The good ole US of A is just about at the top of my list. But I also have to acknowledge that my homeland, Australia, is another place I have no great hankering to explore, beyond maybe the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforests and the surf beaches around Sydney.

Love this post - thanks for the education. Not well traveled, but just returned from Barcelona... would not be interested in returning. Made me think... and decide... so often (for me) the people of the region can make or break my trip. I found myself longing for Italy. Only there once, but the people were so friendly, warm, gregarious. Felt like I was in NYC in Barcelona. Yeah, cool sights to see, like Antoni Gaudi's church, park, homes, etc. but prefer to be around friendly, helpful people. <BR>By the way, loved South Africa more than anyplace I've been - would go back in a heartbeat. Beautiful coast, vineyards, flora and fauna. <BR>By the way, I'm from Atlanta and happen to think it a pretty decent place - granted tons of traffic - but also lots of diversity in people, restaurants, parks, things to do.

Places I plan never to return to: <BR> <BR>Australia--really didn't see the point. Such a long flight for nothing much at all; <BR>London--all the negatives of NYC without the positives. Okay, so maybe I'll go if I can get tickets for whatever London football team happens to be playing Liverpool; <BR>Detroit--Don't really need to elaborate, do I? <BR>Wichita--Ditto. <BR>Birmingham, England--a dirtier version of Pittsburgh. <BR>Pittsburgh.

number 1 Texas <BR>number 2 Texas <BR>number 3 Texas <BR>number 4 anywhere close to Texas

Interesting thread. Don't others share my experience that it is not so much where you are, but who you are with that makes or breaks a trip? I mean, a trip with your loved one to Detroit or Dusseldorf is MUCH nicer than a trip with your accountant to Paris or Tahiti. <BR>

I'm like the guy who said he'd go anywhere if he won a free trip. I have rarely traveled anywhere that I really disliked. Sometimes I think I'm too easy to please! <BR>But, money and time are the two precious commodities you need for travel, so I don't think it's politically incorrect to admit there are some places you much prefer to visit over others. I don't think it makes me a terrible person to say that I long to see Paris, London, Venice and Vienna far more than I want to see Africa or the Middle East or India. My personal interests in art, history, architecture and literature lead me to want to experience Europe more than these other places. I know I won't live long enough to visit all the places of interest in the world, so it only makes sense to be selective. <BR>Also, why would I want to spend my money visiting Las Vegas or Atlantic City when I dislike nightclubs, gambling and drinking? Or visit Branson when I hate country music? We cannot all be the same, and I don't put down the people who prefer to visit these places and who would be bored to tears visiting the Louvre or Sistine Chapel. Better to admit what you really like to see and do and have a good time doing it. <BR>On the other hand, you have to keep an open mind about things. I thought I would hate cruising, and I loved it and can't wait to do it again. (After making jokes about it for years!) <BR>I like Mexico, but I will not go back after becoming very ill on our last visit there (my husband had to be hospitalized). That doesn't mean I discourage anyone else from going, as it's a great place, but when you have a traumatic experience you don't necessarily want to repeat it. <BR>

I'm with Maureen. Give me a free ticket and I'm there. Places I have been to and can do without. North and South Dakora, Arkansas, Oklamona, Mississippi, The south in general. Yes they treat me fine (I'm a wasp) but I notice the treatment various with the color of your skin. My second wife was from OK and boy do I regret it. The most shallow person I've ever met. I love both coasts but northern Atlantic coast (New England) the most. <BR>Eueropean Cities. Least favorate was Paris. The dirtest city in central/northern Europe. The least friendly people (Paris not France), the worst dressed women and now is seems the most expensive. <BR>From the posts I've been reading the last few months since I discoverd this forum I know many of you who love Paris will think I'm crazy, buts that the way it is. <BR>Great travels everyone!!!

Dear Al Gore (a.k.a. SayNoToTexas), I can understand your frustation with some citizens of Texas (Ok, so it is just really ONE), but must you take out your anger on this forum. After all, this is a TRAVEL forum. How dare you! Your frustrations have nothing to do with travel. Please take your petty quibbles with Texas elsewhere. Perhaps you can ask Dr. Betty Fordor to assist you. She does a lot of great work on this forum.

Ditto to Atlanta...No soul and BORING. I judge a town by it's food and ATL has no DISH. By the way, I'm a Southerner and have lived in ATL (but not presently) so I speak from experience. To get back to the original topic...I think Oporto Portugal is a bust. Also Veracruz Mexico. Can't ever say I'm sorry I went but would never recommend.

Australia- It was nice and clean, but just no character. Too new I guess, like most USA cities.<BR><BR>Surprised to see Chicago listed. It's location on the lake and architecture like no where else makes it one of my favorite cities to list.<BR><BR>I saw this comment above about the Bellagio in Las Vegas.<BR><BR>"This is considered the finest and most expensive resort in the world now."<BR>Any wonder that Roseanne was the number one show in our country for years?<BR><BR><BR>

Dan xxx - I see you post under quite a few different names...you used that last line in a post on the US board this evening as well, except you were 'Steve' there.<BR><BR>Anyway, places I can do without visiting:<BR><BR>1. Japan<BR>2. Disneyland, World, EuroDisney, etc.<BR>3. LA<BR>4. 'Mall of America'<BR>5. Any Hard Rock Cafe<BR><BR>BTW - I thought Australia was GREAT!

I could cheerfully do without visiting any place where puritanical religious fundamentalism, such as Wahabbism, is popular.

Albania.

Like several previous posters, I would take a _free_ trip anywhere! However, places I could do without= San Jose ,Costa Rica (been there - mucho smog and downright terrifying drivers); places I wouldn't _pay_ to visit, as they don't interest me= India, Hawaii, Russia(sorry, I already live in that climate!),Viet Nam, and on a cruise - not enough freedom or autonomy on a ship.<BR>ja

My list of places I can do without:<BR><BR>1. Reno, Nevada. It's even worse than Vegas.<BR><BR>2. Vegas<BR><BR>3. Greek Islands-what a disappointment.<BR><BR>4. Any cruise.<BR><BR>5. Any Disney thing.

Elvira-I thought I pronounce them "tomatas" because I am from the South! but now that I live in NJ, my accent is all messed up :)<BR>* I do not think people should be calling other people "bigots" on here, no one knows anything about anyone on this thread, besides the few sentences read---calling names only shows lack of ability to express oneself clearly.

It is not fair to "not ever want to go to" places i haven't been to.But among the places I have been to and would not miss if I never went back are:<BR><BR>1. Brunei, absolutely the most boring place on earth unless you have access to the royal palace. <BR> <BR>2. Madrid, one of the more disappointing European cities.I'll take Barcelona anytime.<BR><BR>3.Albany,NY. dull, grey and wet. <BR><BR>4. Niagara Falls. Majestic falls but my, what tacky hotels.<BR><BR>5. Toronto. Sorry but what's there?<BR><BR>6. Cebu, Philippines. Touted as a great beach resort but all i saw were slums and lousy beaches. EL Nido island, now that's something else.<BR><BR>7. Tijuana, Mexico. A disgraceful potrayal of beautiful Mexico.<BR><BR>

Interesting to see the diversity in opinion. My enjoyment of a city depends on my expectaion of it. For example would not go to Las Vegas expecting anything resembling culture. However for a reunion of friends scattered across the US for unlimited noturnal activities, niffty day-glow trinkets, and an un-ending fashion show of sparkly sweatshirts (made by person proudly displaying them) with matching sparkly Keds and visor, Las Vegas cannot be beat. Each city/country offers its own quirks and reasons to go. <BR><BR>That said, my general rules (it is very general) for travel is this<BR><BR>1) does the country understand and, more importantly, effectively use refrigeration and other sanitary food preperations? Not just in the cooking but in the overall transportaion of said persiable goods. Very important as do like like the taste of vomit or care to suck down vast quantities of pink tablets my entire trip.<BR><BR>2)Reliable transportaion in ALL forms. Rusty, pre-world war I equipment cobbled together into a "working" form, while adventerous, does not inspire my confidence..esp when it comes to floating or suspended transport.<BR><BR>3)Respect of women. Fending off aggressive men with "Looks O' Death" 24-7 gives me a headache between my eyes. And gives me no time to enjoy the sights I came to see. (An occassion chance to flex my claws is acceptable)<BR><BR>4) bugs. Don't like 'em...especially if they are as large as hummingbirds or are crawling out of my sink.<BR><BR>5)Toilet Paper. Camping is the only acceptable travel experience that should require me to bring my own. (rough or soft; I don't care but it should be provided in the majority of bathrooms I will have need of)<BR><BR>That's it. General, yes, and there are always exceptions, but when I hear the words "exotic destination" I translate it to one, if not all, of the above reasons I'm not interested.<BR><BR>

Poor old Al.... decides the Australian Outback is highly over-rated without ever having the delight of standing looking up in awe at a night sky filled with a million stars, and not a burger joint or Confederate flag within cooee. We can do without you, mate!

Have never been and do not want to go to: <BR><BR>Las Vegas<BR>Disney World<BR><BR>There's no country in Europe that I would NOT like to see, but I'd probably be LEAST interested in:<BR><BR>Scandinavia, especially Sweden, which just doesn't appeal to my imagination<BR><BR>eastern Europe (except for Hungary, which interests me somewhat)

I try to find the good in each place that I visit. Life is what you make of it.

WELL SAID! Katherine~

Doesn't that beg the question, Katherine? It's lovely to find the good in each place you visit, but surely you use some judgement to decide which places to visit or return to, unless they're chosen at random or assigned by your company.<BR><BR>I'm fascinated by the differences in opinion on this thread. The travel experience is so very subjective.

My list of do-withouts:<BR><BR>1. Vegas-tacky<BR>2. Atlantic city-tacky and dirty<BR>3. Bensalem, PA-drug addict pedophiles and garbage everywhere<BR>4. Pforzheim Germany-serious racism<BR>5. Frankfurt, Germany-Bosnian gypy theives everywhere

I want to go everywhere - just once - so that I can justifyably condemn it. I refuse to listen to anybody criticise a place they've never been. I want to go to Japan, China, India, Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, Australia, New Zealand EVERYWHERE. You know why? Because it's important to understand why you don't like something instead of just passing judgement because of some preconceived notion of distaste. I HATE Las Vegas. It's tacky, bizarre, ridiculous and full of old tacky people gambling like zombies. However, I've been there, and I can appreciate it for its kitsch and personality. I don't know. I just hate reading these posts and hearing about the places that people DON'T want to go. It's so close-minded.

Skylar, that is a great philosophy you have, but how many people have the time and money to go "EVERYWHERE", or even CLOSE...One must make choices and judgements. Unless the travel destinations are determined on "Pin the Tail on the Spinning Globe" one must make judgements based on secondhand information.

When some people return from a trip they will say they didn’t like this or that place, and would not revisit some other spot. We don’t remember anyplace in France, or in any of our travels, that we wouldn’t gladly revisit tomorrow. It’s not that we are Pollyannish about our travels, we enjoy our journey, and are happy to visit or re-visit most anywhere.<BR><BR>We also remember it’s “their home,” and we won’t try to change it. If we don’t like a certain place, we don’t have to be there, we can go home. While it would be nice to travel to all parts of the world, the cost to do so is out of our reach. There are thousands of places to (re)visit throughout Europe, and we will never see enough to satiate our travel appetite.

I'm surprised to see people mentioning New Orleans as a place they can do without. Of course anyone over 25 can do without Bourbon Street, but there is so much more to New Orleans, and to the French Quarter.<BR><BR>New Orleans is also...riding a streetcar down St. Charles Ave and marvelling at the beautiful Garden District mansions, dining at a 100-year-old restaurant that excels at French-influence Creole seafood, window-shopping as you stroll past the antique shops on Bourbon Street. <BR><BR>I absolutely love New Orleans, and have found it a totally different city now that I'm an adult and stay off of Bourbon Street!

Malta! It's as close to the middle east as I ever want to come!

I can not be tempted to return to:<BR><BR>Birmingham, England<BR><BR>Saltcoats, Ayrshire Coast, Scotland<BR><BR>Tillamook, somewhere on the US west coast (Washington State?)<BR><BR>Debrecen, Hungary

I agree with Skylar, maybe in reality,most of us are unable to actually visit Everywhere! but the thinking is good, you can visit places with an open mind, not taking into account others personal opinions..you can make your own judgements..you can appreciate the good things and ignore the bad...you can learn instead of judging...otherwise, might as well stay at home! and I for one would never let another persons opinions on a place determine whether I would travel there or not!

Dee: Just curious as to why you could do without Tillamook when you don't even know where it is, and so obviously have no idea what it is like.

I myself live in Tillamook, and could quite easily do without it, but that comes from living here and gaining a knowledge of the area. Though I don't care for the town itself, we are little more than an hour from almost anything you could want to do, and many of the surrounding areas are quite beautiful.

Interesting thread. It makes me stop and think why it is that some people (including myself) can find one place so attractive and another so repulsive, or somewhere in between. Geographical or cultural upbringing? Financial status? Education? Timidity or boldness? I'm really curious.

While traveling almost anywhere is my favorite thing to do, I must admit that there are some places I like more than others. For instance, I've been in all 50 states and I've found I love most of places I have been, with the rare exception of a few places like Bakersfield, CA and Houston, TX. There were simply no redeeming qualities that I could find in either of those cities. Unlike a lot of posters, I've enjoyed myself in New Orleans (the food particularly) and Las Vegas.

Similarly, with a couple of exceptions, most of the places I have visited in Great Britain, Canada, France and Italy were fantastic. To a slightly lesser degree, I enjoyed myself in Spain. Mexico can be a lot of fun, but its still sad to see all that poverty surrounding the tourist areas. I've never been interested in seeing Russia, except maybe St. Petersburg - can't say why. Similarly, I know I didn't like Germany very much, but I can't really put my finger on why. I kind of felt the same way about Switzerland, although, like Austria, it was quite beautiful, and I have been back a second time.

I spent several weeks in Greece and the Greek Islands a couple of years ago. I loved every moment that I was there, except for the last two days I spent in Athens. Turkey was fantastic, especially Istanbul. Morroco was primitive in many ways, but a lot of fun. Eqypt - it was worth seeing the pyramids, but I would never go back. South Africa was beautiful - reminded me a lot of California. The rest of Africa was something I should have seen 25 - 30 years ago, but I don't think it worth visiting now.

Japan and China were worth seeing once, but I wouldn't go there again. I spent a year a long time ago in Vietnam and remember it being a beautiful country. I've always wanted to go back under different circumstances. I think I'll be visiting there soon now that it is opening up again. I spent my R&amp;R in Australia and had a great time - fun people. I'd definitely go back there again someday, probably when I can visit Vietnam and New Zealand at the same time.

Like Catherine, I never went anywhere that I didn't like while I was there - even including Athens! But there are places I've been to that I'm less keen to revisit than others, and there are places I haven't been to that are not as high on my priority list as others.
Among the former various South East Asian counties like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia etc. Among the latter are most of the other S.E.Asian countries (China, Korea etc) plus Russia (except St Petersburg), and some of the south and east African counties.
Among the latter are Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia

ignore the last line in my above. i thought i had edited it out.

Now that I've been, I will never feel the need to return to Vienna. We went to Vienna on our way from Prague to Budapest and in comparison to the other two, Vienna was ostentatious and vapid. The best of Vienna could easily be outshone by either Prague or Budapest and cheaper to boot.
I'll always remember Vienna as the ultimate in rip offs starting with the terribly dry Satchel Torte and ending with that box they call a palace. You know the one, it's distinguished from the other boxes in Vienna because it's bigger and sits on some land.
Never will I forget the Secession Museum. It promised to be a lovely Art Deco museum and only after they had charged us full price did they tell us there was only one room open. The room was bare except for a mural by Klimt, who in my opinion, painted the same picture over and over again. Boring boring. Two nights there was one too many.

LONDON!

I imagine Satchel Torte WOULD be rather dry and tasteless.

Well, I will have to admit that I loved my Sacher Torter (I'm assuming that this is what we are talking about...)! I loved Vienna but I loved the deserts even more! I really enjoyed my time in Vienna, and hope to go back when its warmer (I was there in February with snow).

As far as my list of places I have no desire to go back to, they would be:

Los Angeles (okay but a letdown)
Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (what the heck was I thinking...touristy tacky and then some!)
Houston
Cozumel/Cancun
Pisa
Atlantic City
Pittsburgh

I will not add to this list places that I haven't been, because I refuse to judge places before I've been there. Sure, there are places that I don't care to visit, but until I actually experience them I think its unfair to critize them.

Wow! This thread has been going on forever!

Tracy

No mentions of the DMZ in Korea?
It's so lovely during monsoon season!