in Montego Bay…then watched as the 3 men and kids playing the instruments just outside of the port docking ramp were pointing out the passengers as we boarded…with armed “police” waiting beside them.
→ More replies70
u/MurseWoods 2d ago
What happened to the passengers?? Was it just a shakedown for cash, or did something actually happen to them?
→ More replies→ More replies334
u/Sir_Arthur_Vandelay 3d ago
I have probably visited nearly 100 countries over my lifetime, but only Jamaica scared me.
→ More replies76
u/BxGyrl416 3d ago
Which part did you go to? Kingston was pretty boring and the airport staff was miserable.
144
u/Sir_Arthur_Vandelay 3d ago
We visited Kingston, Dunns River Falls, a market town in the Blue Mountains and a few other tourist spots.
It is a beautiful island, and I’m never going back.
→ More replies
2.5k
u/dreamy_25 3d ago edited 2d ago
My own city in the last 10 years. Amsterdam really took a nosedive. Lots of unique little shops disappeared in favor of approx. 10 million frozen yogurt/chocolate waffle stores. Tourists used to be a few chill, cheery groups interested in the city they were in - now they sometimes look like hordes of zombies hobbling from one tourist trap to the other. Painstakingly slowly, and of course taking up the whole sidewalk.
EDIT: Just to clarify, I still love and appreciate my city and think it's well worth the visit. As a matter of fact, I would like to see MORE tourists who actually visit Amsterdam FOR Amsterdam - its architecture, history, culture, etc... Instead of hopping from one chain store to the next, or acting crazy because one thinks one can do anything and everything in this "free city"...
Amsterdam can still offer a great time, but make sure to prepare properly so you can avoid the tourist traps that bloat the cityscape and have out-competed the independent shops that gave my city its unique character.
I posted my comment in the context of having lived here my whole life: Amsterdam now often feels disappointing to me, specifically, because I can compare it to the way it was 10-15 years ago. And it's unfortunately just not the same.
→ More replies541
u/markymrk720 3d ago edited 2d ago
Heading to Amsterdam in a month and this makes me sad. 😭
931
u/FRIENDLY_CANADIAN 3d ago
Honestly, go see what you want to see in Amsterdam, then grab a train out of the city. The transit network is fucking amazing, and not crowded since everyone is on bikes. Are you fit? Grab a bike and just gooo.
Head to a nearby town like Haarlem, and then soak in the Dutch culture. If you like war history, head to Nijmegen for the day and visit the liberation museum. The small towns in the Netherlands are the best, Amsterdam is neat, but it's not the best way to explore the Netherlands IMO.
→ More replies194
u/Ladybug_Fuckfest 3d ago
I didn't like Amsterdam at first because it was so crowded and touristy. But then it rained. Just a light pleasant rain and 90% of the tourists stayed inside. We grabbed umbrellas and had a wonderful day walking around and exploring the city unimpeded.
→ More replies→ More replies261
u/soupnugget 3d ago
Don't get discouraged, it's Dutch nature to be pessimistic and sour about things like this. Yes, for people here it can get annoying if tourists block the roads or bicycle paths, but there are a lot of areas that you can explore outside of the "standard" streets and canals. There's a reason it's a popular destination. Just don't stand in the bicycle paths :o)
→ More replies
2.2k
u/wyatt_sw 3d ago
Yellowstone NP is fantastic when it's just you or a few other people. However, most of the main sites are so full of people it really feels like Disney World at some points instead of nature. It's also infuriating when I see so many tourist disrespecting the nature by walking off of the paths/board walks and leaving trash around.
728
u/Keyspam102 3d ago
The thing with Yellowstone is that as soon as you get off the main drives, it’s almost deserted. I did a two week backpacking trip there during July, the big areas like prismatic and old faithful were packed to an unbearable extent but literally just hiking half a mile from the parking lot and we only saw a few people per day at the most.
→ More replies509
u/AtlEngr 3d ago
One of the Rangers told us that some insane % (like 90 maybe?) of people never get more than 1/2 a mile from a main road or parking lot.
244
u/BeatrixFarrand 3d ago
I think it’s actually more insane - we were told that in Yellowstone, less than 5% make it further than 100 yards from the road. I will never forget being at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, with people throwing elbows to get better selfies, yelling / being incredibly loud, and the sound of tour buses.
We walked two minutes down the trail and…silence. Nothing but the roar of the river and sounds of nature.
→ More replies→ More replies259
u/bumblingneanderthal 3d ago
I can say the same of Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
Most major outdoor destinations are like this I think, there is usually a single feature people want to go take photos of or they just want to make a quick stop.
They typically are not outdoors people, but they appreciate it to some degree.
→ More replies76
u/grease_monkey 2d ago
I'm ok with that. All the state parks in my state are like that. The big draw attraction is fairly close to the parking lot and I think that's nice. Let old or less physically able people see the pretty cliff or waterfall, they deserve it too.
→ More replies1.1k
u/MuttonDelmonico 3d ago
When I entered Yellowstone, there was like a 30 minute traffic jam because literally every car in front of mine stopped to take a photo of a single elk. When we finally got to the visitor's center ... there was a herd of like 50 elk just standing around.
666
u/Glomar_Denial 3d ago
That elk totally knew what it was doing.
→ More replies292
u/thishasntbeeneasy 3d ago
It was probably a cardboard elk put there for traffic calming
→ More replies→ More replies203
u/Zer0designs 3d ago
I stood in a 30 minute queue at plitvice (croatia) at the point of the first waterfall of the walking trail, because people were taking selfies (we couldn't see what caused the queue).Turns out theres an actual image point around the corner (where the boardwalk enlarges so people can also pass). Oh and the park is home to hundreds of waterfalls, so everyone was waiting for no reason at all.
→ More replies185
u/cmherbert 3d ago
I went to Yellowstone in October. Was perfect as it's the end of the season, and most people are in school. Had some problems at Old Faithful, but otherwise, it was great! Sometimes I think when planning a vacation to a high tourist area you have to think of the time of year. We typically go to places at the end of September beginning of October to miss all the people. Even in Europe we do this.
→ More replies→ More replies132
u/exhale358 3d ago
To add to this, Yosemite was beautiful and I found it incredibly difficult to be in nature not surrounded by strangers
→ More replies
2.3k
u/luckybeee 3d ago
Venice in August, I felt bad being there. Luckily was only a day trip but it was like something from a horror film.
773
u/Proper-Emu1558 3d ago
It’s beautiful but I thought that it must be hellish to live there (at least sometimes). So many tourists. Pisa was similar, in part of the city.
→ More replies297
u/Rajili 3d ago
I was gonna say Pisa. We only went there because we needed to fly out of there to get to Bulgaria (or Hungary, I don’t remember, but it was logistical). Ok we saw the tower. Now what? People everywhere, not much else. The food was good like the rest of Italy, so that was nice. Just kind of a let down of a place to go.
→ More replies327
u/Asleep_Onion 3d ago edited 3d ago
When I went to Pisa (for work, not vacation) I went to the tower of course, and saw the typical massive crowd of people around it, doing the obvious poses where they look like they're holding it up for a photo op, etc... but then I figured out that you can actually pay a small fee and go up to the top of the tower, which before that day I just always assumed probably wasn't allowed. And apparently something that pretty much everyone else there also assumed. Because there was zero line to get into the tower. Bought a ticket (probably $15 euro? I can't remember) and got to walk all the way up the stairs around the tower to the top, and it was a lot of fun. Hardly anyone else was in there, felt like I had the tower to myself. And this was on a day that was otherwise VERY crowded outside the tower.
→ More replies315
u/Lambfudge 3d ago
I was in Venice in late September last year, so off peak season, and I was told they stopped letting cruise ships stop there, so it wasn't completely packed. I had a great time, but the sections of the city that were closer to St. Mark's were still quite crowded. That, and the shops went from local restaurants around our Airbnb to Chanel stores by St. Mark's.
But I still had a great time and it was beautiful. I could see if it were more overrun with tourists that it would be unmanageable. Those tiny alleys you have to walk through would get crowded fast.
I also saw a woman set up a camera and film herself dancing in front of the basilica for an entire hour, constantly going and checking the footage. When she finally had what she needed, she packed up and went inside to see its splendor. (Just kidding: she packed up and left without so much as glancing at the overwhelming beauty around her.)
→ More replies→ More replies158
u/millyloui 3d ago
Worst time to go - end Sept/Oct its lovely
→ More replies53
u/CosmicOwl47 3d ago
I was there exactly a year ago and it was awesome. Didn’t feel crowded at all, just had a blast riding the water buses all around the city.
→ More replies
1.3k
u/Atheist_Alex_C 3d ago
The Sistine Chapel. It was incredible to see in person, but it was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with people and they were trying to usher everyone through as fast as possible, so I felt like I was in the way and couldn’t stay long. I would have loved to just gaze quietly at the ceiling and take it all in for several minutes, but that wasn’t an option.
835
u/Beestung 3d ago
NO PHOTO! NO PHOTO!
376
u/Kevin_Uxbridge 2d ago
NO PHOTO! click click click click click NO PHOTO! click click click click click ...
→ More replies→ More replies206
u/PrestigiousKing3614 3d ago
- whistle blows *
354
56
u/IntrinsicM 2d ago
Yes, the whistles!
I was expecting a serene experience and, holy smokes, this was not it.
319
u/ima_mandolin 2d ago
My main memory of the Sisitine Chapel was the guard yelling SILENZIO! SILENZIO! the whole time.
→ More replies145
u/MxMstrMxyzptlk 2d ago
I don't even remember what it looked like when I went. We were rushed in, attendants yelled "no photo" every second, then everyone snuck photos anyway, then got rushed out.
66
u/pinkkittenfur 3d ago
Ugh, I had the same experience. I was there at the end of June and not only was it crowded, it was 38°C, so it was fucking miserable inside and reeked of body odor.
56
u/Sanders0492 2d ago
For anyone curious, you’re allowed to stop and admire. They try to keep the walking areas flowing, and if you stop in those areas they will get in your face to keep moving. But if you move out of the walking area (middle of the chapel) you can stay and look at the ceiling as long as you want. We were there at least 15 minutes.
→ More replies→ More replies297
u/eckliptic 3d ago
Entire Vatican City experience was disappointing for how crowded it was, and we even was part of a tour that let us cut the line.
But Rome in general was A+ for me. Loved it as a city and a lot of touristy stuff was still cool to see even if it was crowded
→ More replies38
u/lmxbftw 2d ago
I went to the Vatican once as soon as it opened up, since we were leaving Rome later that day. I don't know how, but I swear we were nearly the only people in St. Peter's. It was an absolutely incredible space, and quiet. Standing in front of the Pieta in silence, only a few others around who were also in reflective moods, it really did feel like a holy place.
I went back a different time and it was the more normal packed crowd. It was an entirely different feel, and quiet reflection was simply not possible.
→ More replies
1.0k
u/Apprehensive_Jaguar 3d ago edited 3d ago
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen was...underwhelming. To be fair though, I shouldn't really have expected to be whelmed by a little mermaid statue.
→ More replies170
u/BrookeStardust 3d ago
It was so tiny and just swarmed by people with selfie sticks knocking each other in the head! I ended up skipping that adventure and exploring the area instead.
→ More replies
252
u/Sustain_the_higher 3d ago
I live in a tourist city, Bath, and it's an absolute nightmare in summer and around Christmas
→ More replies
720
u/lappyg55v 3d ago
Hollywood was such a tourist trap. I guess, see it once but expect to be disappointed. Lot of fake guys wanting to get money from you because they dressed up like spiderman.
→ More replies159
u/ceanahope 3d ago
Go when it's raining. All the costumed people are not there, not a lot of people in general. I went in January when all the storms were hitting California. Street was pretty empty and quiet.
→ More replies
721
u/MomTRex 3d ago
Las Ramblas in Barcelona, what a pickpocket paradise!
253
u/viktor72 2d ago
Oh God, I’m taking 80 Middle Schoolers and their parents there in November. We’re with an organization but this is a good thing to remind them about.
238
u/chinupshouldersdown 2d ago
We were warned on arrival. Still pickpocketed. They are professionals!
→ More replies→ More replies125
u/cnasty_int 2d ago
As a local I just want to say that the pickpocketing is HORRIBLE. I haven’t had a single visitor who hasn’t gotten pickpocketed. In the metro they will pull your phone out of your hand as the doors close. Even with an organization they cannot stop any of this. My best tip is to put your phone in your bag, and to keep a hand on your bag at all time when on the metro or walking down Rambla. Generally outside of these two places (and raval) it’s not that big of a problem.
→ More replies136
u/f-ingsteveglansberg 2d ago
I survived a week in Barcelona without getting pickpocketed. Do I get a medal?
→ More replies271
u/Lonnbeimnech 2d ago
Unfortunately the person bringing you your medal was pickpocketed.
→ More replies→ More replies61
u/daddysatan53 2d ago
Oh god and the guys getting up in your face trying to get you to come to their restaurant and try their overpriced paella and €10 cocktails !! I actually did have a near-pickpocket experience in BCN, but it was on the metro: as I was about to step onto a train, a guy tried to reach into my jacket pocket and grab my wallet. Luckily, people saw him and yelled at him and he ran away without getting anything, but that was the last time I put anything in my pockets lol
→ More replies
692
u/PeterJoAl 3d ago
Any tourist destination in Bali. Beautiful place, amazing food, stunning vistas, friendly people, but the pushy salespeople on the street outside every tourist destination trying to extract every rupiah I had for tourist knick-knacks ruined a lot of the good vibe.
→ More replies249
u/CreepyMangeMerde 3d ago edited 3d ago
Lombok, right next to Bali, offers pretty much the same stuff and has a lot less tourists. And if you go further east I'm pretty sure there are even better islands.
→ More replies
527
u/ComfyHomonto 3d ago
Dubrovnik after GoT. So many Khaleesies
→ More replies157
u/f1manoz 2d ago
I was in Dubrovnik before GoT and even then it was a bit of a tourist trap. It's probably a million times worse now.
→ More replies90
u/Regular_Working_6342 2d ago
It's insane. We stayed there for 3 nights. The first day it felt real crowded, but was still a really cool thing to see if quite touristy. It's just a neat place to walk around and check things out. The second day 2 cruise ships came in and dear sweet God. I've literally been to festivals that felt less crowded, zero exaggeration.
1.1k
u/o1frmda4 3d ago edited 3d ago
Oxford Street, Central London. The place for you if you enjoy:
Claustrophobic levels of crowding, overpriced / borderline fraudulent retail, traffic that barely moves, groups of roadmen/hood teens everywhere
162
u/SparklePenguin24 3d ago
As a northerner I was always led to believe that Oxford Street was the place to be and had amazing shops. I was gutted when I got there when I was 21 to find that most of the shops were available in Newcastle, some resembled market stalls just indoors, and the rest sold tourist tat. Honestly gutted. Haven't been back and I'm now 38.
→ More replies244
u/HoxtonRanger 3d ago
It’s an utter dump but there’s nothing to enjoy there if it was empty. Go to Soho
→ More replies→ More replies78
u/MastodonPristine8986 3d ago
All Londoners actively avoid it and the tube stations nearby.
Same with Leicester Square.
It's also pickpocket central. There are so many nicer, quieter places.
→ More replies
271
u/RhinestoneHousewife 3d ago
Cairo......all of Cairo.
→ More replies193
u/alicization 2d ago
I'll never forget that reddit thread where people were asked which country they'd never go back to and almost all the top comments were Egypt. Such a shame considering that the country has a really rich history.
→ More replies
577
u/ImprovementUsual1361 3d ago
Plymouth Rock
365
u/Educational_Syrup513 3d ago
From that area and the locals called it "the biggest disappointment in history" because everyone that goes there expects it to be a grand monument. When, in fact, its just a rock in a hole. About a 3 minute drive north and you find the National Monument of the Forefathers. An 80 ft tall elaborate statue made out of a solid piece of granite that literally nobody has ever heard of.
→ More replies36
→ More replies201
u/coolerking66 3d ago
Yeah no kidding. I got taken for a school field trip. Like wtf was that?!
203
u/Snowy_Escape 3d ago
Wait, I just googled it. Is it literally.. Just a rock?
247
u/ImprovementUsual1361 3d ago
It’s a small rock down a hole in a small metal cage. Holy shit it’s a massive waste of time
→ More replies104
u/angiosperms- 3d ago
Yup grew up in MA and did the whole "see the stupid rock on a field trip" thing. I thought it was gonna be a huge boulder at least. Nope, just a regular ass rock they probably picked off the beach and put in a cage. Salem witch museum is also lame as hell.
We did tour an old boat in Plymouth though, that was cool. And there is a revolutionary war national park that is cool and free. Got to see some dude shoot a musket.
→ More replies→ More replies80
u/coolerking66 3d ago
Literally. I couldn't believe it. I pictured like some kinda big ass boulder or rocky area of cost. But yeah its literally what improvement said it is lol
→ More replies126
u/gallaj0 3d ago
And it's just some random rock.
They don't even make any claim that it's something actually related to the Pilgrims, or something they used as a boat dock or door stop. It's just some random rock the local tourist group grabbed, carved "1620" on it and put in a cage to make it look important.
→ More replies
140
u/motormouth08 3d ago
The Alamo. I didn't expect it to be next door to a goddamn shopping mall.
→ More replies44
934
u/Y_U_Need_Books4 3d ago
Myrtle Beach. Just don't go.
406
u/local_fartist 3d ago edited 2d ago
Well, if you want to get trashed on a blue alcoholic slushy while playing minigolf on a pirate ship on Business Hwy 17 you should go. But otherwise you should probably not. Surprisingly it’s one of the fastest growing cities in the US right now.
edit:
to add, there is something special about a town where you can get married, receive a lap dance, and fire a gun in the same strip mall.
→ More replies78
u/ShinjukuAce 2d ago
It’s growing fast because of retirees being priced out of Florida.
→ More replies→ More replies273
u/NorkinMan7 3d ago
It's the closest thing that West Virginians have to their own beach.
→ More replies150
u/drownednotgod 3d ago
Hagerstown, MD (city near WV state line) has an airport that literally only sells tickets to two destinations- one of them is Myrtle Beach. That tells me everything
→ More replies
684
u/elegantsweatshirt 3d ago
Never go to the Van Gogh “immersive experience” — it’s the biggest bit of malarkey I’ve ever paid $50 for. You’re just trapped inside a blurry, underwhelming PowerPoint presentation where the art is not even presented in logical sequence and the music is arse.
134
u/midnight_riddle 2d ago
They blast you with such terrible music, it's like a horror movie scene when someone is overdosing on drugs.
Yeah here's the Van Gogh experience: wanting to cut your own ears off.
→ More replies→ More replies143
u/Brian_Corey__ 2d ago
And LOUD. My kids hated how loud it was and begged to leave. It was sorta cool, but not $50 cool. And the lack of curation or context is borderline criminal. Just a random slideshow.
198
u/pensive_daydreamer 3d ago
Hollywood Blvd
→ More replies96
u/littlemarcus91 3d ago edited 3d ago
Don’t even get me started on the sleazy “superhero” photo op shake downs.
→ More replies85
140
u/DrinkVictoryGin 3d ago edited 3d ago
Roswell, NM
I’m somewhat of a sci-fi nerd. For starters and to give you a general sense of the experience, we came across like one alien themed store, in the city. And one pathetic little sci-fi “museum” that was just a small space in a strip mall filled with the most unimpressive pieces of crap like glow in the dark posters for sale. I guess I expected the Roswell Incident to have a somewhat prominent presence in the city.
Also there was a sci-fi convention happening at the time for the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Incident. This was part of how I timed the trip. This “convention” took up only 1/4 of the ballroom. It was mostly self-published “authors” of various levels credibility and patheticness. Ok, so the one bright side was I met Langley from the X-Files! That was cool, but Roswell in general is just like any other city and apparently takes no pride in its place in sci-fi history. Disappointing, and a long drive.
→ More replies
175
361
u/ARandomPileOfCats 3d ago
Cabo San Lucas. It's certainly pretty, and the tourists aren't the problem, it's that you can't go anywhere in town or on the beaches without being constantly hounded by people trying to sell you stuff.
172
u/looseseal-bluth 3d ago
“Cocaine? Marijuana? A husband? A boyfriend?” Was what we got whenever we ventured away from the hotel area
→ More replies→ More replies61
u/funguy07 2d ago
I was at a beach in Mexico once and got fed up with the people on the beach that wouldn’t leave me alone trying to sell things. So I took my drink and waded shoulder deep out into the water to just get some peace and quiet. I shit you not within 4 minutes a guy came up on a paddle board selling shit.
→ More replies
514
u/fortunateson72 3d ago
Tourist infested? Prague. But it wasn't disappointing at all. I can't bitch about tourists when I'm one of them.
118
u/amazingwhat 3d ago
I went in 2016 around Easter and it was definitely touristy but honestly? The people were nice and there was generally enough room to walk and not feel like I was in a huge crowd. But also it was April, so probably not peak times
→ More replies→ More replies42
u/flyingemberKC 2d ago
Have you watched the videos about the guy trying to stop the currency conversion scammers in Prague? Takes Euros, give old Belarus money?
→ More replies
130
u/Hiker_64 3d ago
This will be an odd one, but North East Georgia during leaf season. I’m a local so once it starts it’s time to find alternative routes. It gets so bad during peak that emergency vehicles are not able to safely reach their destination. However places like Dahlonega and Blue Ridge depends on the commerce so it slightly reduces our taxes.
→ More replies
901
u/YOSH_beats 3d ago
Mount Rushmore, the land around it is 1000X more spectacular to look at then the fuckin rock lol
→ More replies400
u/OrangutanBeard 3d ago
"Why is it so small?"
My first and pretty much only reaction when I got there. It's always made to look like this colossal monument, but it really isn't.
→ More replies217
984
u/buffaloeccentric 3d ago
Niagara Falls, overrun during the summer. The Ontario side is the tackiest of tourist destinations, the NY side is a great place to get shot in the face.
178
u/GuyKnitter 3d ago
It’s been a few decades since I was there, but experiencing the falls from the Maiden of the Mist boat ride was one of the most awe-inspiring things I’ve ever seen and felt. I thought it was amazing.
→ More replies419
u/Weak-Snow-4470 3d ago
I thought Niagara was fun-tacky, though. The Canadian side, anyway. Didn't bother with the NY side.
→ More replies446
u/BlitheringEediot 3d ago
The Canadian side is bright neon funzy tourist-trap. The American side is ancient depressing broken-down trash-pile who hasn't had a good day since 1929.
→ More replies197
u/Valzar1954 3d ago
The falls are worth the visit but almost everyone who lives within a couple of hours knows to backtrack up to Niagara on a the Lake for the rest of the day.
→ More replies→ More replies202
u/Madeline_Basset 3d ago
I visited Niagara Falls in December, when the place was empty of people, and the falls were frozen. It was fantastic, there's no better time to go.
→ More replies
945
u/Schneetmacher 3d ago edited 2d ago
Times Square, NYC
It's just a bunch of screens. I'm not joking, that's it.
New York City is an amazing place, but please avoid this giant tourist distraction that offers nothing.
Side note: and for those who want to see the Statue of Liberty, since you can't go up in the crown anymore, the trip isn't really worth the unbelievable line, imo. Just take the Staten Island ferry ⛴️, and you'll get close to the statue and pass at a leisurely pace.
Then hop on the ferry back! Unless... you know, you want to hang out in Staten Island... which is entirely your prerogative, I mean... you do you!
Edit: a word
271
u/JS14Anonymous 3d ago
Only been to America, let alone NYC once, on a school trip at about 15 and admittedly I loved the city entirely but I felt Times Square was a must see, even though it is just a bunch of screens.
The scale of it was just crazy to me, even in London I’d never experienced that. I think the only difference is really which city you’re a tourist or local.
That being said, we did the Statue of Liberty in passing to Ellis Island which was amazing, gave you the sight of Liberty, an amazing view of NYC across the water, and also a fuck tonne if really interesting and important to recognise history.
→ More replies→ More replies272
u/ThatsBushLeague 3d ago
I think the Statue of Liberty is worthwhile if you also go through Ellis Island.
That's where my family went through on the way here. Looking through the logs and finding grandparents and great grandparents and how our name was changed and all that was really cool.
From a family history perspective its 100% worth it if your family immigrated here at a time they would have gone through there.
→ More replies52
u/imrealbizzy2 2d ago
I'd skip Lady Liberty and spend time at Ellis Island. We went on a frigid January day when there were no other idiots about. Found the grandparents' names on the manifests of their ships, their dates of departure and arrival in NY. It was wonderful.
→ More replies
170
u/Ramrodron 3d ago
Savannah, Georgia. We went on a weekend thinking southern gentility/quirky Midnight in the Garden of Evil. Instead it was bachelorette parties, those bicycle bar things with lots of "woo woo" girls, and drunken frat guys vibe. It was much like Bourbon Street with the rowdy drunks.
→ More replies
32
657
u/iwishiwereonabeach 3d ago
Sadly I live there. Nashville, Tennessee
→ More replies239
u/TGMcGonigle 3d ago
If you want to feel better check out what's become of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
→ More replies72
69
u/WanderlustFella 2d ago
Egypt. So many scammers and thieves. Can't check into a hotel without getting some miscellaneous upcharge. Can't take a taxi without having 50 miles tacked on to the fare or driver goes in an incredibly roundabout way. Can't report to the cops without paying a bribe fine for whatever fake penal code they make up. Then you go to the pyramids and its just a line full of more scammers. Fake tour guides, camel rides that will quote you a small charge, but end up charging you a ridiculous tab, miles of trinket shops, orphan pick pockets, the over population of tourist. Its just crazy. It's one of the few tourist locations that if you visit, you better know a local or you will get scammed during your trip, multiple times.
→ More replies
493
u/IreCalifornia 3d ago
Ground Zero in NYC. It wasn't so much the number of tourists, but rather the number of smiling selfies being taken. It felt like it was in bad taste.
333
u/SuccotashOther277 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was at Auschwitz a few years ago and people were snapping photos and smiling like they were at Disney World.
Edit: Because this comment has had a few responses, I wanted to add a few other details. I am a historian, so I promised I was not going to be that guy raising his hand to answer all the tour guide's rhetorical questions, but it was weird that no one in the group seemed to know anything. I don't think they knew which war happened in which the Holocaust took place. Some people were somber and respectful, but many were snapping pictures like at Disney World, as I said; others were smoking, despite the tour guide yelling at them to stop. Others were being boisterous in a very rude way, considering where we were. I saw school trips as well with the kids goofing off and clearly not caring, though I guess that's sort of to be expected from kids (my group was with adults). This seems to be a somewhat common occurrence, unfortunately.
→ More replies91
u/ooo-ooo-oooyea 2d ago
ugh, there are some holocaust sites in Budapest and people were doing the same things. Felt disgusted by it.
→ More replies→ More replies56
199
u/Flyinryans35 3d ago
This might get downvoted to hell but MILAN CATHEDRAL. Beautiful cathedral but whoever is running that as an attraction has utterly ruined it. They check the bags of everyone entering NOT looking for weapons, they’re looking for souvenirs that were not purchased at the official Milan Cathedral gift shop. The person has the choice to throw away the souvenir they bought or waste the ticket they had already purchased. I saw a trash can full of hundreds of dollars worth of souvenirs just because they were not purchased from the official store where you buy the entrance tickets. It was gut wrenching not only as a tourist, but as a Christian to see this. Beautiful cathedral ran by ugly and terrible people.
→ More replies
264
u/CatFaceRocker 3d ago
Bourbon Street, New Orleans.
I don't want to sell my shoes to you, and I don't want to give everyone on the street a cigarette.
Just didn't feel safe at all, and there wasn't much jazz playing either - day and evening.
Lovely city tho.
→ More replies213
u/Pheonixmoonfire 3d ago edited 2d ago
You want jazz in New Orleans, you should head over to Frenchmen street. Bourbon is filled with modern music, strippers and basic bitches with "Bride to be" sashes getting throw-up drunk on syrupy sweet cocktails.
→ More replies
186
259
u/LPNTed 3d ago
Pigeon Forge Tennessee... The only good thing there is Dolly Parton herself.
→ More replies
674
u/ktr_herr 3d ago
Wondering people who are commenting... did they visit the place as a tourist themselves?
339
u/AdjNounNumbers 3d ago
Right. This falls into the whole "you're not stuck in traffic, you are part of traffic" thing. Growing up in Maine and living in Michigan, I've been on the side of "ugh, the tourists are here", but I've also found myself a tourist thinking "damn, there's a lot of us here mucking up the place".
→ More replies→ More replies303
u/McBurger 3d ago
and also they're leaving out the part of the answer that explains why it was the "most disappointing" lol
this is just "places with a lot of tourism"
→ More replies
89
u/mschuster91 3d ago
Munich during the two weeks of hell better known as Oktoberfest. Sadly, I live here. Thankfully, at least this year for some reason (probably people are still fearing covid) there don't seem to be as many people... but prior to covid, it was legitimately fucked up. Drunk people, vomit, feces everywhere.
→ More replies
149
u/Grasshop 3d ago
Prague was absolutely beautiful, but holy shit the amount of tourists and general chaos in the busy squares really dampened the mood a bit
→ More replies
171
u/reijasunshine 3d ago
Salem, Massachusetts.
I knew there would be a ton of witch-hunt hype, but I wanted to see 17th century buildings and locations, not dozens of cheesy gift shops.
→ More replies94
u/myviolincase 2d ago
I work in Salem. I enjoy the maritime history and the architecture. There are some good restaurants. Hate the terrible traffic, and the whole month of October is so annoying.
→ More replies
90
u/pygmeedancer 3d ago
Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It is a clown town. An affront to polite society. There are brick-and-mortar funnel cake businesses. There’s a Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum. It’s like someone took a carnival and made it permanent.
→ More replies
126
u/TLC_4978 3d ago
Anything Disney! I grew up living near Disney, so we went a lot (80’s). It was still crowded and pricey, but nothing like it has become today. I went a couple years ago on a trip back home. I could not believe the prices and crowds. It was miserable.
→ More replies
98
55
u/anormalgeek 2d ago
The wharf in San Francisco. It's literally ONLY a tourist trap. A bunch of dumb touristy gift shops and nothing else.
→ More replies
154
u/McKenzie_OX 3d ago
Cancun. It was still majestically beautiful but practically impossible for a first time 19yr old to navigate without getting separated from all his cash.
→ More replies62
u/Taken949 3d ago edited 3d ago
Cancun is great if you come prepared. Naivety will hinder you in a lot of places, and separate you from your money in a lot of places as well.
→ More replies
202
u/Wkdp1ssa86 3d ago
The big Christmas tree at Rockefeller center NYC around Christmas... So packed I got just close enough to barely squeeze myself out.. Didn't even really see the tree... That area always looks so nice in movies 🤷.Time square also.. straight up stressful just being there . An I still don't understand why gridlock traffic everyone feels the need to beep their horn constantly as if there is anywhere to go?..I'm just to country boy I guess...
→ More replies73
u/nessao616 3d ago
Go between 5am and 6am and it is so peaceful and majestic. There were only a handful of others spread out over the entire block. Core memory with Christmas music playing faintly in the still of the morning.
→ More replies
47
u/northofreality197 3d ago
Byron Bay. It used to be a sleepy little hippy town with cool local artists. Now it's all chain shops & instagram influencers.
→ More replies
6.3k
u/blueeyesredlipstick 3d ago
I'm sure other cities have this problem, too, but there's an epidemic in NYC of pop-up "museums" that are essentially just Instagram backgrounds. There are some great temporary exhibits in the city all the time that genuinely have cool artwork, or historical items, or just make for a neat experience. ...and then there's ones that just have a bunch of backdrops for people to pose in front of and maybe a placard.
Special shoutout to the 'Museum of Candy' that was hosted in a random warehouse and where you didn't even get any candy with your ticket admission.