Another vote for Orlando. Really, all of Florida. The entire state has been consumed by endless mindless suburban sprawl and strip-mall hell.

Another vote for Los Angeles. In addition to having visited a number of times, I also lived there (not my choice). There are a number of things to do (other than trying to get into the latest "hot" club or seeing a "star"), but they really have to be parsed and they are widely dispersed.

So, after 20+ pages and almost a year and a half, isn't it time to tally up the results and announce the most overrated city? :)

As discussed above, however, can you really say Orlando is overrated? I don't think it's even rated -- it's just the city people fly into on their way to the various theme parks. Do any outsiders even think about the city itself?

maybe overrated - but 2nd most visited in US
 

it's interesting that you all think LA is overrated - people seem to keep going back! http://www.forbestraveler.com/2007/0...1_slide_2.html :cool:

No, you wouldn't, because there are a few global tourist attractions in greater LA (Hollywood and Disneyland being the two biggest) that people would come to see no matter where they were located. Having unique international tourist attractions that bring in lots of visitors does not a good city make. See: Orlando. See also: Las Vegas.

Griffiths Park was pretty great before the fire. I'll give you that.

As others have pointed out, it's only "overrated" if someone said it was nice. I once read that Casablanca was a crime-ridden, polluted cesspool to be avoided at all costs (paraphrased, but that was the essence) -- and I was reading the Royal Air Maroc in-flight magazine!

I must confess it has been great fun to follow this thread.

As for the most overrated locale/city...etc., I would have
to place my vote for Maui in general. Yes its a lovely place
but so artificial, commercial and crowded that it detracts
from the natural beauty. Just my $0.02.

Dozens of beaches, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu, West Hollywood, Venice, Sunset Strip, etc -- there's a point where you say L.A. (greater) doesn't have a bunch of tourist destinations, but rather that it is a tourist destination generally. Of course tourists won't be going to most parts of L.A., but that's true of any metro area popular with tourists.

[QUOTE=Karter;5613140]I agree with Sydney as being most overrated city. There is a new coffee table book out published by Lonely Planet that is basically a pictoral list of the best 200 cities in the world. When I saw Sydney at #3 I knew there was something dodgy going on (LP is an Australian company, right?). Their top 5 was Paris (#1), then New York, Sydney, Barcelona and London. How possibly is Sydney up there with the likes of those cities?!

[QUOTE=alex0683de]Another vote for LA here.

need more times for BIG city
 

[QUOTE=Bacai;8147199][QUOTE=Karter;5613140]I agree with Sydney as being most overrated city. There is a new coffee table book out published by Lonely Planet that is basically a pictoral list of the best 200 cities in the world. When I saw Sydney at #3 I knew there was something dodgy going on (LP is an Australian company, right?). Their top 5 was Paris (#1), then New York, Sydney, Barcelona and London. How possibly is Sydney up there with the likes of those cities?!

All we need is time, so we can get to know the big city.
If you don't like ocean, blue sky, fish and chips, and wine then Sydney is not for you. I like it b/c all of the above.

I live in Los Angeles > 20 years. I still find new places to like time after time, except the polluted air. I love the ocean, Montery Park (Chinatown with all the restaurants), Pacific Coast Highway (sunset drive), Muholland drive (beautiful LA view), east LA (Mexican foods)....

I love NewYork, Los Angeles, NewOrlean, Boston, Toronto, (not Miami), Kula Lumpar, Bangkok, PhuKhet, Saigon, Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, HongKong, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris (my favorite), Nice, Barcelona, Venice, Sydney, Melboure....and many more.
I almost like all the big cities that I visited. Except, last month when I visited Miami.
I felt really sad that in America we have a city (Miami) that has so may homeless, across the bridge are so many rich and famous.

I support the previous poster, Cairo is in fact the worst city ever I have been to. Expect maybe the pyramides and some historical museum that place is a dump and has nothing. I honestly don't see how one can stay there three weeks for leisure (I'm talking about Cairo, not Egypt in general).
Most cities in this thread might be overrated, but still okay for a visit or two. But Cairo I wanted to leave the moment I arrived.
W

If Orlando were rated "0" on a scale of 0-100, it would still be overrated.

Opinion respected. :) My family and I traveled to 4 cities in Egypt and we were in Cairo for 6 days. I did really love it very much. Between camel rides, the National Museum in Cairo, and the Pyramids, it was just a totally different, amazing, experience for us. I feel fortunate to have gone there and to have seen these sights first-hand.

Hard for me to name a city that is overrated, but there are many that are underrated, and I would prefer those remain secret, so that the hordes don't start visiting them.

As for Sydney vs. Melbourne, I would have to say Melbourne is much more sophisticated.

Cheers,

M8