dullest place
 

You all rave here about your time in europe, but what about the disappointments. Where were you disappointed? Where did you find dull?

For openers, try Pisa. Other than its Leaning Tower and surrounding buildings, we found nothing else to see. Made us wonder that if or when the Tower finally topples, why would anyone go there?

I think Arizona's answer is a riot...and is so true!!! <BR> <BR>Besides Pisa, I was dissapointed with the Rock of Gibraltar. It is an amazing sight from the road, but once you go in, it is such a dissapointment!. Another one: the interior of Neuschwanstein Castle. <BR>

As a Fodor's Forum junkie (almost), I was at first surprised at the question and without a doubt...I thought Pisa, but no one will say it! I went there a sa student of art history, based in Florence...no other excuse. So far, unanimous. I am not fan of Germany or the food...efficient, but so what. So, if one must see the leaning tower, take quickie side trip, and move on. <BR>

Definately Pisa, don't know what would happen if the Tower fell, it might be more interesting. I also agree with Gibraltar. Not worth the trip...It's filthy. Ravenna is also not much.

Well I've got one. Fortunately it's the only one I can think of. Rick Steves raves about Bacharach, a small town on the Rhine. So we went. It thrilled us not. Plus, it's impossible to get a good night's sleep there since the town is built along the railroad tracks and trains go by every hour, even at night. Skip it and head on down to Heidelberg. <BR>

Arizona is absolutely right about Pisa. At night the tower looks a rocket on the pad with all that nitrogen coming up around it, and there really isn't much else to do except tell a street vendor why you don't want a $25 Rolex. However, the most bored I have ever been in Europe, Great Britain anyway, is at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. I think that watching paint dry might be more exciting!

Hysterical. Such iconoclasts! Add another icon not worth the battle, The Mona Lisa. I've been trying to figure out for over 30 years what's so special. Beats me, and I'm in the art history business. In fact, after battling the crowds and hot galleries so my son could honestly say, been there, done that, I decided my favorite picture of Mona is the one my son took from the back of the gallery holding the camera over his head. It's too funny - this giant mob all pressed forward around this heavily framed and windowed box - and much to our great amusement, you can actually see the painting in the photo! He left me for a few minutes with the camera and squeezed to the front and was back in a flash. Been there, done that - what's next?!

I guess that I was surprised by Becky's response concerning Germany. <BR> <BR>When I first moved there, I wasn't thrilled with it either. It seemed so <BR>regimented and even confusing. After I started to understand the people and their way of doing things, I started to go out and explore it and really came to enjoy the country and the wonderful sights that you can see almost everywhere. The more time I spent there, the more I wanted to see. Now, back home, I plan on the next trip to go back and see it some more. <BR> <BR>Most boring? For me, living in a hanger for nearly a week waiting to get out of the former Saigon, Vietnam not too long before it's collapse to the communists. <BR>

I agree with Lee - you need to observe and learn about a place to understand it. Why bother going to Pisa or the Mona Lisa if your attitude is simply a seen it, done it one? You might as well look at pictures on the internet for all the value you get out of it. Have you taken the time to understand how something came about? What were the prevailing cultural values of the time, do they still exist or has the culture changed. What can you learn from this country, its people, their way of living, etc. Yes, there are going to tourist attractions all over the world that will not live up to the hype, but is that your only reason to travel there? If it is I feel sad. Being dull , disappointed, unhappy with something can be an internal state of mind. Paris is not simply the Eiffel Tower, it is the culture, history, food, wine, geography, etc. that have shaped it. I guess it all comes down to how people travel, what motivates them - I believe an earlier topic on this forum.

Angela: You said it so well. <BR> <BR>I can't remember going somewhere (by choice) and being bored. It has a lot to do with who you go with and/or what frame of mind you take. <BR> <BR>The first thing that I pack is an open mind. <BR> <BR>Happy travels! <BR>

I know a LOT about the Mona Lisa and Leonardo (the old one, not the new one) and I still found the picture boring. Perhaps boring is not the right word in this context. Perhaps "over sold," "not worth all the hype," etc. But I think we are definitely into a situation of "one man's meat is another man's poison"--or woman's. <BR> <BR>I for example cannot get enough of Germany. And France, although beautiful and cultured and I enjoy going there, is not somewhere I can really get close to, feel an affinity for. <BR> <BR>Still, I find it interesting to read what others have found boring, or oversold. I certainly don't feel like I've missed anything, not having seen that infamous tower in Pisa, after reading the above postings! <BR>

I have never been to a community in Europe that I found boring; not to say that if I lived in some of them I couldn't get bored. The most boring for me: When I was in Europe for a three week international business course, with my wife also taking the class, we were taken to a solar house in Freiburg (interesting for fifteen minutes, not two hours). But the worst was when we were taken to a water treatment plant outside of Freiburg on our annivesary - something was rotten in the state of Wuerttemberg. The year before we had both taken the same course but that time in Asia, and we got to spend our anniversary at the Great Wall and the Summer Palace - now that's more like it! <BR> <BR>I think this is a good question because fellow travellers may be interested in what is overhyped. I found some places not quite as interesting as I expected, such as Montmartre, but not boring. <BR> <BR>What I find the best about travelling is when something is even better than expected, since some times too much familiarity can create unreasonable expectations: for me the things that were even way beyond my imagination were the Great Wall, the Eiffel Tower, the Jungfrau, and the Maya ruins of Mexico.

I agree with Kay wholeheartedly. Angela may be confusing, maybe even simplifying the issue. Her logic could be applied to just about everything, so... where exactly is room for an individual to DISCERN or distinguish based on what is relevant to him/her? <BR>Personally, I love history and have never approached a sight with a "been there, done that" attitude; but there have been sites that just "don't do it for me"...(call it discriminating traveller?) <BR> <BR>I guess this may go back to another discussion I saw on this forum; tourist VS. traveller... <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

<BR>I don't know that I'd ever use the words dull or boring for any of our experiences, BUT we too were a little disappointed in the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and also the Mona Lisa. I understand someone feeling they were overhyped. But I'm glad we saw them, however if someone were pressed for time and had to make choices about what to see, I'd definetly say skip Pisa, unless it was on the way.

Sorry folks, you missed the boat with Pisa. The campo is one of Europe's great cathedral squares. The Cathedral itself is one of the mosyt beautiful and innovative in Italy, perhaps Europe. I didn't bother much with the campagnale (the leaning tower), but the Cathedral and the Bapistry were a joy. <BR> <BR>Overrated? Skip the Accademia gallery in Florence and go to the Bargello instead. The ONLY thing there of real quality is the David, and there is a good copy in it's origial site in the Piazza della Signora near the Uffizi gallery (NOT overrated)! <BR> <BR>Bologna is overrated unless you VERY into food. Even then, places like Parma, Modena, Padua, and Ravenna are close or as good and have better sites. <BR> <BR>Urbino (in the Italian marches) is overrated. Not much except the palace. Absent a car it's a royal pain to get to and not worth the effort. If you are motoring through the Marche stop by all means. Don;t go out of your way. The Lido in Venice is overrated, but Venice is not overrated as a whole. <BR> <BR>The cathedral at Cologne is overrated, though some of the Romaneque churches are breathtaking. Unfortunately there are 12 of them and perhaps 3 worth going out of the way for. <BR> <BR>Unless you are VERY much into fashion Milan is overrated. Brussels is kind of overrated. It has a charming center and a good (not great) art museum. Apart from that it's a cross between the worst parts of Paris and Amsterdam. Go to Bruges or Antwerp instead.

Hmmmm....How 'bout the Blue Grotto? All that hype & all those boats! See, zee water, eet ees blue! Hysterical. And yes, the Changing of the Guard. Yawn.

This will cause an uproar but here goes. <BR>We found Berlin's Kurfurstendamm to be a tacky, littered, and rundown street that for a city -- that prides itself as the capital of the New Europe -- to be overhyped and a big letdown. The ruins of the old Kaiser Wilhelm Church and the Eurocenter are interesting. But the street itself looks like a work-in-progress. The Ku-damm looks unfinished, poorly maintained, and awash in ragamuffin kids who don't have a clue what to do other than mooch money for drugs. Compared with Fifth Avenue in New York, Chicago's Michigan Avenue, or about any boulevard in Paris, the Ku-damm is a big nothing.

At the risk of being booed--the tower of Pisa is lovely and worth seeing. However, what the rest of you don't know is that Pisa airport (from London or Frankfurt) makes getting to Tuscany a joy. So, land in Pisa, spend an hour to see the tower, rent a car and go. I am also never bored when somewhere new. If there is not some wonderful architecture or art, there is always the people, food, wine etc. of the region. I don't understand someone who can't appreciate the Mona Lisa or the changing of the guard. Perhaps they expected something different than what it is??? I think we must realize that Europe is real and not Disneyland east!! I pity those who can list a dozen places in Europe that are "boring"--perhaps they belong in the Magic Kingdom. <BR>

I like the word, "oversold". It's a good word. And there is always something for everyone. It's not really a matter of something be absolutely and definitively not worthwhile. Never. It's just that what's for you is not for me. And I sometimes find it very interesting that we don't all fall in love with the things we are "supposed" to be in love with. <BR> I've never been to Pisa, so I couldn't say. Brussels? I'd rather be in Brugges. Baroque style cathedrals? I understand them, but I'd rather dawdle in a Romanesque or gothic style building. Etc. <BR> As for the Mona Lisa - I feel a tiny need to defend myself. My "been there done that" statement was meant to be a little light hearted and silly. Hopefully most of you know that. <BR> It is a fascinating issue actually, of a painting that was written about and talked about in the artist's lifetime. One of only 3 works he kept with him throughout his life. And it has always been raved about, meditated upon, etc. At this point however, it is hard to understand. The cultural phenomenon and history is becoming, to me at least, more interesting than the painting. The current huge controversy, which has been going on for some time, is about whether or not to clean it. The French authorities have, said, absolutely positively, "non!" This was just in the art press within the last month or so. My expertise is on medieval art and American art, but....I would have to say that part of the problem is that the poor thing has untold layers of yellowed varnish which neatly seal in several centuries of grime - and since old varnishes are themselves unstable, they yellow. We might well be able to get back to appreciating what the painting really looked like and understand the half millenia of appreciation for this painting if it were cleaner. The same agonizing went on before the Sistine Chapel was cleaned - and thank heavens they did it. What a dramatic and glorious transformation. <BR> So - I say that part of travel is learning what grabs you visually, intellectually, gastronomically, and you are allowed, with good humor, to be bored with some stuff! <BR> Happy travels!