Mrs Penner

The Vatican, Eiffel Tower, Mt Rushmore, Las Vegas, Times Square, New Orleans, Lake Louise, Fisherman's Pier, Singapore etc, etc. I was VERY suprised to see these unique, magical and IMHO very special jewels on this list. Viva la difference, WOW! They all took my breath away.

Come on now, how could anyone not be blown away by a visit to anyone of those fabulous destinations. I hope I never lose the joy, the thrill and childlike wonder of travel

Wall Drug, Hollywood Walk of Fame and a the world's largest ball of twine, sure (keep driving or stop for a lark, have a cool one and a laugh. Buy a stupid key chain).

Keep exploring Flyers

alpen1

Reeperbahn Hamburg, Sydney harbour bridge and Opera house, South Beach, Khao San Road, all of San Francisco. I'm sure there's others but diversity is what makes life great so I have a look, see what it's about and move on to the next

tylerf

White House
Times Square

RustyC

I think the rap on many of the most famous attractions is that you get a brief thrill of recognition, but then you get thrust back into the cattle-herd to face all the crowds, overpricing, overemphasis on shopping, etc., all anew.

For those that list it I think it's an expectations-vs.-reality gap.

But personally I'd also tend toward places or activities that could produce just a near total dud of a day. Around ATL some things that'd come to mind would include fall in Helen, GA (a themed tourist-trappy town easily overwhelmed with cars and people), the outlets in Boaz, AL (thankfully no longer drawing from a wide area now that outlet malls are seriously oversaturated everywhere), and the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro.

17jwblue17

Pretty much all tourist attractions do not live up to the hype.

Ancien Maestro

The Coliseum in Rome was nice, but hard to believe it was the 7th Wonder of the World. It was nice to visit, but at the end of the day, the venue was usable because parts of the Coliseum underwent some modern refurbishment.

The Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica did live up to the hype. The London Olympics and its venues lived up to the the hype as well.. Incredible experiences watching history in the making there.

St. Paul's Cathedral did not live up to the hype as Westminster Abbey. Windsor Castle did not live up to the hype as Buckingham Palace. But I guess just a matter of my opinion.

kittiepride

Planet Hollywood in LV is a big disappointment! Soooo bland!!!! It was EVER better when it was Aladdin...had so much character then!!

DesertNomad

The Pueblo at Taos, New Mexico. We loved Santa Fe and the drive around Angel Fire and Eagle Nest, but the Pueblo at Taos was completely underwhelming.

bludnik

I can not agree more... I went to the Willis Tower while visiting Chicago on the start of my Route 66 trip. I have compiled a short "trip report" of my experience

Arrived at Willis Tower and my 2 mid-20s Norwegian travel mates found out why wearing light summer dresses in the windy city was not a good idea. Lesson learned and group of African-American college guys amused.

- We start by queuing to get into the building.
- We have now entered the building where we do some more queuing to enter the elevator.
- We enter the elevator which surprisingly takes us down 1 floor, where we are met with a new queue to get through security. First complaints about queuing is uttered and we learn from the African-American college guys standing behind us that in America its not called queuing, but rather "lining the f**k up".
- We finally make it through the security line and start lining up to buy tickets
- Tickets bought and we line up to get to the elevators
- Elevators reached and we rush for the top!
- Finally at the top! yay! It's now dark outside (started in full daylight) and discover that in order to get to a window to look out, we need to line up behind someone and wait for them to get bored of the view.
- We eventually find the scary glass boxes that protrude out from the building and line up to get to them. Having people standing next to us like sardines in a can adds to the scary part
- We have had enough of the queue ordeal and move towards the elevators
- We find the elevators and line up to get into them
- Finally back down! Yes! hang on, this isn't the ground floor?
- A line through the gift shop with the obligatory fridge magnet purchase and we finally can line up for the elevators that takes us 1 floor up to the ground floor and the exit
- We line up to exit the building
- Finally outside again, we opt for walking a block or two instead of lining up at the taxi stand.


The Willis Tower would probably be a great place to visit. Had it not been for the endless amount of lines...

Skyman65

Reminds me of "The Line Ride" from South Park.

mapleg

I was unaware Planet Hollywood was now considered a tourist attraction. It's a hotel designed to make money. That's about it

GetSetJetSet

This. I think the pyramids were one of if not the only one that made me think "huh, these are actually impressive." To the guy who listed Khao Sahn Rd. above...what are you talking about? It's a street with cheap backpacker lodging and bars, not a tourist attraction.

~tc~

BS - I have been blown away by more than a few. Most recently, the roof of the Duomo in Milan and the Taj Mahal.

BuildingMyBento

Khaosan is something of a tourist attraction, for the same type of "banana pancake" traveler that stays there.

I visited it (definitely am not a Khaosan backpacker-type) and was satiated by a Middle Eastern lunch followed by mango sticky rice.

BlueCat1105

The Fountain of Youth was a bust...