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- - The most OVERRATED City in the world is.... (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/547116-most-overrated-city-world.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebayj

Santa Fe - easily one of the world's most interesting small cities - great mountain setting, fantastic art and opera, vibrant Native American cultural influence

That's what happens when you put 20,000 artisans smoking pot half the time in one place. :D Have you been to the burning of Zozobra?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILuvParis

I can't believe anyone would call Detroit overrated. Who overrates Detroit?

Bingo. You've got to be rated to be underrated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebayj

Great thread. I've traveled all over the world and I can really speak more to places that wildly exceeded my expectations or hugely underwhelmed me - and yes I have been to all these places:

Wildly exceeded:
Sydney - Take everything great about San Francisco and LA forty years ago, and that is what you still have in Sydney today
Cape Town - staggering poverty in the outlying area, but truly a stunning setting for a great city, and a ton of things to do
Vancouver, BC - the crown jewel of the west coast (and I work in San Francisco every day, so that's saying something)
Rio - watch your wallet, but the people are fascinating, the beach culture is great, and arguably the most stunning physical setting of any city on earth
Venice - go in the winter and you'll understand - it's a totally different city
Philadelphia - reports of it's dullness are excessive. I lived there three years - cradle of American history, great food, wonderful parks, and close to beach, mountains, New York City, Washington
Santa Fe - easily one of the world's most interesting small cities - great mountain setting, fantastic art and opera, vibrant Native American cultural influence

Hugely underwhelmed:
Orlando - enough has already been said
Phoenix - truly no clue why anyone would deliberately visit or live there
Singapore - lovely people, completely spotless, and dull as dishwater
New Orleans - a great food city, but sadly overrun by graft, crime, and poverty - and that was before Katrina
Denver - never got it. Pretty mountains, but that's about it.
Any big city in Texas, except San Antonio - too hot, too polluted, too egotistical, too rabidly red state. Good manners though.

Few foreign cities have underwhelmed me, as I find foreign cultures to be great learning opportunities. And Americans need to be especially aware of the rest of the world these days in my view.

Great post. Agree with a lot but I had a great stay in Texas. I loved Austin and Dallas was great, but I was lucky I have a Texan friend who I am sure showed me the best parts. I will be back for sure love the place and love the women :D ;) :p :cool: I think the Australian accent helps ;)

Just to establish upfront about my tastes, I LOVE Chicago, Las Vegas (and Asmara and Sana'a and Djibouti and Ouagadougou...)

The two worst places on the planet, IMO, are Machu Picchu and Puerto Vallarta.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 365RoadWarrior

The two worst places on the planet, IMO, are Machu Picchu and Puerto Vallarta.

Did you hike to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail or did you ride the tourist train? I can see where you're coming from if you took the train. I gotta disagree with you, though, if you hiked the Inca Trail. It's not that the Trail makes Machu Picchu any better than it otherwise is. Rather, it just makes Machu Picchu's glory (or lack thereof) almost a non-issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 365RoadWarrior

The two worst places on the planet, IMO, are Machu Picchu and Puerto Vallarta.

That is one weird comment. Shouldn't you save that for the "Overrated ancient wonders of the world" or the "Overrated deserted cities of the world" thread?

"Yeah, Chichen Itza really sucks, man. Those steps are too steep. And it was so HOT! No bars! :td: "

"God, I really hated Ephesus. There weren't even any books in the library! None of the buildings had a roof! Never found a decent restaurant. :mad: "

:D

Boston.

Sucks.

Simply.

Los Angeles and Atlanta

HUGE vote for Dublin as overrated. The city has very little to do during the day, the shopping is overpriced, the food is barely passable, and the nightlife is no more spectacular than you can get in, say, Boston, where the food is better, the shopping is great, and there's more to do during the day. Why go all the way to Dublin?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoc

It's the miles, stupid (no offense - just borrowing from some well known Democrats). ;)

$300 all in. from ORD on AA in the winter? I'm going to Dublin! Boston can wait! :) Honestly, however, I find it quite charming and the people certainly have a reputation for being nicer than Boston (FTers excepted, of course!).

I haven't read the entire thread.

My most overrated has to be Dubai. I had a 4 day vacation there a couple of years ago. By day 2 I was ready to book out. There's not much to do.

London......by a long long long way
For me, second place is awarded to Barcelona!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nnn

I hiked in solo on the Inca trail (before one had to be part of a tour group, or whatever the recent requirement is.) This was ten years or so ago. But how could I not be disappointed to spend so much time on the trail with about a billion of my 'best friends', only to arrive to tourist hoards, many of whom were waiting to use the on-site internet cafe. Jeez.

I agree, it's not a city, except in the sense that it's been converted to completely commercial use. (I'm overstating things only slightly.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by 365RoadWarrior

Things must have changed. When I was there, the only people that were there inside the old city other than mid-day, were the people that were staying in the tourist hotel on site. During the early mornings, late afternoon, evening and night the only people there were the 30 or so at the hotel. At sunset and sunrise when you would want to be there, it was virtually deserted. Yes, mid-day was crowded when the tourists who were not staying on-site arrived.

My Annoying Opinion....

If the country were to get an enema, I would vote for Atlanta as the center point. Perfect combination of humidity, heat, traffic, concrete, squalor, and "Southern charm". Other candidates would be Key West (I just don't think the long drive to see streets filled with cokeheads and mediocre self-serve buffets with mandatoty 17% tips added to your bill is worth it), Orlando (sufficiently covered here, tho' my daughter will make me go), and Las Vegas (only big city I can drive to from here, in case I want to pay for sex or see what the Eiffel Tower would have looked like in 120-degree-heat).

So, you may well ask, what about SLC? Well, there's no humidity, little traffic, and I just plain like the Mormon culture. Sure would like a good museum here, though...