Paris is a magical place. The smell of cigarettes and urine on the street creates the perfect ambiance for enjoying a croissant, and seeing the Mona Lisa through dozens of cell phone screens is exactly what every child dreams of. Times Square is just as enchanting, with hordes of Midwesterners pushing through to see screens of ads for Broadway musicals and people dressed up like Pikachu and Mario on the street…
While it’s inevitable for famous attractions to bring huge crowds, it’s important to have reasonable expectations when visiting some of the world’s most popular locations. So Reddit users have recently been sharing all about the “most disappointing, tourist infested” places they’ve ever been to. Keep reading to also find a conversation with travel expert King Siu of Solo Traveler, and be sure to upvote the replies you’ll keep in mind when planning your future travels!
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Ground Zero in NYC. It wasn't so much the number of tourists, but rather the number of smiling selfies being taken. It felt like it was in bad taste.
It's like (usually tourist) kids posing on top of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. It makes me so angry.
My own city in the last 10 years. Amsterdam really took a nosedive. Lots of unique little shops disappeared in favor of approx. 10 million frozen yogurt/chocolate waffle stores. Tourists used to be a few chill, cheery groups interested in the city they were in - now they sometimes look like hordes of zombies hobbling from one tourist trap to the other. Painstakingly slowly, and of course taking up the whole sidewalk.
I'm Dutch myself and my then girlfriend booked us a room for 5 days in Amsterdam. We took the tram everywhere, went to all the museums except Anne Frank, went shopping in the Ijhallen and Waterlooplein. I loved it . I guess playing tourist in your own country makes it a better experience
To learn more about which popular travel destinations might leave you feeling a little disappointed, we reached out to travel expert King Siu, of Solo Traveler. King shared that the first time he visited Paris and Niagara Falls, neither location lived up to his expectations.
"I had imagined that the Falls would be enormous. And, while it is big for a waterfall, it did not live up to the crazy image I had formed in my mind before I got there," he told Bored Panda. "Combine that disappointment with big crowds and a sea of touristy shops selling overpriced merch, and basically all my excitement about seeing Niagara Falls was drained out of me."
"I hated Paris the first time I visited," the travel expert continued. "I was turned off by the crowds, the clouds of cigarette smoke that seemed to follow me everywhere, how people seemed quite rude, dog poop on every sidewalk, and to top it off, I was there in the winter so the weather sucked."
Times Square, NYC It's just a bunch of screens. I'm not joking, that's *it*. New York City is an amazing place, but please avoid this giant tourist distraction that offers nothing. Side note: and for those who want to see the Statue of Liberty, since you can't go up in the crown anymore, the trip isn't really worth the unbelievable line, imo. Just take the Staten Island ferry, and you'll get close to the statue and pass at a leisurely pace. Then hop on the ferry back! Unless... you know, you want to hang out in Staten Island... which is entirely your prerogative, I mean... you do you!
Egypt. So many scammers and thieves. Can't check into a hotel without getting some miscellaneous upcharge. Can't take a taxi without having 50 miles tacked on to the fare or driver goes in an incredibly roundabout way. Can't report to the cops without paying a ~~bribe~~ fine for whatever fake penal code they make up. Then you go to the pyramids and its just a line full of more scammers. Fake tour guides, camel rides that will quote you a small charge, but end up charging you a ridiculous tab, miles of trinket shops, orphan pick pockets, the over population of tourist. Its just crazy. It's one of the few tourist locations that if you visit, you better know a local or you will get scammed during your trip, multiple times.
All of egypt, anything tourist related, will be like this. Sharm el sheik is a whole town built only to make money off tourists. Like a hollywood set-town. Empty except where the tourists can buy stuff/be entertained. It's the worst place I've ever been. And mysogynistic as hell.
But King still believes it's worth it to visit these locations, even if they may not be all they're cracked up to be. "As much as I didn't enjoy my first visit to Niagara Falls or Paris, it's important as a traveler to experience many different kinds of destinations," he shared. "I had made those trips early in my travel life, and they've taught me so much about what I should look for in a destination, how to prepare for a visit to a new place, and how to make the most of any destination once I'm there."
Mount Rushmore, the land around it is 1000X more spectacular to look at then the f****n rock lol
Yellowstone NP is fantastic when it's just you or a few other people. However, most of the main sites are so full of people it really feels like Disney World at some points instead of nature. It's also infuriating when I see so many tourist disrespecting the nature by walking off of the paths/board walks and leaving trash around.
Leaving trash in a National Park should be a dismissal and banning offence, IMHO.
King was also kind enough to share his tips for how travelers can make the most of these crowded tourist destinations. "I highly recommend doing some research before you go for your visit," he noted. "Whether it's a city or a painting, the more you know, the more you'll be able to enjoy it on your terms. To clarify, I'm not just talking about the general facts, such as the history of the painting. But, find out about the conditions around it that could affect your enjoyment so you can plan or prepare for them."
"Such as, if you want to see the Mona Lisa at The Louvre, be prepared to be in a big room with giant crowds all trying to run you over for the best spot," King explained. "This way, you're not surprised when you arrive to see this circus, or you can become a ninja before you arrive so you can stealthily slip into the prime spots in the room. Also, try to find something that's interesting to you about the place or thing so that you can arrive with a connection to it already and it'll be like you're going to visit an old friend."
The Disney parks in Orlando, we paid an absolute fortune for tickets but the place was so overcrowded it just wasn't fun
While King understands that the reasons for avoiding popular attractions are usually quite personal, he urges travelers to at least see the most iconic spots in a city if they're feeling up to it. Who knows when you'll be able to come back?
"Cost is often an important consideration, so I can understand not wanting to spend $50 just to ride an elevator to the top of some building or tower just for a view of the city," King says. "So, instead find other tall buildings in the city that you can access for free or at a lower cost. Often there will be restaurants or bars located at the top of buildings that you can go to where for the price of a drink you will often be treated to similar views."
Bourbon Street, New Orleans.
I don't want to sell my shoes to you, and I don't want to give everyone on the street a cigarette.
Just didn't feel safe at all, and there wasn't much jazz playing either - day and evening.
Lovely city tho.
I'm sure other cities have this problem, too, but there's an epidemic in NYC of pop-up "museums" that are essentially just Instagram backgrounds. There are some great temporary exhibits in the city all the time that genuinely have cool artwork, or historical items, or just make for a neat experience. ...and then there's ones that just have a bunch of backdrops for people to pose in front of and maybe a placard.
Special shoutout to the 'Museum of Candy' that was hosted in a random warehouse and where you *didn't even get any candy* with your ticket admission.
"I wouldn't say there's a right way to see popular attractions, but I would say try not to complain about them while you're trying to experience them, as that will just put you in a bad mood while you're there," King told Bored Panda. "I realize now that a big part of my bad experience with my first visit to Paris was because I was staying with a friend there who had just moved to the city and was not having an easy adjustment. I realized after the fact that her frustrations with Paris also influenced my impression of the city. I have since gone back multiple times, and while all the things that upset me the first time are still there, me and Paris are now good friends because I'm mentally prepared for them."
The room with the Mona Lisa in it.
Couldn’t get anywhere near it and it’s not that big of a painting to see from the back of the room when all the people in front of you had giant cameras. Maybe it’s better in the age of cell phone cameras - but I doubt it.
Edited to add I am so excited many of you agree with me! I saw the Mona Lisa when I was 18 back in 2005 and many other pieces in the Louvre partly led to my getting a degree in the history of art. But, damn, that was a crowded room!!
Most iconic painting of the most visited museum in the world... I don't know what this person was expecting in the first place. You can watch it with less crowd at the opening / closing of the Museum or even better, every first friday of each month, when Louvre opens exceptionally until 9h45 pm (and it's free). Best moment to wander around the Museum
Anything Disney! I grew up living near Disney, so we went a lot (80’s). It was still crowded and pricey, but nothing like it has become today. I went a couple years ago on a trip back home. I could not believe the prices and crowds. It was miserable.
Same for the Paris one. I live 20mn from it, but we never go anymore, the prices are outrageous and the park overcrowded.
"Finally, don't let anyone tell you where you should and should not go," the travel expert says. "Everyone is different and we all experience the world in our own unique way. I have a friend who loves trains, and so he spends most of his travels going to places where he's likely to see different types of trains. I would probably be tempted to throw myself in front of a train if that was my holiday, but the man is passionate about trains and it makes him happy. So, keep exploring and go find your train."
If you'd like to read more travel tips from King and his colleagues, be sure to visit Solo Traveler!
Hollywood blvd … literally a worse version of NY Times Square (which also sucks)
Times Square was noisy, over-crowded, full of overprized poor food establishments, scams and people trying to get their picture taken. 0/10, do not reccomend.
This might get downvoted to hell but MILAN CATHEDRAL. Beautiful cathedral but whoever is running that as an attraction has utterly ruined it. They check the bags of everyone entering NOT looking for weapons, they’re looking for souvenirs that were not purchased at the official Milan Cathedral gift shop. The person has the choice to throw away the souvenir they bought or waste the ticket they had already purchased. I saw a trash can full of hundreds of dollars worth of souvenirs just because they were not purchased from the official store where you buy the entrance tickets. It was gut wrenching not only as a tourist, but as a Christian to see this. Beautiful cathedral ran by ugly and terrible people.
Stonehenge. When I went: for some reason you couldn’t get within a hundred yards from it or so. Don’t remember why but I remember it was faaaar away. And there’s nothing else to do nearby. What’s crazy is they let people hop and dance all over the damn thing during summer solstice. I know because the peeps I went with had done so.
Maybe it's to prevent a group of numbskulls from pushing over the Stonehenges, and making them fall like dominos? Or from spraying graffiti art? I'm not exactly sure, just a guess.
The Sistine Chapel. It was incredible to see in person, but it was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with people and they were trying to usher everyone through as fast as possible, so I felt like I was in the way and couldn’t stay long. I would have loved to just gaze quietly at the ceiling and take it all in for several minutes, but that wasn’t an option.
Never go to the Van Gogh “immersive experience” — it’s the biggest bit of malarkey I’ve ever paid $50 for. You’re just trapped inside a blurry, underwhelming PowerPoint presentation where the art is not even presented in logical sequence and the music is a**e.
The big Christmas tree at Rockefeller center NYC around Christmas... So packed I got just close enough to barely squeeze myself out.. Didn't even really see the tree... That area always looks so nice in movies 🤷.Time square also.. straight up stressful just being there . An I still don't understand why gridlock traffic everyone feels the need to beep their horn constantly as if there is anywhere to go?..I'm just to country boy I guess...
Any tourist destination in Bali. Beautiful place, amazing food, stunning vistas, friendly people, but the pushy salespeople on the street outside every tourist destination trying to extract every rupiah I had for tourist knick-knacks ruined a lot of the good vibe.
Yeah, inconsiderate local people trying to make a living from the rich people visiting their country 🙄
I’ve been to Las Vegas twice and both have been very underwhelming.
Everything is basically a giant fake a*s tourist trap that tries to imitate the real world locations, with slot machines stuffed everywhere up to the eyeballs, manned by fat old people trying to p**s away their life savings.
Clubs were fun, but the rest is a solid 6/10.
Las Vegas is probably one of the last places I'd ever want to visit in the world, for the above reasons. Just a whole town/city built in order to make money off of people, for no other reason than that.
Venice in August, I felt bad being there. Luckily was only a day trip but it was like something from a horror film.
Nassau, Bahamas. It was like being in a very expensive prison.
Sadly I live there.
Nashville, Tennessee
I was in Nashville about 2 years ago for the first time and really enjoyed it. I was in the middle of downtown at the Hilton or Hyatt walked around alot of the area and didnt see anything amiss. Folks were friendly , there was live music from several clubs ( and it mostly sounded top notch) , the food was good ( but when you order real Nashville Hot Chicken for the love of god go mild or medium they dont play around with the heat there). There is a homelesss issue here as well as in many metropolitan areas but I didnt think it was that bad and homelessness actually seemed worse in Salt Lake City Utah in the middle of January by comparisson.
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen was...underwhelming. To be fair though, I shouldn't really have expected to be whelmed by a little mermaid statue.
Plymouth Rock
It's a rite of passage school field-trip if you grow up in Massachusetts but then we'd stop at the "make your own sundae" place that used to be on I-95 and it was AMAZING!
Oxford Street, Central London. The place for you if you enjoy:
Claustrophobic levels of crowding, overpriced / borderline fraudulent retail, traffic that barely moves, groups of roadmen/hood teens everywhere
The leaning tower of Pisa.
A field of tourists trying to take a picture of the tower without other tourists in it and souvenir shops trying to sells those tourists stuff.
Niagara Falls, overrun during the summer. The Ontario side is the tackiest of tourist destinations, the NY side is a great place to get shot in the face.
I went to see Niagara Falls (Canadian side) during Autumn and I loved it. Yes it was busy but not too crowed and I really did enjoy the touristic boat tour that brought you close to the water.
Rome. People complain about Paris, but I really enjoyed it. Rome, on the other hand, was horrible. Amazing art and architecture everywhere, ancient ruins, the opulence of the Vatican... it's all there, but absolutely ruined by the thousands of tourists, the locals, and the overall dingy unkempt depressing nastiness of the city. Sorry, didn't love it.
Never go to Rome during the summer months, but it is one of my favourite places to go in March or October, and I also have fond memories of being there in February and standing in the empty Pantheon on a dark evening, and then eating amazing food at a restaurant just in front, a place that is probably a tourist trap during summer.
Cabo San Lucas. It's certainly pretty, and the tourists aren't the problem, it's that you can't go anywhere in town or on the beaches without being constantly hounded by people trying to sell you stuff.
That's because the locals don't get any profit of the tourists overrunning their city/town. All the money spent by tourists goes to multinationals.
Dublin… nothing Irish about it. Every pub is Americanized to the max, to include a dude with a guitar playing the same American “hits” from the last 40 years.
Downtown Reykjavík. Any Icelander knows what I'm talking about.
Quirky cute little downtown area thats just overswarmed with tourists and stores selling cheap puffin trinkets
We loved Reykjavik. Nice people, charming town, lots of museums, interesting food, and one of the cleanest cities I have been to lately.
All the hottest places in Tokyo. I spent 3 weeks in Japan and loved 90% of it but Tokyo was a massive disappointment. Even in March, when international tourism was still slow to pick up, places like Harajuku, Shibuya, and Kabukicho were way too touristy and boring for my tastes and every other tourist seemed to have no idea what they even wanted to do or see, there. On the other hand, I endured tourist-infested areas of Kyoto well because the sights to see were extremely worth it. Kiyumizu-dera? Gorgeous. Totally worth the 9am crowds. Probably would not have felt the same at 1pm, who knows. Dotonbori in Osaka? Totally f*****g worth every crowd, it was so much fun. Tokyo? Not even close.
Oh no! I adore Tokyo! There are plenty of smaller, less well-known places to get away from it all. Having said that, I prefer a smaller city generally, so really like Kobe and Hiroshima.
Okay, let's add some positive places. Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival is full, but as long as you are aware of it, it's lots of fun. It's generally beautiful, if you like that style of architecture. Most pubs are 'authentic enough' - please remember, this is a city where people live, not a 19th century film set. Go to the Oxford Bar, stand at the bar, and start a conversation, and you'll be welcome. Don't worry about "being American", as our comedians say: we know you're one of the good ones - you have a passport. ;)
Thanks, I like this attitude !! And I adore the 'please remember, this is a city where people live, not a 19th century film set' (which some people seemingly think about Rome ^^). Personally, I found that Montenegro, Romania and Slovenia (except for Ljubljana) were awesome countries to visit if you have to go on holidays during the busy touristy summer. If any Pandas have recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them :)
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Here, I changed the title for you: Tourist Angry to Discover Other Tourists in Tourist Destination...
I enjoyed many of the places mentioned here. Trick is to not spend too much time in the crowded areas, or organise to visit at a time when there are less tourists, either early in the morning / late in the day, or not around summer. And not expecting to be on your own when going to see the most famous pieces of art / architecture in the world. I am sure some of these people would be complaining about lack of facilities in lesser popular places.
Planning is everything. I honestly love being tourist —it’s such a privilege to travel when I can! And the key to enjoying it is embracing the fact that you are part of the crowd gathered there gawk at the same things, and have cheap trinkets hawked at you. I just don’t understand why people expect to have a private, crowd free “live like the locals” experience when they aren’t locals themselves
Load More Replies... Okay, let's add some positive places. Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival is full, but as long as you are aware of it, it's lots of fun. It's generally beautiful, if you like that style of architecture. Most pubs are 'authentic enough' - please remember, this is a city where people live, not a 19th century film set. Go to the Oxford Bar, stand at the bar, and start a conversation, and you'll be welcome. Don't worry about "being American", as our comedians say: we know you're one of the good ones - you have a passport. ;)
Thanks, I like this attitude !! And I adore the 'please remember, this is a city where people live, not a 19th century film set' (which some people seemingly think about Rome ^^). Personally, I found that Montenegro, Romania and Slovenia (except for Ljubljana) were awesome countries to visit if you have to go on holidays during the busy touristy summer. If any Pandas have recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them :)
Load More Replies... Here, I changed the title for you: Tourist Angry to Discover Other Tourists in Tourist Destination...
I enjoyed many of the places mentioned here. Trick is to not spend too much time in the crowded areas, or organise to visit at a time when there are less tourists, either early in the morning / late in the day, or not around summer. And not expecting to be on your own when going to see the most famous pieces of art / architecture in the world. I am sure some of these people would be complaining about lack of facilities in lesser popular places.
Planning is everything. I honestly love being tourist —it’s such a privilege to travel when I can! And the key to enjoying it is embracing the fact that you are part of the crowd gathered there gawk at the same things, and have cheap trinkets hawked at you. I just don’t understand why people expect to have a private, crowd free “live like the locals” experience when they aren’t locals themselves
Load More Replies...