I come back to OP's dislikes for Rome.

In any city (or other tourist destination) you can be disappointed if you arrive with wrong expectations.

OP wondered about the heat. Sorry, EVERYONE knows that EVERY southern European city gets hot in summer. And in most places there is no A/C. I have written that a hundred times in posts here on this forum (also I have written that November is cold, rainy, dark and dreary and that Alpine peaks are often in clouds).

And I always write, forget the averages! Haven't you learnt at school what an average is? Why don't you read what the natives write and trust instead statistics which are generated by computer programs?

The food seemed not to be as good as expected. This is a typical problem when travelling to Europe. You find socalled "Italian" restaurants everywhere in the world, but the food that is served there is not Italian, especially not Roman. E.g. in Rome, pizza is a kind of sandwich that you eat out of your hands while strolling through a shopping street. My Roman friends would never even think of having pizza for dinner.

Spaghetti Bolognese is not an Italian dish; no one in Bologna would be so stupid to serve ragu on spaghetti where it falls off. And a proper meal in Rome requires four courses: antipasti (vegetables), pasta (or risotto), meat or fish and dessert.

And for me, tripadvisor would be the last source to find a reliable restaurant review. I stick to the good old red Michelin.

OP complains about the hotel and the hotel staff. We he/she earnestly rate down a whole city because he/she chose a bad hotel?

And the police thing... I do not know how OP dressed or how he/she behaved. Maybe he/she had an open pocket or something that attracted pick-pockets and they wanted to protect him/her. I used to work in Rome and never had an issue and never observed something. Maybe is was just bad luck but do not judge a city because of a single unpleasant experience that you had there. Such things can happen everywhere.

Now, FlyingScotsman provoked me. I am just returning from Athens, and I found the city beautiful: Beautiful public buildings, nice parks, antique shops, stylish bars - and good food - from a simple, but perfectly grilled souflaki for 2 Euros to delicate, sophisticated fish dishes. You must know how to find.

Can we avoid an endless Barcelona debate.>>

seemingly not - and we weren't that bowled over either. and our hopes were high - friends of ours had been there just before us and loved it, especially the Gaudi buildings, so much so that they spend 5-6 hours at the Sagrada Familia alone. When we saw it we couldn't really work out what the fuss was about and only managed about an hour.

OTOH though it took me until my 6th or 7th visit to Italy to get to Rome, i fell in love from the first moment we got there, and I'm still greatly enamoured of it. For me it has the same excitement that I used to feel as my train crossed the bridge going into Victoria station in London every morning when I used to work there. and I feel the same about Paris too.

isn't it lucky we are all different?

Annhig,

Your last sentence sums up this thread completely!

It is absurd to disregard a location due to a temporary condition like the weather. It is a matter of good/bad fortune and not doing your homework.

It is is also absurd to complain about a city being crowded and noisy. Those are included in the definitions of a city.

We have visited Italy three times and have never had a bad meal. American Italian cooking is very, very different than the regional cooking and ingredients of Italy.

Been to Rome 3 times. Not my city although of course I loved the sites.
Brussels - just had a weird vibe to me. But the frites and street waffles were delicious and I had the best gyro for about 3 euro.
Bangkok - amazing experience but once was enough.
Mt. Dora, FL - boring and the Inn that was very expensive felt dowdy.
I pretty much loved every other place I've been.

I think quite a few things have to line up for people to fall in love with a place. If they don't, a visit can be an instant success or failure. We visited Siena one morning and DH absolutely fell in love. We hit the main square with the smell of bread baking. He was in heaven and referred to Siena as the town that smelled so nice. Neither of us wanted to leave for our planned next town of Lucca. But "everyone" said how wonderful Lucca is so we didn't change our itinerary. We hit Lucca with everything closed and quiet and not as atmospheric as we'd found Siena (or Pisa away from the Leaning Tower) so we were disappointed in Lucca.

Upon return to Siena on another trip, no bread aroma so DH was disappointed. Haven't gotten back to Lucca.

DH and I went to Italy 7 times. We flew in/out from Milan, Pisa, Rome or Venice. On our last trip before his death, we returned to Rome to replicate our first visit and I felt like I had come home. Can't explain why. I also loved Pisa (again, away from the Tower) and Venice, and Spoleto and Perugia and Gubbio and....make me stop!

(Thanks to those of you who chastised Robert for his rude comment.)

pariswat:

"I'd say Atlanta quite disappointed me.
Maybe partly because I hadn't booked a room and slept under a bridge or maybe becasue I visited the poor quarters."

Atlanta is a great place to live but not such a great place to visit. Your reaction is not uncommon.

But do you mean that you had to sleep under a bridge, or that you didn't sleep under a bridge? Some of the bridges offer quite cozy lodging, from what I've seen on my rambles.

We're in Florence now and don't care for it much. Am typing on an iPhone, which is a bit tedious, so will go into reasons when DH boots up his laptop. OTOH, we both LOVED Milan. We stayed in a vibrant residential area rather than near the Duomo and enjoyed every minute. Already planning a week in Milan next autumn.

A great topic. We both love Paris and have been there 4 times. Our friends ask why we don't go anywhere else. After our October Paris trip this year we're staying in Istanbul for a week.

We also love Merida, Mexico, in January. So many Canadians who don't understand why we leave Houston when the winter weather is so good.

I'm watching the pope this morning on TV so think we're going to have to look at the positive Rome comments and go there next year.

I've been really working hard to think of places we did not enjoy and then realized that I'm a victim of my own willingness to try and try again. I find that familiarity does not breed contempt but rather better understanding and a better time.

For example, our first trip to Paris in 1973 was dismal--at least the part that included Paris. We hadn't booked ahead and had to live day to day not knowing whether we'd have a room for the night. Found everything difficult and returned in love with Brussels saying it was what Paris should be. Refused to return to Paris for several years though we stayed in St. Germain en Laye and looked over to the big city. Finally went again about 7 or 8 years after our first trip there and fell in love with it as others report having felt from their first glimpse. We've now been back countless times and consider it our favorite destination.

Based on that experience we frequently repeat a visit to a city/town/area that wasn't a favorite and purposely look for things to get better on a subsequent visit--which I am happy to report almost always occurs. Florence and Rome were like that for us as well. Didn't quite "get" what had everyone so excited about them until two or even three repeat visits.

On the otherhand, our early favorite Brussels, which I have so often seen maligned on this forum, has definitely slipped from our favor when a visit after many years of thinking longingly of the place turned out to show us what others had been so steadfastly saying all these years and I doubt that we shall ever return. Maybe cities/destination change over time. Or maybe we do.

I absolutely ADORE Roma!

It is one of my favourite places, along with Berlin and Venice.

When in Rome, I find great comfort sitting on a chair in Santa Prassede church and thinking about how life will change when robots start taking the place of humans in the very near future.

Will robots be able to create great art or would they need emotions for that?

Would a robot be able to carve something like The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa?

Thin

Amsterdam didn't really float my boat. Or Geneva.

I didn't hate Rome, but I sure didn't love it. I loved the Roman ruins - the old Forum, etc. - but not the modern city. And I do love cities. I love Paris. Didn't love Rome.

I didn't have high expectations for Berlin as a city, either and...my expectations were met. I spent a few days there last year and was glad to go and see the things I'd always wanted to see, but I didn't love Berlin, either. The only reason I'd want to go back is to see, maybe in 10+ years, if they've finally finished most of the big construction projects.

Rahman no wonder you didn't like Rome I'd dislike any city if i was stopped by the police three times ;(. The idea that people here questioned whether you'd brought on police attention is ridiculous and as Sandralist said, offensive.

I think your post illustrates so much of our experience is about expectation, you expected it to be cooler in Rome and based on the averages it should have been, you were hoping for better food etc.

I LOVE Rome and Venice, but as several people have said so much is about when you go. I enjoyed our last trip to Barcelona in early December and I like Venice in the deep off season but I wouldn't go in the busier periods.

I could see the beauty of Dubrovnik but I couldn't recommend it not with the hordes of cruise boats disgorging thousands of people daily. It was GHASTLY at the very beginning of June, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy but my aunt was charmed by the city years before and it may be quite different in January.

Lisbon is a delight,

I have to say I wasn't wowed by Berlin though I understand why others love it. It does have a vibe and an energy and I can see it would be a great place to live but it isn't somewhere I'd run back to. Yes, the museums are amazing and there's a lot of interesting history but I wasn't charmed by the city. I wasn't fond of the architecture and the whole place feels like a building site decades after reunification.

Some places grow on you, I always liked Paris but wasn't wowed by it until we spent four months there and now I'm much more effusive.

Dwd

I hit Atlanta at 8 30 pm and couldn't find a room. Or what I could find was well above my budget.
So I slept under a bridge, which was being renovated I think. I was less than a meter below it, in several inches of dust. I heard the beeps and honks of handling trucks under the bridge all night long, managed to grasp a few hours sleep. Woke up and went to the nearest hotel where I could wash myself some.

Then I went for a breakfast at nearest McDO, met a tramp, a nice relatively young black guy, we discussed, I offered him the breakfast and he became my guide for the day.
I offered him a lunch and we visited the poor quarters.

welltraveledbrit: <i>I could see the beauty of Dubrovnik but I couldn't recommend it not with the hordes of cruise boats disgorging thousands of people daily. It was GHASTLY at the very beginning of June, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy but my aunt was charmed by the city years before and it may be quite different in January.</i>

Not only what time of the year you go - but what time of DAY you go. The cruise ship tourists are gone usually by late afternoon. On a recent brief visit in May (my second to Dubrovnik), I arrived in the old city about 5PM. The cruisers were gone, if there had been any. Dubrovnik was quite pleasant then and even nicer at night, when it positively glows. I enjoyed my second visit to Dubrovnik more than I expected based on my first visit a few years earlier.

I have experienced the tourist groups in Dubrovnik in the past, though, so I know what you mean. Venice is kind of the same way. My last Venice visit was a Sunday day trip, a stop-over off the train in late September. The place was like Disneyland, with long lines and crowds of English-speaking tourists everywhere. I was a bit sorry I stopped to sully my memories of two past trips where I'd spent three nights each time and seen how wonderful Venice is at night and in the morning before the big tour groups arrive.

I understand Dubrovnik is pretty dead in January, FYI. The B&B owner where I stayed said he closes and goes to Miami for the winters. While Dubrovnik may be fairly tourist-free in January, it may also not be that much fun if there's not much open - no Buza Bar, closed restaurants, etc. (But I don't know that EVERYTHING is closed - I'm going by what the B&B owner told me.)

As a resident of Florida, I don't know whether to feel chagrined or proud that Mt. Dora made this list...

I was somewhat disappointed in Lisbon. It's hard to say why. I saw many things I liked, but it didn't come together for me as a coherent whole.

My three favorite cities are London, New York, and Rome. I think a lot of people are disappointd in Rome because they cram too many "must-see" visits into too little time. The Colosseum and the Vatican Museums are insanely crowded, sucking away all your energy. What I love most about Rome is elsewhere.

Just logged in for the first time after work and I am amazing to see all of these responses! What an amazing community!

Sandralist, justineparis, welltraveledbrit - thank you for your responses regarding the police, I sincerely appreciate it. Sandralist, you had some very astute observations in particular. Something that I noticed in Rome is that there were a lot of Indian immigrants. I got to talk with many of them as we spoke the same language and they were kind enough to give me directions whenever I needed them. When I told them about the police experiences, they weren't surprised. The Indian immigrants I talked to told me they were there legally (on visas) but were often stopped by the police. Sometimes this would just be a routine stop and sometimes this would lead to more. I was able to get away without any trouble once they heard my voice and could tell I was obviously a tourist. It was definitely a jarring experience and one I hope to not repeat.

Barcelona - For the people that didn't like Barcelona, I think part of the issue may be that Gaudi's buildings are very hyped up. While the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell are awesome, the other Gaudi buildings left me feeling a little disappointed. I still loved Barcelona though (and I recommend this to everyone) because of the Hospital de Sant Pau and the Palau de la Musica Catalana. I think these are also UNESCO sites but they are so amazing! And not nearly as many tourists. If you are ever in Barcelona please see these, I think you'll love them. I also really liked La Boqueria but that's not to everyone's tastes and there are a lot of tourists there.

EYWandBTV - Budapest is definitely a city that I really want to visits. If you don't mind, would you be able to give me some recommendations as to what parts of the city you really liked and parts that you didn't like as much. I hope to make my first experience there as great as possible!

Lisbon/Portugal - I liked Lisbon a lot, but if I was to give a recommendation, it would actually be to take a short day trip (very cheap) to the nearby city of Sintra. It's basically a small area just chock full of amazing castles. Unforgettable.