'Worst' Place you Have Visited (and the best too)

[Pretty Boy]

I saw a thread like this on Twitter and thought it would be interesting to sort of recreate here. The original descended into a load of people just naming crap towns but that's too easy, anyone can visit Stoke and say it's rubbish. So what is the place, attraction etc you have visited that you expected to be good and were left disappointed? And as a bonus what is a place you expected to be rubbish but actually quite liked?

I'll start with Paris. I love France, in terms of big or biggish French cities I've visited Montpelier and Marseille and loved both, particularly the latter which was just mental. I'm going to Nice in just over a month too so it's not some Francophobic bias on my part. Paris just didn't do it for me at all, it was pretty dirty, didn't feel particularly safe at night, it was expensive even by the standards you expect for a city like Paris and everyone, tourists and locals alike, looked miserable. There are obviously museums and galleries and the like but they were all rammed and it was hard to enjoy them when some tool with a camera was elbowing past you every 2 seconds. I like to wander on holiday and never really felt at ease doing that in Paris, it was either too busy or you wandered into somewhere that just felt a bit sketchy.

I'll also add the Spanish Steps in Rome. Rome is my favourite city (maybe joint top with Berlin). The Spanish Steps are some steps, the backstory is of course interesting but they are ultimately still just some steps that in appearance and design aren't all that interesting to look at. The appeal of standing or sitting on them for hours baffles me. Time would be better spent in the Trinità dei Monti church at the top which is pretty stunning and arguably a bit overlooked because of the competition it faces for OTT religious building in Rome.

On the flip side I had to visit Bradford with work a few years ago and had a surprisingly good time. It's not going to win any beauty awards and the social issues are clear for all to see but I had a spare day and had a look around and found plenty interesting things to do. The Bolling Hall museum was interesting, the City Hall is a fine looking building as are the Wool Exchange and the Alhambra Theatre. The National Science and Media Museum was also interesting. I found a few nice pubs to have a drink in and people seemed friendly. It's not ever likely to usurp Paris as a tourist destination but I enjoyed it for a day. I felt quite sad that was once clearly a big important city had been reduced to what it is now.

[Stubbsy90+2]

I loved Paris and funnily enough I loved it because I thought all the things you didn’t like about it were the complete opposite. Thought the locals were very friendly, it was lovely to wander round and at no point did I feel unsafe. I also thought it was comparable price wise with Edinburgh, potentially even cheaper. Although I sometimes wonder if I’m a bit oblivious to being unsafe abroad as I can’t really think of many places I would say I’ve felt unsafe. I also stayed just off the Barbes Rochechourt metro stop which I’ve had a few folk say they felt horribly unsafe coming off at but I thought the guys selling drugs were very polite

I thought Berlin was absolutely garbage. Expected to love it, hadn’t heard a bad word about it before, or since, but I thought it was terrible. Locals couldn’t have been less friendly and everything about it was just so bleak imo. I also went in a January and it just hammered down with snow the whole time. The food was terrible as well.

In terms of places I wasn’t sure I’d love, Palermo wins hands down for me. Thought it could be a bit shady, thought the food could be a bit ropey when you hear about them eating a lot of offal etc but it was one of the best places I’ve ever been. Absolutely adore the place now and ended up going back again last summer and finding myself a bit gutted the other day that I’m not going again this year.

[Bridge hibs]

Best probably Naples and Sorrento albeit a few years ago, Naples was 100mph and if you think your life is hectic here then Naples is tenfold 😁 Sorrento simply for the stunning views, we stayed up away from the main area near a place called St Agata Du Golfi which is a spectacular wee town full of nice bars and restaurants

I would add Berlin too, loved the place, the people and the food, I might as well add Copenhagen, expensive but worth every penny, moreso we stayed literally 5 yards from the Scottish pub

Worst was probably Prague, too many drunks in big groups but I did enjoy visiting the Terezin concentration camp

Havent been abroad for a while now so need to start planning a wee weekend away

[Moulin Yarns]

Agree with you about Paris, seems dirty and wouldn't wander of the beaten track at night.

Barcelona, absolutely loved it until we were heading home when we almost got done by a gang of pickpockets.

Also agree about Bradford, there is actually a lot to see there. Same with Liverpool. I guess everywhere has good and bad bits, just sometimes they don't balance out.

[Hibbyradge]

I wouldn't hurry back to Los Angeles. Maybe I didn't visit the right places, but Mrs R and I thought it was just dull and boring.

The Chinese Theatre is famous, of course, but it's just another cinema really although there's a few handprints on the pavement and some folk trying to look like long dead, actors hanging about hoping you'll give them money to be photographed with them.

The Hollywood sign is just a big sign which you've seen on TV and in films a thousand times. Totally meh.

The best place I've been to, certainly recently, is Cagliari in Sardinia. I loved everything about it, the restaurants, the beach, the atmosphere and the people. Ironically, I also found this little Indian cafe which cooked everything fresh. It was the best Indian food I've ever had and it cost pennies.

[overdrive]

Hong Kong is probably the most disappointing place I've been. I've been to a fair few places in Asia and loved everywhere except Hong Kong. Dirty place. Folk spitting every couple of seconds. Horrible ex-pat culture there too. Was visiting people who had moved there and was also surprised at how racist they had become when they would be the first to pull people up on being racist here. Some very uncomfortable taxi journeys where they would openly come out with racist comments about locals when a local was driving us. I don't speak to them anymore. A lot of social injustice too. Homelessness was rife and probably only second to San Francisco that I've encountered in terms of the level of of homelessness that's obviously apparent. A very distinct split between the haves and have-nots there.

Liverpool, on the other hand was a very pleasant surprise. Was there in December and wasn't expecting much. I've never really fancied it but it was really good. Great food. Good places to wander round. Good pubs with music. I've forgotten the name of it but the tower that has the local radio station in it where you can go up and get views of the city was ace.

Madrid and Barcelona probably tie for my favourite city. I've been to Madrid twice for very different reasons (stag do and then couple's holiday) and I love it there. Tapas culture, lovely big park, good museums, everything is quite cheap for a capital city. Downside is the prostitution that is in your face. Only went to Barcelona for the first time last year. Different vibe to Madrid and more expensive but the added bonus of it being by the sea.

Other places of note: Vietnam and Thailand - brilliant food and friendly people. Chicago too.

Other places I've been disappointed in: Vegas, Monterey.

[Hiber-nation]

Nice left me totally underwhelmed. No idea what all the fuss was about. Nice coastline I suppose. The Gold Coast in Australia did absolutely nothing for me, over commercialised with few redeeming features unless you're a beach bum. Brisbane was nice though.

Loved Singapore apart from the prices, easy to get around and so much to see, great food. Didn't expect much from Las Palmas and Santa Cruz, capitals of Gran Canaria and Tenerife but we really liked them, nice vibe and Las Palmas has a very good city beach.

[Northernhibee]

Barcelona in hindsight was most disappointing for me. Went to a music festival there with friends in 2019 and had a great time but it’s a city that’s been destroyed by tourism.

I absolutely loved my time in Budapest. Great food, lots to see and do, just a brilliant city to spend some time in.

Just got back from Tirana last night and had a very good time. Took a fifteen minute cable car ride up a mountain to play crazy golf, and walked around the Grand Park in 22 degree sunshine. It felt like summer. Recency bias is in play here but I think there’s lots more to do in Budapest and the food in Budapest was better, but it was a very interesting and friendly city none the less.

[Just_Jimmy]

Miami was an absolute let down. Other things in Florida were great but Miami was fake money and dirty. Doesn't hold a candle to New York or Boston.

I absolute love New York however, I wasn't overly fussed about going to Boston but I loved it. It just felt slower and easier than New York and I love them both.

Madrid as someone else said, was brilliant. 40 degrees plus all week and fantastic food. Sitting at 10pm in a beautiful little street eating tapas and just enjoying conversation is how life should be spent.

I really enjoyed Dortmund, modern and not really a tourist city but had a cool vibe. Probably helped because I was there with a German pal so was never out the loop. On the other had, Berlin was boring and just didn't feel like other European cities. I'm a big fan of Germany but I wouldn't bother with Berlin again.

Bruges hasn't been mentioned I don't think. Fantastic place. Dripping in history and culture and just a wonderful pace.

Also closer to home, I've got amazing memories of Manchester having lived there for 7 years but I have to say I really enjoy Liverpool, great mix of music, pubs, people and things to see and do.

I don't often go to places with huge expectations and just take them as I find them.

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[Hibby70]

Dublin - overpriced, full of complete loons, not particularly attractive.

Amsterdam - see above but added drugs, porn and brothels.

Texas - in particular The Hill Country and Austin , was expecting a load of Trump types but was the complete opposite. Nicest folks I have ever encountered.

[Stubbsy90+2]

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Dublin - overpriced, full of complete loons, not particularly attractive.

Amsterdam - see above but added drugs, porn and brothels.

Texas - in particular The Hill Country and Austin , was expecting a load of Trump types but was the complete opposite. Nicest folks I have ever encountered.

Obviously it’s all personal preference but I find it hard to fathom that anyone could think Amsterdam isn’t an attractive city.

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Agree that stoke is a **** hole but wasn't sure if I was in stoke or Hanley of if they're the same place.

Paris - love the place and no where near finished exploring

Patong - didn't like it. Everything seemed sketchy. It wasn't long after the tsunami though. Folk trying to get you to go in shifty looking taxis to take you to random hotels. **** that. I like my internal organs inside my body

Johor Baru - not pleasant and dirty place. Much better off walking down to the border and getting the train to singapore

[Hibby70]

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Obviously it’s all personal preference but I find it hard to fathom that anyone could think Amsterdam isn’t an attractive city.

Yeah you're probably right in most respects, just found the constant badgering to buy drugs and the whole seediness of certain areas pretty nasty.

No doubting it has nice buildings. Maybe I was in the wrong area most of the day.

[DH1875]

Paris. Been 3 times and not in any hurry to go back. Guess it depends on the area but defo didn't feel safe at night. Last time I was there it was like walking about a movie set for the Bronx in the 80s, no joke. Only place where I've been on the receiving end of direct racism as well.

[Mon Dieu4]

Worst was Athens/Greece, now my mindset and age might have played a part, I went for the canceled AEK game when I would have been about 21, we were there a week and a few days in 9/11 happened, there wasn't much else to do but get drunk and watch new camera angles/news come in, it all kicked off with the locals, not our fault but also witnessed mafia style protection rackets going on and just found the whole place filthy and smog infested, I'm sure if I was to go back now and not be hammered constantly and fighting with locals id enjoy it more

Favourite place is Annecy, small town in the Alps on the French/Swiss border, there aren't many places I've been out with Leith I could happily stay but I could live there easily

[Hibrandenburg]

Think we've had a similar thread before but here goes anyway.

Naples, not only was it absolutely minging but also the locals thought nothing about just throwing their rubbish on the streets. Hustlers everywhere, anyone picking up money from a cash machine suddenly had about 25 new friends. They drive like headcases and ****ing scooters everywhere and at all times of night. Packs of stray dogs roaming the streets and junkies sleeping off their buzz everywhere. 1000 horses couldn't drag me back. Only saving grace was Pompei.

Warsaw, loved it. The city has been the victim of many wars and Soviet architecture but the locals take great pride in making the best out of it. People exceptionally friendly for a capital city and the city itself has a great buzz. Loads to see and do. Only about a 5 hour drive from me so easily reached too.

[Scouse Hibee]

Another one for Paris, found it dirty, locals unhelpful and unfriendly would never return.

Sunderland, absolute desolate s…..hole of a place.

Absolutely love Bruges, Vegas, and San Francisco during fleet week was one of the best experiences ever.

[Booked4Being-Ugly]

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Best probably Naples and Sorrento albeit a few years ago, Naples was 100mph and if you think your life is hectic here then Naples is tenfold 😁 Sorrento simply for the stunning views, we stayed up away from the main area near a place called St Agata Du Golfi which is a spectacular wee town full of nice bars and restaurants

I would add Berlin too, loved the place, the people and the food, I might as well add Copenhagen, expensive but worth every penny, moreso we stayed literally 5 yards from the Scottish pub

Worst was probably Prague, too many drunks in big groups but I did enjoy visiting the Terezin concentration camp

Havent been abroad for a while now so need to start planning a wee weekend away

I’ve been to Sorrento and Naples, both excellent experiences.

Naples is nuts, especially dodging traffic going through red lights. I went to a pizzeria with my mrs in the centre of Naples. The restaurant was busy but once we sat down and ordered our food the place was completely empty except for our table. Half way through our pizza a car pulled up with 3 heavies and went inside and closed the door behind them. There was an almighty argument ensued for about 30 mins with me and the mrs just looking at each other. Was too scared to go in and ask for the bill so sat there until the door opened again!

Love Italy in general Rome, Venice, Milan.

Berlin is excellent as well and wouldn’t mind seeing more of Germany.

Loved Barcelona and Seville in Spain.

Not so favourite was Madrid.

[Bridge hibs]

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I’ve been to Sorrento and Naples, both excellent experiences.

Naples is nuts, especially dodging traffic going through red lights. I went to a pizzeria with my mrs in the centre of Naples. The restaurant was busy but once we sat down and ordered our food the place was completely empty except for our table. Half way through our pizza a car pulled up with 3 heavies and went inside and closed the door behind them. There was an almighty argument ensued for about 30 mins with me and the mrs just looking at each other. Was too scared to go in and ask for the bill so sat there until the door opened again!

Love Italy in general Rome, Venice, Milan.

Berlin is excellent as well and wouldn’t mind seeing more of Germany.

Loved Barcelona and Seville in Spain.

Not so favourite was Madrid.

Ha ha, I would have been ****ing wobbling like the wobbliest jelly if that had been me, I would still have finished my pizza though 🤣

Something similar happened to us at a Hard Rock possibly in Budapest, these four or five guys walked in and they must have been over six feet plus with shoulders as broad as a bus, they walked straight through the place and all went into the kitchens but I never saw them again after that, they may have just been Chefs but I didnt want to ask 🤣

[Keith_M]

Best place was Bad Mitterndorf, in the Austrian Alps, south east from Salzburg.

The weather was great and the scenery was so beautiful it was like I'd died and gone to heaven. Every morning there was a mist across the lower half of the valley that cleared by around lunchtime, when we were about half way round our daily walk.

Then a few miles away, there was a lake () where you could go on a boat trip. The water was so clear it was like floating on glass.


The worst place ever: Saltcoats... What a dump

[Donegal Hibby]

Dublin and Glasgow

Kerry and Edinburgh

[Jones28]

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Worst was Athens/Greece, now my mindset and age might have played a part, I went for the canceled AEK game when I would have been about 21, we were there a week and a few days in 9/11 happened, there wasn't much else to do but get drunk and watch new camera angles/news come in, it all kicked off with the locals, not our fault but also witnessed mafia style protection rackets going on and just found the whole place filthy and smog infested, I'm sure if I was to go back now and not be hammered constantly and fighting with locals id enjoy it more

Favourite place is Annecy, small town in the Alps on the French/Swiss border, there aren't many places I've been out with Leith I could happily stay but I could live there easily

Annecy is stunning. Went on a school trip and I’d go back in a heartbeat.

[MKHIBEE]

Love Seville, Kampala, and Copenhagen, wouldn’t go back to Naples, Hastings or Cordoba

[JeMeSouviens]

Surprisingly bad - San Diego. Thought I'd lucked out with a work trip there but it was just dull, the beaches weren't all that, downtown is boring. Quite liked the zoo.

Surprisingly good - Gent. Went to visit friends who'd moved there. I'm not sure what I expected tbh, but it's lovely. Like Bruges but much less touristy and more of a real city. Lots of interesting history and obviously fantastic beer everywhere.

[s.a.m]

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Best place was Bad Mitterndorf, in the Austrian Alps, south east from Salzburg.

The weather was great and the scenery was so beautiful it was like I'd died and gone to heaven. Every morning there was a mist across the lower half of the valley that cleared by around lunchtime, when we were about half way round our daily walk.

Then a few miles away, there was a lake () where you could go on a boat trip. The water was so clear it was like floating on glass.


The worst place ever: Saltcoats... What a dump

There's a Billy Connolly gag about Scottish summer holiday photos, kids on a beach in horizontal rain, with bare wind-whipped legs, wellies and raincoats on. That's me in Saltcoats, every summer until I was about 10. My grandparents used to come from Lanarkshire and take me there for a week, and we'd stay in a boarding house with an outside toilet and we'd spend all day every day on the beach, whatever the weather. I grew up in Largs, 12 miles up the coast and much nicer (IMO, obviously). Absolutely looked forward to it every year, though!

With my own family, we also had a fantastic holiday in Austria. We stayed in wine country in the east and worked our way over to the Alps. Spectacular.
Loads of placesmentioned above that I've loved, including Annecy, Rome, Paris, Munich... and BELGIUM! It gets a bad rap, but there's loads of great places there, including Bruges, as mentioned. The big cities all have problems, and I think capital cities in general often seem to carry some hostility or arrogance that's kind of off-putting, but I've maybe been lucky exploring them and I've always found something to like about them.

I'm struggling to pin down a favourite; we've had great holidays in Orvieto, Venice (slightly off-season, so not over-burdened with folk, or flooding but weather still decent) and lots of small towns in the countryside in France. Until our youngest left school, we spent half term breaks in, usually, either Deeside or Fife, and I miss that.

Would maybe be Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver island.There's a real sense of the vastness of things, just ocean between you and Japan. The village isn't particularly interesting, but the scenery is beautiful. We spent a day kayaking in the Clayoquot Sound, and I woud happily spend the rest of my life doing nothing other than that.

Can't honestly say I've been anywhere I've really not liked. Not on holiday anyway. Maybe my expectations are too low.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Leuven is massively underrated, been 3 times now, a beer drinkers paradise, some beautiful architecture on show too.

Koln is much the same.

The scenery around Pitlochry is absolutely stunning, the town itself is just a tourist trap though.

[Keith_M]

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There's a Billy Connolly gag about Scottish summer holiday photos, kids on a beach in horizontal rain, with bare wind-whipped legs, wellies and raincoats on. That's me in Saltcoats, every summer until I was about 10. My grandparents used to come from Lanarkshire and take me there for a week, and we'd stay in a boarding house with an outside toilet and we'd spend all day every day on the beach, whatever the weather. I grew up in Largs, 12 miles up the coast and much nicer (IMO, obviously). Absolutely looked forward to it every year, though!

.....

Can't honestly say I've been anywhere I've really not liked. Not on holiday anyway. Maybe my expectations are too low.

Going by your early experiences, your expectations are obviously really low, so it;s a given that everywhere else you visit seems wonderful (in comparison).

[s.a.m]

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Going by your early experiences, your expectations are obviously really low, so it;s a given that everywhere else you visit seems wonderful (in comparison).

Aye. That'll probably have something to do with it.

[Allant1981]

Worst place I've ever been to visit was probably Barcelona, bus tour we were on was good but someone tried to grab my bag when I was on the phone walking up Las rambles, so many homeless folk when you come off the main strip also that I felt quite uncomfortable(appreciate that's the same most places) few folk saying they didn't or don't like paris. I've been several times and absolutely love the place. Hopefully the wife and I are getting back later in the year

[Pete70]

I didn’t like Amsterdam but that was about 20 years ago. Best place Las Vegas. Been 3 times and going back in 2 years for my 60 birthday.