rkkwan

I am seldom disappointed at places I go, but there's one that comes to mind:

Stonehenge

Well, good that Salisbury was nice visiting.

nbujic

except for Inish Mor and Sandy Cove, Ireland was a disappointment.
O. K. bring out the knives ....

crefloors

Stonehenge..hmmmm, maybe you were there after the Griswolds knocked all the stones down.

batraveler

Kenav, Paris seems to be rather cold and impersonal. Tourists are too catered to as well - it also sort of screams upscale and presumption - I don't like that. Oh, there are good things about it (i.e. food) but the city certainly did not give me goosebumps! But then I think I am sort of a non-conformist. I tend to enjoy spots that not everyone else on earth goes to (with the exception of Rome, London and Venice - did those and liked them but still prefer rural and smaller locales). I like the real daily life nitty gritty (i.e. rural Sicily) that is not the glamorous rich stuff. Being immersed in culture with every day people is what we look for. There is nothing like walking through a tiny village of 25 people and have everyone drop what they are doing because they so rarely see visitors.

While we enjoyed London we were there on business otherwise it is a place we would not have chosen ourselves as a destination. I would not return to London.

As far as cities go I love Prague - it would be my favourite in large city category. Dubrovnik is beautiful but too touristy. My favourite spots are normally small unpublished villages (i.e. Croatia, Wales, Czech Republic, Scotland). We have plans to go to Romania, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Poland and Hungary in the next couple of years - we want to hit them while they are comparitively unspoiled by mass tourism.

I do about 300+ hours of trip planning for every single trip to deliberately choose such locations. We always travel in either Spring or late Fall to avoid crowds (as much as we can!) as well.

Alas - I have been asked to chaperone a high school trip to Paris next year so will give it one more chance. The only reason I consented is that we are going to other parts of France so I will not be restricted to Paris!

lennyba

Batraveler - I had your same reaction on my first trip to Paris. At the time I couldn't wait to leave...but I was at the end of a long, exhausting trip with a companion who was On. My. Last. Nerve. My second visit, with a lot more knowledge about the city, where to go and what to see, and a much more copacetic companion, was absolutely lovely. I hope your next Paris trip is better!

BTilke

Montmartre. I wasn't that impressed the very first time I saw it and now absolutely loathe it. Each time I'm dragged up there, I swear "never again..." but then I find myself in Paris with friends or family on their first or second visit and they always ask me to take them there.
The most recent trek ended with us getting caught in a violent demonstration and tear-gassed. At least the police who shepherded us out of harm's way were really attractive.
Anyway, Montmartre, never again....

Cimbrone

batraveler-make sure that you seek out the hidden or the quiet corners of Paris. The rose garden at the Bagatelle. The upstairs room at Laduree tea salon on rue royale. The food market on Rue Mouffetard. You get the picture. It may be that you spent too much time in the wrong parts of Paris. It can be grand, but it can be quite charming as well.

cruzan19

After seeing the enchanting canals of Amsterdam, and the rustic setting of Sienna Italy, Paris was a bust for me as well. I was staying at an apartment with a local, but the city itself felt touristy and disney...more for someone taking their FIRST trip to europe. Mont St.Michel was astounding though!(aside from the tourist buses). The Great Wall definitely hit the bill for impressive, as did Tienenmen Square. Taj Mahal was beyond awe. I was surprised that the terracotta warriors were so interesting.

New York City, in my own country, is completely underwhelming.

lalawmom

Please tell me some more positives about Paris. There are only just a few here. My husband and I will be going in May. Neither of us has been there and this will be my husband's first trip outside the US. I read Alice Steinbach's "Without Reservations" and can't wait to find all the nooks and cranies she wrote about. It can't be all that bad. Please say it isn't so.

cruzan19

lalawmom: Im sure youll find some great things. Paris isnt my favorite city, but it's by far not terrible.
Theres always fun 'nooks and cranies' to be found! The neighborhood that had the best cute streets, in my opinion, was the one near Notre Dame. Also, the Sacre Ceur area was nice as well.

nbujic

lalawrmom
go for it ! Paris is great if you don't rush it.
Walk by the river at night, sit in a cafe with a glass of something for a while , forget Mona Lisa.
It is hard not to do the "touristy " things
but if you have to, no more than one a day.

nbujic

P.S.
I have visited Paris more than 20 times.
Hate small towns and rural areas.
Love New York .

Aramis

Throw me in the pile of Paris "non-lovers". It's never done it for me - I am fonder of smaller, older, homier, and creakier things than the grandness that is Paris.

I realize it is the be-all and end-all for many and that's cool - we are all different. Thank goodness for that.

You should NEVER presume that someone's hate, or love, of a place means that you will feel the same way. We all have a life's worth of personal filters at work.

If you have a lifelong yearning to experience "somewhere" that is based on some reasonable awareness of the reality of the place, you will likely be astounded.

How could a lover of renaissance art not love Florence? Perhaps if they hated traffic more than they loved art..

I have cried at the Grand Canyon, and Venice, and will again each time I see them. I will cry when I see the Taj Mahal - without question. You wouldn't believe (some of you probably will )the number of blank stares I've gotten when people who have asked what I thought of the Grand Canyon hear about my breakdown at the rim.

Travel is personal - this forum should be used as a way to learn more about things and places that might connect with you, not as a means to count up whether the responses say the place/sight is worthy of x days of your attention, or none at all.

We are all just reviewers, not directors. Take what we say about why we liked a place, why we didn't, and make your own choices.

Lala - if Paris is your dream, then do your thing and damn those whose thing it was not!

Hey, you Paris and Florence lovers keep small town France, Germany, Italy, etc. less crowded for me.

I hear the Dordogne and Croatia just SUCK (come on....I was getting too serious)

cruzan19

Well said Aramis!

Gary_Mc

Marv Levi was asked if a certain football game was a "must win" for the Buffalo Bills. He replied, that WWII was a "must win"; they were just playing a football game.

The concept of "must sees" seems about as foreign to me as "must wins". By not expecting "must sees", I am rarely disappointed.

It is often the accidental encounter that makes a trip. I plan for museums and other tourist stops but leave lots of room for fortunate accidents.

Regards, Gary

Nikki

Lalawmom, if you really want some more positives about Paris, you might want to read my two very long love letters to the place in the form of trip reports:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34574921

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762455

schnauzer

We too were underwhelmed by the Musee D'Orsay. We kept going from room to room thinking they must (the Impressionist paintings) be in the next room and we were disappointed to find so few. I thought it was going to wall to wall! Naive I guess. Agree, loved the sculpture. We just loved Giverny, I hadn't realised it was a whole village and not just Monet's House and Garden. Again, you see going in without expectations is so much better than expecting something to meet all the hype. Also was blown away with Lake Como, I am not a big fan of Italy as such more a France lover but Lake Como - spectacular in our eyes.

lalawmom

Thank you Aramis. I am not a well travelled person. But I can't wait to see things I have seen only in books all my life or lived through vicariously with friends. So even if I am "underwhelmed" as I was in Naples, I still saw art and architecture I only viewed on an overhead projector in college humanities courses. So, to Paris we will go.

Now, anyone else out there "underwhelmed" by Naples? I don't know that I want to return but there is some incredible natural beauty and art in Naples, along with the traffic and crime.

zoellner4

Personally, I was Awed by the Acropolis. I am not up on Greek history, but found the building Amazing. Although, I was there in the low season. I hear the crowds are horrendous.

RufusTFirefly

Hah, missypie, we'd better never travel together. I love London and dislike Florence! Just goes to show--that's why they make so many different color neckties!