flpab

When I travel with my husband I bend a lot to include something I know he would enjoy. I only do small art museums with him but had never really cared about going to Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée until last trip and knew he would enjoy. I was surprised by how much I liked it. We spent a lot of hours there and since we were not rushed it was enjoyable. I let him go at his own pace and I went ahead and spent time looking at what interest me. I made it to Napoleon's tomb about ten minutes before him so not bad timing.
Castles in ruins are much more interesting than renovated ones.
I think we all have different travel styles and you will rarely catch me eating at a posh restaurant but still love to read about others eating there.
NYCfoodsnob is very correct!

IMDonehere

Next trip I plan on spending 3 days, 6 nights in Paris.

sundriedtopepo

>>Castles in ruins are much more interesting than renovated ones>>

I agree...I love old crumbling castles...but on any given day in Paris, Rome, and Barcelona, there are a lot of people who are there just to look at the 'must-sees', and quite often, only from the outside. In cramming in too much, they are merely doing what interests 'them'.

But often, our interest to learn more is kindled by the first sight of these 'must-see' things, and while I like castles in ruins, I would feel very disappointed to go to Granada and not see La Alhambra, one of the most exquisite sights in Spain, or Europe for that matter, IMO.

As for Robert's reverse snobbery comment, he obviously did not read the original post.

I must admit though, I still haven't mustered up enough interest in the Ferrari factory to go there. Even for my husband's sake, whom I love dearly. Does that make me a reverse snob?

MmePerdu

If not for the must-sees, the crowds would spread and include the places some of us find we have all to ourselves. That's a good enough reason for them to exist, even for those of us who don't plan to visit them.

flpab

sundriedtopepo on Apr 17, 16 at 12:03pm
I did the BMW tour for my husband and loved it.

newtome

Posting this has given me great insight about what newbies experience when they post. The level of misunderstanding here is amazing!
1. I "never care" was also qualified with some of the must sees I did and do value. So to attack me for being rigid seems ...off the mark.
2. I did not say that others should NEVER care - I merely suggested that the best memories might be in the spots you find on your own, so don't WORRY so much. That's a far cry from saying those who want to make a list are dummies.
3. I reserve the word "stupid" for things that are truly stupid. I think the title is catchy.


I'm amused and somewhat chagrined by seeing the posts that accuse me of snobbery. All I am saying is don't worry if you miss a biggie - it's your personal experiences that you will remember.

traveller1959

"Must-see" is a strange word, extremely normative. It seems to be a typical English (or American?) expression, it does not exist in my native language.

We would say something like "main attraction" - which is more neutral than "must-see", a word that implies that your trip is incomplete if you skip it.

It is natural that we all have different interests and preferences. Consequently, the word "must-see" is meaningless.

I love modern art but can perfectly understand that others have no access to modern art. So, for me, Basel is a personal must-see in Switzerland but others may skip this European capital of modern art. I can tolerate that.

Who defines what is a "must-see"? - When I read a multitude of threads and posts here on this forum, I am getting the impression that it is a certain Rick Steves who says that Rue Cler is a must-see in Paris and Cinque Terre a must-see in Italy and Oktoberfest a must-see in München.

But when I am reading his guidebook on Germany, I see that he simply ignores two thirds of this country and its attractions. (I must add that Fodor's "Germany" is not better in this respect.)

So far for the "must-sees".

IMDonehere

Now, we are up to the part were we parse sentences forgetting about tone, qualifiers, the headline, and contradictions. As there are people who read what they want to read, there are those who wrote what they think they wrote.

We regularly see on these boards people who want to see sights that are "off the beaten path" although they have never seen the sights on the beaten path. This falls into the same category, reverse snobbery.

We visit well known sights, find restaurants and shops that we like but think are not well-known, and we like getting lost because it is unpredictable.

And that is major reason why we shun tours, because it is someone else's version of what is important.

Someone mentioned the Mona Lisa. I was stunned how many people just saw La Gioconda, took a selfie as it they painted or discovered it, and then absconded Louvre. That is one version of a trip.

There are many pieces to a memorable trip, and each is different.

sundriedtopepo

traveller1959 I think 'main attraction' is a much more accurate description of well-known sights.

Just the words 'must see' bring about a most unpleasant and rather rebellious swirl of thoughts in my brain

sundriedtopepo

Flpab I know one day I will see the Ferrari factory, and enjoy it, but for now, it's a matter of time, too many other priorities

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"I'm amused and somewhat chagrined by seeing the posts that accuse me of snobbery."</font></i>

Anything with the word "snob" always gets a charged reaction. I've been studying the phenomenon for many years. IMO, this board has a lot of snob-deniers. Denial is a very popular human trait.

newtome

I used the phrase "must sees" in QUOTES because THAT'S the phrase I see on this board all the time! Europe and US boards mostly - posters asking what are the "must sees" of any given city or region.
The travel fora here are insufferable. I'm sticking to the Lounge from now on.

Whathello

Ah
We vulgus pecus with no access to the lounge will lose the opportunity to read you...
Another snobbery, I guess.

flpab

whathello, if I had the power I would invite you to the lounge. We have some great discussions there and your wit would be a bonus. It gets the most traffic but they closed it, not many snobs there imo. Many would love it to be open.

Whathello

bvlenci

<i> Someone mentioned the Mona Lisa. I was stunned how many people just saw La Gioconda, took a selfie as it they painted or discovered it, and then absconded Louvre. That is one version of a trip. </i>

Someone I know didn't want to fight her way past the other 299 people trying to see the Mona Lisa, so she took a picture of it with her phone, holding it over the heads in front of her, and then zoomed in so she could see it.

I'm sure that in the crowd there are plenty of people who just want to say they saw the Mona Lisa, just as there are others who are trying to learn something about art, and some who are artists or art students who really want to see details up close.

Edward2005

Speaking of experience, the Mona Lisa, and the Louvre, one of my favorite experiences at the Louvre was bumping into an art student (literally) on his way back to resume painting a replica of something. Knowing nothing about art then, a barely more than that now, it was educating to listen to him explain in his limited English the details of what he was doing.

sundriedtopepo

@newtome Oops I see I offended you, which was not my intention at all. It was a comment on the general use of the term 'must see' ....I agree entirely with your post.

That is why I feel Main attraction is a better term, because as you made mention, what is a must see for one person might not be for another.

And being of a slightly independent nature, I really want to choose my own must see sights.

Tulips

We're all adults. I cannot imagine that anyone would go and see something that they have zero interest in just because Rick Steves says you should. If you've never visited an art museum in your home country, why would you do so when on holiday?

On the other hand, discounting a site because it's popular is silly too. There's a reason why people visit the Colliseum.

Sue_xx_yy

I wonder why there is so little mention of must-hears, must-smells, and must-feels/touchs. Except maybe the last one could get one into a whole lotta trouble.