When it comes to travelling, I am yet to meet a person who has loved each and every place they have ever visited. For whatever reason, sometimes we find that we just don’t mesh with a city, and as a result, may not remember it all that fondly.
Furthermore, the cities that we fall in love with may be considered less than stellar by other people, and by the same token, the places we end up disliking may be the shining stars for others.
I preface this following list by saying that these are all just personal opinions and are not intended to cause anyone offense.
So, without further ado, here is a list of a few cities that I just didn’t love.
London
People bang on about London being the greatest city in the world, but honestly, it’s been one of my biggest disappointments.
Everything is overpriced, people are about as far from friendly as possible, the weather is crap, the food is utterly shite and the place is just too damn big. I have given the place a couple of tries and have been equally disappointed both times.
I am sure there are a tonne of people out there who will disagree with me, but for me, London just wasn’t a good fit. Maybe one day I will return to London and get a new perspective on the place, but for now, there are so many other places that I want to visit so much more, so I will not be returning any time soon.
Dili
Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) and it is a pretty much unavoidable stop for anyone entering the country.
The city does have a large expat population and is certainly not without interesting places and points of interest, but due to a certain mo’fo of a taxi driver, I don’t think I will ever think of the place fondly.
After I landed in Dili a cab driver attempted to rob me, and when he was unable to take my bags from me, proceeded to physically assault me – the details of which you can read about here.
Luckily, the rest of my time in Timor was nothing short of wonderful, but at the moment, Dili and I are not on great terms.
Barcelona
I absolutely hated Barcelona.
I know, I know! It is the home of everything Gaudi, there is a tonne of incredible architecture and the food is wonderful. Yep, those things may all be true, but that doesn’t change how much I dislike the city.
I found it overpriced, far too touristy, and compared to Madrid – the food was just nowhere near as good. It didn’t help that it pretty much rained non-stop the entire time I visited. It also didn’t help that I was kinda stuck hanging out with some Canadian guys who I really did not mesh with.
I was pretty miserable for the few days I spent in Barcelona, and the whole time I was wishing that I had just stayed in Madrid. However – unlike London, I have not completely written the city off. It isn’t the fault of Barcelona that the weather was atrocious, and I also can’t blame the city for the presence of a few Canadian dickheads! So while I may not have liked Barcelona, I am certainly open to giving the city a second chance one day.
Phuket
Ugh, Phuket.
When I hear ‘Phuket’, all I think of is overcrowded beaches, hoards of tourists flocking to swim in unbelievably polluted water, sand covered with rubbish and more drunk idiots than any place should ever be subjected to.
This is definitely not a shining example of what Thailand has to offer.
Rome
Part of me hates putting Rome in this list. Rome is undoubtedly a bloody cool city, one with tonnes of history, culture and all of the food one could ever desire. However, for me, Rome was a victim of being too highly anticipated.
I had dreamed about visiting Rome for so many years (since I was a wee little kid) and in all of my dreams, Rome would be the absolute highlight of my time in Italy – but this was just not to be. When I arrived in Rome, I was shocked by how dirty the city was, how much rubbish littered the streets and how many annoying street vendors wouldn’t let me walk more than a few steps unbothered! The Coliseum was beautiful, but not as grandiose as I had expected. The Trevi Fountain was lovely, but far less magical that I had anticipated. The gelato was good, but it was better in Florence.
If I had visited Rome without any expectations, I am sure I would have loved it, but for someone who was expecting a lot, Rome just didn’t live up to the hype.
Dublin
If you have ever found yourself disliking a place purely because you had a bad experience there, then be assured that you are most certainly not alone.
My time in Dublin was initially good, but on my last night in the city, I was sexually assaulted. This is not something I talk about very often – it was hands down the most horrific and traumatic time of my entire life – even my closest family and friends do not know the details of exactly what went down on that particular night. Even now, many years on, I find it incredibly difficult to talk about. I can say the words ‘I was assaulted’ without issue, but the second I actually start going into detail about what happened, I go into a pretty instantaneous meltdown.
When I think about Dublin, all I can think about is what happened to me there, and as a result, I know that Dublin is one city that I will never return to.
So tell me, what cities failed to impress you?
I love the honesty and openness of your writing. It is really horrible that you were assaulted in two of the cities. That is definitely not what anyone wants for a first impression.
Thank you very much Timothy, I appreciate that. <3
For me, it was Honolulu. I was on my honeymoon, and my (now ex) wife and I had t-shirts made that said “Just Married” on them. We were wearing them and exploring the city when I noticed 4 or 5 guys following us. Fortunately, we happened upon a police officer, and managed to pretend we were lost and had him “help” us back to our hotel where we promptly changed out of our “mug me” shirts.
Another one that left me underwhelmed was Palermo. I had built it up in my head so much that it could have been “all the things” and it still would have been a letdown. There were still bright spots while we were there a parade through town being one of them, and the best pizza we had in Italy being another), but overall, it left me thinking “urban wasteland” a lot. If you’re heading to Sicily, Catania was much better in my opinion.
I am a small town person, but I absolutely LOVED Rome. Yes, it was dirty, and the street sellers needed a firm”No Grazie” before they left you alone, and the Trevi Fountain was being restored, but Rome was one of the places that I felt like I could feel the history. My travel companion and I visited the Vatican, and couldn’t have had a better time.
Another bright spot in Italy for me was Naples. We were concerned going in due to all the bad reviews we had read, and our hotel need a good deep cleaning, but the food was really good, and this was our base for visiting Pompeii and Sorento. I will say that some of the reviews are right, do NOT rent a car in Naples. The traffic is as bad as any I’ve seen.
I quite enjoyed Naples too! It was horribly dirty (dog poo everywhere) but oh my god was it worth it to eat such delicious food!
I have had some mildly unpleasant experiences in small cities, like Salem, OR; Hannibal, MO and Dothan, AL, but all-in-all the give and take of travel has landed its see saw on the Plus side.
I am the same, definitely more travel loves than travel dislikes!
Interesting List: I totally agree with London, it is so expensive and busy it’s hard to really appreciate what the city has to offer. Sadly I find weather really influences ones take on a city. We went to Vienna on a rainy Sunday when everything was closed and it was too wet to walk around. It really changed how I feel about what, I am sure is, a beautiful city
That is definitely a shame. I would love to visit Vienna one day, hopefully I have better luck with the weather gods!
Really love the way you write, and how honest you are. I’ve loved most cities I’ve travelled to. Been lucky enough to enjoy my travel to. I’ve always travelled with family or as part of a group so it was a wonderful experience. My husband and I did have an unpleasant experience while arriving in Paris. We decided to leave next morning. But next morning it was bright and wonderful. Everything seemed great.so we stayed on. We learnt our lesson: avoid arriving in a new city at night.
I am glad you waited until the morning and saw the city in all of its glory! Did you end up enjoying your time in Paris?
Yes, absolutely loved it. 🙂
I liked your view on what you didn’t like. Its important to see both sides of a coin. I was in London for a while, I really like the place. But agree that the place is too pricey and certain parts of London are shabby too.
Did you live in London or just go there to visit?
I lived there for sometime, did my masters in Bedfordshire.
This is a great article, not every trip you make is a good one. I’m sorry you have had horrid experiences. Although I live in Australia I am initially from UK. I worked in London business district for 12 years and I have never missed the place, only my family. I’ve travelled to a few places Saudi Arabia (for 12 months) and lived in Papua New Guinea for four years too. I’m not a great traveller now, I really don’t have the drive or interest (sorry if that seems awful). I saw some brilliant photo’s on “Paintdigi” of a place called Astana in Kazakhstan. I recommend you take a look. It even got my juices flowing to visit somewhere new.
Kazakhstan (and all of the ‘Stans) are definitely on my list! Thank you for reading and sharing your experiences.
I agree with Rome! I enjoyed seeing all the famous sights but once you have seen them I don’t think it’s a place I would rush back to.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Berlin, that has probably my least favourite along my travels but I would like to give it a second go, I’m not a huge history person and in my short 1 and 1/2 days there I went on two history walking tours so might have been a bit overkill but also found after we had the walking tours we weren’t really sure what there was to do but I’ve heard plenty of good things so could just be from my experiences. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it like all the other countries I’ve visited!
I get that, sometimes a place just doesn’t work out! I really liked Berlin, but I think the fact that I visited during a blizzard (my first ever proper snowstorm) helped a lot!
I’ve got to admit that I have a bit of a love hate relationship with London. I hate the ridiculous prices and ride people, but love all the history and attractions. The multiculturalism is another aspect I love about London as we really don’t have that in my home town.
Where is your home town?
So right about London. I also found it overpriced and the food uninteresting to say the least. I’ll however give it another go seeing that my younger brother is so besotted with that city. I guess that you have to make your fun or find it for yourself in London.
Yes, Rome (Decmber 16 – 21, 2015) was dirty but I couldn’t see the dirt for the many historic marvels that the city offers. My 5-day stay was just not enough to fully explore the city’s historical riches. I’ll be going back there again.
Houston, Texas I found pretty boring but I found the people extremely polite, pleasant and quite helpful, much to my surprise. Being my first time in the US (October 2014) I’d sort of anticipated rudeness. Will I go back again? Maybe, but I’ll be trying some other US cities; Boston in my sights.
Oh wow! I went to Rome on the 31st December 2015 and I don’t remember it being dirty, but it certainly chaos compared to other European cities. I guess it depends on where we are and how dirty are the streets back home 🙂
I haven’t visited any of the US yet! I wouldn’t even know where to begin!
New York, Boston, Florida, Washington DC and, of course, Los Angeles are the cities that will be on my schedule in my next visits. Compared to Europe, I think there’s a lot less to see as regards History, but maybe quite a lot of modern day attractions: Disney World, Water Parks, Resort etc. So far I’ve far enjoyed Europe more than America, but there’s still more to explore.
Los Angeles was a place that really made me go “eh”, and I definitely think, much like what you said about Rome, it was to do with me having such high expectations of the city. I still really enjoyed my few days there, but after so much anticipation, it was a bit of a let down, much more car-orientated than I had anticipated and very dirty, and those people trying to sell you their CDs? *eye rolls* I have definitely not given up on the city though! I would love to go back though, (maybe this time hire a car, as I didn’t the first time and found that a bit difficult) I know the city that everyone raves about is there somewhere!
One thing that shocked me (to my core,) was when a friend of mine told me she absolutely hated Paris. She did have quite a terrible experience from the sounds of things and was only there for a day or two!
Paris for me is like a treasure trove with more and more waiting to be discovered! I’ve visited many times and each time there is something new to do and while sure, it may be a bit busy and dirty, it is always one of my favourite places to go.
It’s so interesting to hear people’s different perspective of places, and I definitely think having certain expectations of places can really make of break your experience and then of course there are always little things or people that can do the same. I guess the great thing is that everyone has different experience and stories of the same place and being able to share them with people and being able to hear and read about how other people felt about these places you also visited is pretty damn cool!
Totally agree! So many people have responded to this post by saying how much they loved London or how much they disliked Paris and it really does show that every destination will appeal to some people! It makes me think twice about writing a city off after hearing one negative review!
Great article! I have lived in Spain so I have a different view than you but I agree that Barcelona is quite pricy and very touristy right now, but it have changed a lot just in the last years. With that said I had a magnificent time these because I was with a friend and we had so much fun. A city that has underwhelmed me and that I do not want to go back to is Kuala Lumpur, dirt, people shouting at me and my friend on the street, awful food, horrid hostel. I believe we might just have been unlucky but still, I would not go back there.
I am really sorry about what happened to you in Dublin, I have similar experiences in a small city in Norway where I worked for a while and I never want to go bavk there for obvious reasons.
I am so sorry to hear that such an experience has happened to you. I am sending strength and solidarity your way <3
London is so big that it has lots of really great things to discover… and the food definitely isn’t terrible 🙂 but… despite all of its qualities its somewhere that I’ve never really clicked with. Too big, and too unfriendly. In comparison, Tokyo was huge but I felt right at home there.
Barcelona for me was weird at first as well. It took time to settle in, as it didn’t grab me the way that people seem to describe it as doing for them. It’s somewhere you need to find your own place and pace, and just relax a bit. Once you do that, and avoid all the tourist stuff, it’s a great place. The weather helps too mind…
I think we have very similar travel styles! I too, absolutely loved Tokyo, even though I usually hate the big cities!
Thanks for this, it makes you very real to me. It would be nearly impossible for all of us to be enchanted by what others think is GREAT.
Thanks so much Kathryn – I definitely try to be as open and honest as I can be! Thanks for reading.
While I haven’t had the same experiences as you and I admit I do love London, I do agree that at times expectations of a place can be too high. I loved all the history in Rome, but also found much of it overrated. Dublin, was somewhat of a let down after a lifetime of dreaming about a visit to Ireland, but surprisingly we loved our visit to Belfast… Considering the experiences you’ve had I appreciate greatly that you continue to travel solo and love reading about your adventures! I suppose it’s the surprise and delight that keeps us going…
I loved Belfast too! The city looks so grey but the culture is so vibrant!
I think what happened to me also helped to motivate me. I wanted to prove I was strong enough to not let a one time horrific event completely alter the course of my life. The first trip I took after it happened was terrifying, but I am so glad I took the plunge and did it.
love your honest description of each place.. I agree with you on London, over priced and unfriendly people, only 2 things take me back to that city; my brother and harry potter. I have the same enthusiasm for visiting Rome, and until now I had the same innocent expectations from the place since my childhood. I wont be ruling it out but thanks to your feedback, I’ll definitely be careful. good luck in your upcoming new adventures..
Harry Potter was the only reason I went back to London a second time! We are very similar haha
hahaha u can say that… ‘see the world from someone’s else’s eye’ for the first time I’m holding true to that quote and enjoying it too… good luck !
I’m going to visit London again next month, after 10 years… any chance of meeting HP ?!?!
I think for most, London serves a purpose – usually work and career related. The majority of born and bred Londoners I know personally, do not really venture out and do anything much – instead, they get out/fly off/drive somewhere up north etc, they escape.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about the weather. Any place that has pleasant weather makes you feel happier – even if there’s not much to do. London has tonnes to do, but doesn’t really strike the happy soul felt bliss vibe! Sometimes less is more (excuse the cliche) 😐
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, not to sound like a parrot but I really like your blunt honesty too, far more interesting than ‘politically correct, polite sentences’.
Sorry you had such an awful experience in Dublin – once a memory is attached to something/somewhere/a song or whatever, you just can’t shake it off, unfortunately – but who needs Dublin when there’s the whole world 😊💛✈🌏
Thank you so much Cherryl for your thoughtful comment. As for than final sentence, I have never heard anyone put it quite like that before, but I really love it, and won’t be forgetting it any time soon.
Ok first off, I’m incredibly sorry that you were assaulted in Dublin… I’ve never been there myself but that’s just absolutely awful 😔…
Spring of 2016, my husband and I travelled to South Korea and then Japan… let’s just say I had no expectations of Korea, I also dislike Korean food, so it wasn’t off to an amazing start… turned out decent.. Japan on the other hand… I had higher expectations, the food was meh… except for a couple of places a friend took us. It was amazingly overcrowded in Tokyo, which was supposed to be expected but still CRaZY amount of people. Country side was pretty enough.. I think it also had something to do with the fact that I got food poisoning and was super weak and tired… and the weather wasn’t awesome… so not an awesome time for me
I had kind of the opposite experience in Tokyo. I sort of expected to hate the place as it’s so big, but ended up loving it!
As for Dublin, thanks for your empathy, I really do appreciate it <3
I’ve thought about London but I keep hearing stuff that just doesn’t make it sound like my kind of place. I’m sorry that some of my Canadian countrymen sullied your experience (asshats). And like others, I am so glad that you have not let bad experiences stop you from travelling.
Hahaha I don’t think they were terrible guys, just not the kind of people I mesh with. It hasn’t sullied my view of Canadians in the slightest!
Oh good because it’s nice here…just sayin’ 😁
Vienna was mine. Everything that could go wrong did and I can’t remember anything I really liked about it. I’ve not written it off either, I want to go back and see those horses perform dang it! But during my Europe travels Vienna was def the least fun for me.
Oddly, I liked Barcelona better than Madrid-probably totally because of Gaudi. But to each their own.
I am heading to Vienna soon, hopefully I have a better experience! What went wrong for you while you were there?
It was just a sort of timing thing. We kept wandering around in what became the same circle unintentionally, couldn’t really get the lay of the place and never really saw anything we really meant to see. But I’d definitely give it another shot. I’ll see what you say when you visit-maybe you’ll have better luck than I!
Sevilla, Spain is top on my list which surprised me as I expected to love it. We had terrible rain and wind so they closed Plaza de España and the gardens at Real Alcazar for our entire stay. You hate to let weather ruin your experience but sometimes it’s unavoidable. I did enjoy the tapas bars in Triana though!
Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain and typically ‘bad’ weather, but sometimes it can be so bad that it ruins anything 🙁 I hope one day you can return and see the place in better weather!
A lot of people in Europe do not like London. And India – you just love it or hate it. I am having strange feeling with Paris. And I am not sure I like Vienna. If I can recommend you some beautiful and cozy places – Holland – Naarden, Gouda, Delft…it could be really nice change after all big cities. Or some nature in the Czech Republic.
I do much prefer the smaller cities! I am going back to Greenland soon and cannot wait to get away from city life!
Amazing!
Wow what a piece of writing… again exceptionally honest. I am so sorry to hear of your experience in Dublin that is horrendous and not something anyone should have to endure. Also I am sorry you didn’t enjoy london… it’s a very eclectic city and can hold a treasure trove of amazing experiences but can also be shite weather bad food etc if you are a tourist. I would employed you to come back and retry London. Megan and I can meet up with you and I believe we will be able to change your mind as although it’s not my favourite everyone should have a great story of London… believe me with 2 brits you’ll feel better about the experience. Have to agree with you on Phuket though! Ours is actually borovets in Bulgaria it was shocking and the worst holiday ever.
I tell you what, if I ever do return to London, I will make sure to get in contact with you and give the city another try!
Oh please do… even if it’s anywhere in the uk we are more than happy to help and support. We are also great tour guides
Ha ha, do I dare write this: Rome is my absolute favourite of the cities I’ve visited, I can’t get enough of London, and I did fall in love with Barcelona too. Admittedly, I don’t tend to do touristy stuff (apart from checking out the must places during my first visit) as I hate crowds, overpriced goods, and tacky souvenirs! I love exploring side streets and finding local gems when I can although they are not always the easiest to find on your first trip.
As for letdowns, I didn’t get Venice at all and I wasn’t too taken by Amsterdam either. I’m willing to give them another go though and try to find the areas locals would find interesting and fun. On the other hand, I had no expectations of Budapest and wow, I was totally blown away! I’d be happy to return to Chiang Mai too but Bangkok mainly annoyed me. I suppose that’s the beauty of travel: you never know what you’ll get. I’ve never had a totally disastrous experience anywhere so I’ll remain optimistic. 🙂
We sound like we have totally opposing travel loves! That is what makes it so interesting though – I love it!
So true. Sometimes it’s also a matter of luck what our first experiences in a place are like and yet those experiences may decide if we like the place or not. It would be really handy to know locals in every destination – that would make such a difference!
I may not have agreed with some of the selections (Rome especially, ha) but I found this to be a really good post. Bad weather and bad experiences can ruin memories of places so I think it might be good to give some of those places a second chance when the weather is actually nice (not that you can control the weather, but I mean choose a sunnier season). I’m sorry to hear about what happened in Dublin. That is brave of you to write about it and I wish you the best in being able to overcome the bad memory.
Thank you very much. It happened a very long time ago now. I don’t think it is the kinda thing you ever really ‘get over’, but you do learn how to get on with your life.
I totally agree with you about Rome (been there twice), for me New York city also not really impressed me like Frank Sinatra song. It’s crowded and people are not nice.
I have heard that about NYC – I think it is one of those cities that you either really love or you really hate.
I was hugely disappointed by Brussels, I spent a day there after a wonderful weekend in Bruges and just felt completely disconcerted. I wasn’t keen on Amsterdam either, I found myself being sexually harassed and followed constantly which was very scary.
Also I just wanted to say you are incredibly brave for talking about these awful assaults and I’m so happy that they haven’t stopped you from travelling and doing something you love x
Raegul Anne, thank you very much. They are definitely not the easiest things to write about, but I think it is important that people get an honest perspective of travelling – all of the good and all of the bad. Thanks for reading and commenting <3
I am not a fan of Phuket either. Taken over by drunk tourists and rip off merchants.
Totally agree – there are so many other places in Thailand more worthy of attention!
So true, you are not going to like every city that you go to! I HATED Bangkok and generally most of the Indonesian cities I went to like Jakarta and Makassar. I actually wasn’t a fan of Bali either tbh…
I haven’t been to Indonesia (outside of Bali) – what did you not like about it?
Bali I struggled with because I didn’t have the money to hire a driver and it was so difficulty to get around without a scooter which I was too afraid to drive 🙁 The vibe I got in most Indonesian cities was horrible and sometimes I would skip meals rather than go out because of the amount of men gawking, shouting and even following me! The rural towns and villages were lovely though and the people were very kind.
I was also incredibly disappointed by Rome. The modern bits of the city are really poorly taken care of. And it’s super annoying to have vendors trying to sell you something, men catcalling you, and cabbies trying to rob you at every turn. Florence is a much nicer city.
I expected Paris to be the victim of over-hype as well, but I actually ended up really loving it. So it’s sometimes hard to predict what you’ll love and what you’ll just not mesh with.
I think we have similar tastes! I totally agree – you never know how you’ll feel about a place until you get there.
Sad to hear about what happened to you in Dublin. Hugs!!!
Thanks Ana <3
I just started with a series of posts on my travels in Spain and I have to agree with you on Barcelona – just didn’t sit well with me either! Amongst the touristy cities of Spain, Madrid is definitely much cleaner and prettier!
Yay! Finally someone who understands me haha
London has a lot of time personalities and it’s one of those places that transforms with sunlight. I would say give it a second chance. I think the problem is expectations… Dublin was one of those places it felt too small but loved the Guinness factory. Milan was my biggest disappointment. Except for the area around the Duomo everything else in the city was boring. I didn’t had the chance to venture outside Milan to the lakes where it seems its really pretty. Maybe one day
I spent time in the Mediterranean last summer. I absolutely loved Barcelona…You need to give it another chance! Lol but I went to Rome and like you I had such high hopes for it but it didn’t live up to the hype. I’m going to try visiting it on an off peak time because I didn’t like the huge crowds.
Mine will be Singapore and Amsterdam! Singapore was too artificial and everything was expensive. I found Amsterdam to be repetitive in terms of architecture. Not much of a character.
Agra. Best itinerary? See Taj, see fort, leave.
I find your blog very informative and interesting, especially as someone who has travelled a little bit but can’t wait to travel much more! I do wish your posts were a little more bite-sized though! If I may also add this, can you edit your page so that the comments shown aren’t so long! I like reading them, and I will continue to do so, but sometimes I just want to scroll to the bottom and post a comment :).
So happy you didn’t include Paris in your list. lol 😉
I’m so sorry about your experience in Dublin.
So far I have no place that I can say I detest but then again I’m just a baby compared to you in terms of traveling the world. I have been to some of the countries/cities you have on your list and I do agree with you to a certian degree though I still don’t feel the same way. Or maybe I just decided to look at the good side… haha
Safe travels. Carpe diem!
<3 BP
Now, I don’t know where you’re from in Aus, but unfortunately, the city that’s given me the most trouble has been Sydney. And I promise, I’ve given it a fair try. I just don’t do big cities. I’m a small-town girl, looking for similar small towns.
I’m on you’re side about London, though… I’ve spent nearly 3 months in England and spent a total of 1 day in London…that was enough.
I just imagined I was one of the odd ones out for disliking some of the big cities that I’ve visited. Glad to know there are others out there. Thanks for sharing your honest opinions. Happy Travels!
I’ve dreamed of London for years but wasn’t too impressed when I went. The visit did have its set of mishaps – slightly twisted ankle, traveling with someone the first day who didn’t have a plan or want to take public transportation (so lots of walking on twisted ankle), marathon interrupting hop-on bus route so I got stuck circling the most boring part of the city, night bus tour canceled, broken suitcase that I had to pay $100 to replace, terrible hotel with burn holes in the duvet and a broken toilet (so I had to got through the dining area – locked up at night and awkward in the morning – or climb two flights for the next closest one), had 1 1/2 days to use my 3 day London Pass and wasn’t able to get it refunded since I bought it from Visit Britain – so I rushed through places to make it worth what I had spent, line too long for Westminster Abbey before I was meeting someone, awful fish and chips, fell and got several bruises getting off a bus, and I thought I could get to my departure train station via the one near my hotel – only to realize I had to take the subway and carry two suitcases down to and up from the second-deepest line (I made it, though!).
Wow, didn’t realize how much went wrong just in London! Maybe I’ll have better luck next time. But there were good parts, and I’ll be stopping back this fall, albeit for only one day and two nights, to see some of the stuff I missed. And I imagine I’ll visit again, since it’s so central to travel in Britain. It’s probably a good city to visit in either very short bursts or several weeks at a time.
Oh no I love London and Barcelona! But it’s interesting that you didn’t enjoy these cities.
I feel like the weather and expectation level has a big part to play in how I perceive a city/new destination…So many people had raved about Budapest to me that by the time I finally went I felt mildly let down by the place…BUT…it was freezing cold and darkness makes me want to hibernate so maybe I need to go again at a different time of year. One day. 🙈
Awesome post!
Alex 🙂
http://www.alexgettinglost.com
I’m almost relieved to see you put London on your list. I am British and have spent time living in London over the last few years and I must admit I have often felt that I had to pretend to love the place when I don’t. I’ve now kind of developed a love/hate relationship with the place, but I’ve had to really work on it.
There are times when I’ve really enjoyed it- there are some beautiful places. But mostly I’ve found it stressful because of its size, its ridiculously grubby (ugh tubes… blow your nose afterwards and be prepared to be horrified!), touristic and very very expensive. Honestly- to live happily here I think its a rich mans city. As a fantastic cab driver once told me “don’t bother- the place aint worth it!” Xx
I’ve just read this quite old post and I couldn’t agree more.
Though I loved London and Paris, and visited Rome when I was a child, I too had anticipated some places that eventually turned out to be a let down.
I was maybe too excited to go to Stockholm and even though the city was nice, it wasn’t as great as I expected.
Then also Perugia -in central Italy. I’m not sure why, but the tall, medieval buildings and the narrow streets just made feel like suffocating.
But the biggest disappointment was Dublin. I always dreamed of going there and found the city extremely dirty. Some areas north of the river felt really unsafe. Great pub culture, of course, but no decent street food, no important monuments (and the few ones are kept in a very bad condition), no benches or places where you could just sit and talk to your friends.