Most overrated tourist attractions in the world
Jan 14, 2013, 10:39 am
#871
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 646
Plymouth Rock (US state of Massachusetts). Pretty sure that, because pilgrims landed in that area, signs for "Plymouth soil" would be just as valid...and just as lackluster.
I'd take the OceanSpray (cranberry juice company) plant over the well-guarded rock any day.
I'd take the OceanSpray (cranberry juice company) plant over the well-guarded rock any day.
Jan 22, 2013, 7:12 am
#872
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I would respectfully add Topkapı Palace in Istanbul as being highly overrated. It's generally included on tours of the city. I've visited twice and was completely un-impressed. On both visits, the tour guides said you could 'spend the entire day' there. We were in and out in about half hour; and that largely due to the enormous lines while visiting during the summer. The one selling point was the views from the balconies facing the Bosphorus (although they were closed last visit a few weeks back).
I would also say the island of Capri, in general. During the summer, the crowds are absolutely horrid, the food totally un-inspired and the lodging ludicrously expensive. One can get the same experience on similar islands in the area for a much smaller price. The Blue Lagoon was a total waste of time.
I would also say the island of Capri, in general. During the summer, the crowds are absolutely horrid, the food totally un-inspired and the lodging ludicrously expensive. One can get the same experience on similar islands in the area for a much smaller price. The Blue Lagoon was a total waste of time.
Jan 22, 2013, 10:29 am
#873
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: San Jose, CA U.S.A.
Posts: 103
A local tourist trap here in San Jose California is the Winchester Mystery House. Mrs. Winchester had this 160 room mansion built (trying to appease those who lost their life via the Winchester Rifle some say). While interesting (staircases that go no where) it is certainly not worth $35 entry fee for a tour IMHO. I sway visitors away and tell them instead to visit The Tech Museum and IMax Theater for example ($20).
Jan 22, 2013, 7:31 pm
#874
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Hard Rock Cafe (any city)
Ripley's Believe it or Not (any city)
Madame Tussaud's (any city)
The M&M's store (any city)
Ripley's Believe it or Not (any city)
Madame Tussaud's (any city)
The M&M's store (any city)
Jan 23, 2013, 4:14 pm
#876
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Madame Tussaud's is also redundant. Seen one, seen 'em all!
Jan 23, 2013, 7:26 pm
#877
Join Date: Mar 2003
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The "Jadeite Cabbage" at the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
Yes the artist was probably a genius since its so hard to carve and he/she used the flaws of the rock to incorporate it into the design, but in the end, its just a very small (much smaller than many expect) cabbage shaped Jadeite.
The Museum itself is lovely, and there is a lot more to see otherwise that will give people a good sense of Chinese and Taiwanese history but everyone always asks about the cabbage...
Yes the artist was probably a genius since its so hard to carve and he/she used the flaws of the rock to incorporate it into the design, but in the end, its just a very small (much smaller than many expect) cabbage shaped Jadeite.
The Museum itself is lovely, and there is a lot more to see otherwise that will give people a good sense of Chinese and Taiwanese history but everyone always asks about the cabbage...
Jan 25, 2013, 7:16 pm
#878
Join Date: Aug 2012
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There was a time 20 years ago when Hard Rock Cafe actually had a pretty good burger but that time is long past.
Though I do have a friend who ends up in Amsterdam a bunch and she says she'll go to HRC every so often when she just wants one of those American-style endless sodas with proper levels of ice.
Though I do have a friend who ends up in Amsterdam a bunch and she says she'll go to HRC every so often when she just wants one of those American-style endless sodas with proper levels of ice.
Jan 28, 2013, 8:18 pm
#881
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Jan 28, 2013, 8:24 pm
#882
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Jan 29, 2013, 6:35 pm
#883
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
Overrated might be...complaining about a place having too many tourists when in fact, that's what we're designated as when visiting these sites.
If you REALLY don't want to see a horde of mirror images fumbling about, try Great Zimbabwe, Dhaka or Salar de Uyuni.
If you REALLY don't want to see a horde of mirror images fumbling about, try Great Zimbabwe, Dhaka or Salar de Uyuni.
Jan 30, 2013, 3:00 am
#884
Join Date: Oct 2012
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Copy that on the Mona Lisa but the rest of the Louvre is so incredible, including the wall painting right behind Mrs Lisa, that it compensates....
Hard Rock....???....what expectation does one have of a chain burger place?
Hard Rock....???....what expectation does one have of a chain burger place?
Jan 30, 2013, 3:46 am
#885
Join Date: Jan 2013
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Stonehenge. DH is from South England and I once begged him to take me. It's a two hour drive I'll never get back.
Mount Rushmore. I feel compelled to explain what I was doing out there.
The summer I turned 20, my sister (who was 29 at the time) and I - purely for the hell of it - drove across the US, making a huge circle from Raleigh, NC. We'd both been across on I40 before and picked a different way; our older brother lives in Seattle so we figured why not take the northern plains across? That's how we ended up in South Dakota. Anyway, you go through Rapid City, go up this mountain (if you can call it that), peek through the trees, and there's this gigantic bust of Teddy Roosevelt peering at you, and you're staring at George's profile. Creepy as hell. You stand at the base of it and look up and you're like, well, duh. Nothing left to do but get back in the car and head west! And we're still several days away from Seattle at the time.
Wall Drug was pretty overrated but definitely hilarious. Are there still signs starting as far back east as Council Bluffs, IA that say, 'HAVE YOU DUG WALL DRUG?'
Since I'm here in TX, I have to admit I've been disappointed by SPI, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi - the Gulf Coast in general. I'm not slamming TX, but I am shocked by their beach areas. Overrated, overpriced, and a host of things I'll leave off this thread. All that stuff is very hyped up here and for the life of me I don't see why.
Stonehenge, though, was definitely the worst. DH has not let me live that one down. Yet.
Mount Rushmore. I feel compelled to explain what I was doing out there.
The summer I turned 20, my sister (who was 29 at the time) and I - purely for the hell of it - drove across the US, making a huge circle from Raleigh, NC. We'd both been across on I40 before and picked a different way; our older brother lives in Seattle so we figured why not take the northern plains across? That's how we ended up in South Dakota. Anyway, you go through Rapid City, go up this mountain (if you can call it that), peek through the trees, and there's this gigantic bust of Teddy Roosevelt peering at you, and you're staring at George's profile. Creepy as hell. You stand at the base of it and look up and you're like, well, duh. Nothing left to do but get back in the car and head west! And we're still several days away from Seattle at the time.
Wall Drug was pretty overrated but definitely hilarious. Are there still signs starting as far back east as Council Bluffs, IA that say, 'HAVE YOU DUG WALL DRUG?'
Since I'm here in TX, I have to admit I've been disappointed by SPI, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi - the Gulf Coast in general. I'm not slamming TX, but I am shocked by their beach areas. Overrated, overpriced, and a host of things I'll leave off this thread. All that stuff is very hyped up here and for the life of me I don't see why.
Stonehenge, though, was definitely the worst. DH has not let me live that one down. Yet.
Last edited by Pup7; Jan 30, 2013 at 3:55 am