I found Melbourne to be a lot like San Francisco. However, since I was staying downtown that was not at all a good thing. Lots of homeless people, drunks, people fighting in the streets, horrid. But when you step outside of that area, the parks in Melbourne are just gorgeous, it's such an athletic and sporty city. So if you know where to go, it's great. Sydney was just the opposite. Downtown and along the water was gorgeous, clean, fabulous. But the further out of the city center we went, the sketchier it became.

That said, I wouldn't say either were overrated. Any American should be so lucky as to get to travel to Australia just for the experience of it if nothing else. Friendliest people in the world!

Washington DC: For a national capital it was quite a letdown! The city dies very early in the evening, and the weather was unbearable. Also, the museums did not impress me at all despite the hype. For example, my buddy told us that it would take us 2 days to enjoy the National Gallery of Art, but we did it in 2 hours. The works in the museum were secondary copies made by famous masters, which resumes the DC fact that it has copies of better versions out there. Not only when it comes to the architecture. Heck, even the DC Metro system is a rip off of BART in the Bay Area.

Honolulu: I was forced to spend a week there, and I can resume the city as being a "first world" waterfront with plenty of run down areas beyond the ugly 70s styled condos. Of course, you get plenty of shopping areas and franchises that you can enjoy anywhere else in the country. Also, is it me or the public transportation is either very discrete or almost inexistent in there?

But the price of the ultimate prices goes to Los Angeles: The cynics may say I am attacking "Lala" because I was born in the also very overrated city of San Diego, but LA takes the claim of being a "bag full of nothing but hot air." The pollution is awful, the beaches are not that good, the dependence on cars is too much, and the traffic is the worst in the country. Also, it lost many of its highlights to its own suburbs as many of its tacky attractions are not even in city limits. Disneyland? in Anaheim. Six Flags? That's Valencia for you. The Queen Mary? LB.

Besides, there is always the Southern California culture that is too consumerist, laid back, and hypocritical. That is why I am glad that I have moved to San Francisco.

This comment confuses me. Aren't most metro systems pretty much the same? Isn't that kind of the point?

While Venice can be very frustrating with the number of tourists in ONE LIMITED LITTLE AREA around San Marco, there is actually a lot to do and see. Oh, and its got a major university- so those must be real live people I would think?

Anyway- my vote goes to LA for sure- what a dump.

Berlin, although I get trashed for this. ;)

We're talking about places in the context of tourism, so "LA" refers not to the City of Los Angeles, but the LA metropolitan area, which includes Orange County. Tourists hardly care where they draw the civic boundaries.

I won't trash you, but Berlin? That is one of my favorite cities and certainly one that I thought was completely underrated. Or at least that we in the states think to go to in the company of Paris, Rome and London and I think it belongs there. We were stunned at how great it was. Then again, we went during World Cup as well and the place was electric. Probably in my top three cities in the world.

A walk through the Tiergarten on a sunny fall day would put Berlin very high on most people's list. :)

It's true that Berlin has two of the most famous structures in the world (Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate,) the bust of Nefertiti, the Gates of Babylon (the real ones, not a Disney/Las Vegas reproduction,) one of the most respected classical orchestras in the world, a night life scene that goes full tilt 7/24 with no mandatory closing hours, a gay/lesbian scene to rival Amsterdam's, a cafe culture to rival Vienna's, one of the oldest, largest and most important zoos in the world, excellent public transit, close access to one of the most splendid 18th century palaces in existence (and former home of Voltaire) at Potsdam, and the most over-the-top annual erotic bacchanalia on the European continent -- but just try to get a decent taco!

Not to make this thread all about Berlin, but the Jewish Museum is one of the great museums of the world. Daniel Libeskind was the architect.

That and a few other reasons...;)