"...suppose you were unimpressed by Stonehenge because they hadn't put the roof on...

And what possessed them to build it so far from the airport?"

:D

I an inclined to agree with the OP on the subject of the Sistine Chapel. It may very well be the more impressive artistic achievement (compared to the Raphael rooms), certainly I make no pretense to sophistication when it comes to art, but... the overwhelming number of people crammed into the room combined with the difficulty of viewing it made it a less enjoyable experience for me. Maybe if I could see it without the hordes and with those large hand-held mirrors they have in some places, I would come to a different conclusion.

Hooameye

Perhaps they have a guard outside Tescos

Mona Lisa?

Nothing of interest in the Marais?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623310709181/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623310709181/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623310709181/

and I left out the Picasso Museum. Strange that someone should admire the building of the Cluny for the wrong reasons (<i>In an old Roman building to boot</i>; NOT) and not admire the architectural ensemble of the Place des Vosges built 100 years after the Cluny.

I like the idea of over and under. I agreed with Michel's assessments on the "Over." Here's more:

Under

Milan; I was pleasantly surprised by the non-touristy atmosphere and the very good smaller museums.

Watching the cars - and bicycles - whiz around the Arc de Triomphe. It's hilarious!

Palazzo Barberini, in Rome. Gorgeous palazzo and good art.

The castles scattered throughout the countryside of the Czech Republic.

Over

Lake Como. It just didn't click with me, even though yes, it's beautiful. Riding around in boats isn't that interesting - to me.

Per my children and husband, Mona Lisa. Not me; I like Leonardo's use of sfumato.

And what Michel said.

How predictable. Instead of getting the point of the thread, which I clearly stated was to give your over/under, a lot of insecure little dweebs got all upset and attacked me because I didn't find everything wonderful, ABSOLUTELY WODERUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL.

I do find the pathetic lengths that people have used to attack me to be quite hilarious. E. g:

"Madrid has no history and is boring?!?!? Mediocre food and wine?!?!? Are you insane (obvious answer is "yes")?? Perhaps this unknown "Maidrid", as you call it, is quite different."

Oooooo. You got me on typing Error. That proves that I was badly mistaken! Wow, better not cross swords with an intellect (and level of pettiness) like yours! By the way, what is all this history you are talking about?

"And given the Pantheon in Paris was built 1500 years after the far superior one in Rome I fail to see why you want to compare the two."

Well, gee. They are two buildings with the same name and general shape and one was based on the other. Who would ever think to compare them? I mean no one ever compares movie remakes with the originals. Right?

" I suppose you were unimpressed by Stonehenge because they hadn't put the roof on."

Frankly, Stonehenge always struck me as so boring that I've never taken the trouble to go there, especially since it is fenced of these days. Anyway, Stonehenge doesn't even rate near the top of neolithic structures. It just gets the hype and attracts the hype followers. If I want to see Stonehenge, I just watch "Spinal Tap" again.

Anyway, a few more:

OVER

Changing of the guard. It is overrated, but then, I wasn't really expecting that much.

Mona Lisa. Forgot about this. It would have to be really great to fight through the crowds to see it. It wasn't. It is probably the greatest single example of pop culture hype in existence.

UNDER

Toledo. This is where the history that is missing from Madrid is located. Just a beautiful place.

Black Forest. What's let of it, anyway.

A lot of us look to Europe for side-by-sides, there being so few made in the U.S. That being said, Boss and Beretta and Merkel make over/unders which simply cannot be ignored. Now, why don't we discuss something more interesting, like box versus sidelock?

Whilst I do not agree on your view on Madrid (perhaps you should go back there and look around instead of just following the tourguide) I do agree with the term "overrated" on Marais, St. Pauls and Bath.

As for Ireland: it's a great little island. Driving there is half the fun, there are many strange castles and beautiful views, the people are friendly and they sure do know how to tell a story ;). The food can be bad, but if you search a little you'll find plenty of honest and quite tasteful food in brown pubs for example. You'll just have to enjoy it for what it is.

Traveling can so much more than just going somewhere to llooking at old buildings and art.

OVERRATED: Fodors threads which purport to impose some bored person's tastes (or lack thereof) in travel destinations on the unsuspecting.

Haven't read all the posts but I just want to say that seeing the Sistine Chapel in real life after years of art history texts was one of the highlights of my life. It was more beautiful (ceiling et al) than I could have imagined. Yes, it's a ceiling so it's high up (gee, who could have imagined that?), so what? I never travel without opera glasses because so much of the beautiful art is up high. I also felt that way about Michelangelo's Pieta -- unbelievably beautiful and touching (but I don't think anyone under-rates it).

Under-rated:
The Pantheon in Rome is a magnificent space. It doesn't need to be filled with anything.
The Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, especially in the fall. The Tuilleries are pretty but Luxembourg is more beautiful.
The Musee D'Orsay. I prefer this beautiful museum to the Louvre, just because the Louvre is overwhelming.
The harbour in Hamburg. It's fascinating. A must-see.
And everyone told us to go to Minatur World in Hamburg. I thought it was going to be corny but it's fabulous fun!

Over-rated (for me, anyway):
The Mona Lisa. I've never quite understood the draw.
The David in the Accademia. I know, I know -- everyone loves it. I don't. It's completely oversized for a statue you stand so close to. Now if it were far away...

I believe that David was originally meant to be on the roof of Florence Cathedral.
He has always seemed to me to be out of proportion with too big a head. Probably he would look much better viewed from quite far below,

Exactly, MissPrism. And that long, not very interesting stretch of torso would be foreshortened if he were up on some high perch.

Under-rated

Russia
From her Eastern shores you can see Alaska.

Paris
The city may be a bit boring, but EuroDisney is cool.

Neuschwanstein
Even more people should be part of going for the world record for the shortest tour with the longest wait.


Over-rated

Greenwich
Since when is being "zero" an accomplishment?

Salzburg
Not a single living person in Europe knows the "Sound of Music".

Athos
Too much effort to finally be legally required to leave your wife behind and have a peaceful vacation.

Overrated: Posts by the OP

Overrated

7th arr of Paris (nice for a morning, but...)
London Eye (actually it's worse than overrated)
Dutch pancakes (blechh!)
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (world's toniest tourist trap)
Anyplace anybody wears kilts and plays bagpipes ('nuff said)
Most Italian wine
Positano

Underrated

Bologna
The Pyrenees
Domenich I Montaner, the Catalonian architect
Antwerp
Kenwood House, London
Friuli Venezia-Giulia
Liguria between Genova and France
The 14 arrondisement in Paris
Shopping in Amsterdam

Oh -- I forgot:

Underrated:

Greek food

The Mona Lisa. THIS is the most famous painting in the world?

The Champs Elysees. THIS is the most famous street in Paris?

Picadilly Circus. THIS is the most famous circus in London? It looks like the poor man's Times Square. ;)

The worst thing about the Mona Lisa, though, isn't the disappointment in what looks like a fairly ordinary smallish painting, but the hordes of tourists taking flash photos. I remember the scene in Forget Paris with Billy Crystal hopping up and down trying to see it from the back.

The first time I visited Rome I thought it was a big let down. But it was August and very hot, and I was on a tour that barely gave me enough time to tour the Colosseum. On the second trip, in late September with more time to enjoy the city, I liked it a lot.

MissPrism, goddestogo,

That's a very astute observation. You might be interested in this story about a documentary recently made where a replica of David was hoisted atop the Duomo to get a view of what might have been:

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/minor/2...mbs-the-duomo/

(one more -- he really doesn't look much cuter up there)

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-con...he-Duomo-3.jpg