Places that we did not like?
 

I am not a discriminating traveler. While living in Germany for 6 years (US Army) I pretty much liked it all from France to Denmark to Austria to Italy. Still, there have been a couple exceptions.

My first trip to Vienna was during a summer heat wave with terrible smog, I could not wait to get back out to the mountains. I have since visited Vienna in a better season and loved it.

The place with which I have not been able to reconcile a poor experience is the Bodensee (Lake Constance). I am originally from Michigan and normally like lakeside communities. I visited the Bodensee with positive expectations. It was a washout. We left not with a bad taste but with no taste for returning.

Please don't tell me what an idiot I am, I already know. Instead, I would like to hear what places turned off (or failed to turn on) other travelers. And, perhaps why.

Regards, Gary

Portofino in Italy because of the insufferable mobs there - literally elbow to elbow in this 'old fishing village' - any ambience it may have had was lost in the mob scene. ditto for Bellagio, Italy.

Five years ago, my husband had bypass surgery and did not enjoy Venice, Italy at all.

We just returned from Italy and he is in terrific health. Guess what? He fell in love with Venice.

My hubby and I did a 3-week tour of Spain and Portugal for our honeymoon last year. We stayed for 2 nights in Jerez de la Frontera and did not like it. We had a terrible hotel with a jerk of a concierge, the town seemed very bizarre, women dressing themselves and their children up as if going to Sunday church and parading them down the main street. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen.

But it was especially the hotel that turned us off the town. The only good thing about Jerez was the sherry plants. We did a tour and really liked that.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I honestly didn't care for Florence. DH and I went a few years ago, on our first trip to Italy, and something about it didn't click with us. Its a beautiful city but overall I found it chaotic, very crowded, and noisy. We were headed to Rome next and were very nervous, but loved Rome instantly upon arrival; it felt like a breath of fresh air. I've been back to Rome several times since then and love it more each time, but managed to avoid Florence.

I always wonder if I would like Florence more if/when I return.

Other than that, I loved just about every place I have visited. Even Florence was great in its own way, and its always wonderful to travel and see/experience new places, regardless of whether they "click" with us or not.

Tracy

We just got back from a Med cruise - I was so excited about going to Florence. I was told that I would love Florence a lot better than Rome (which I absolutley adore - I keep the fountain full of coins when I go so I will return !) anyway - I did not like Florence at all neither did my husband thankfully the next day was in Rome which we loved again !! We hated Barcelona and will never go back - maybe because it was San Juan day and we thought we were in a "war zone" !!

We loved Florence!

My husband would agree with the OP about Lake Constance, however; he had eaten some bad meat the night before and was quite ill by the time we got to Lake Constance. I'm sure it brings back bad memories to him!

Bologna, Italy totally disappointed us, aside from eating the best lasagne I have ever eaten, we didn't think much of this city, perhaps it was because we had just left Venice. Also, Antibes in France was disappointing to us.

Both Florence and Nice were a total disappointment.

I'm so happy for this thread! I was beginning to think that I was the only human on the planet who didn't like Florence! :)

And your right, I felt Nice a bit overrated too. Nice would have been 100 times better if I was a wealthy Yatch owner in my opinion.

LOL Tyler...I always thought that I was the only one! When I mention it to co-workers they look at me like I have three heads!

Tracy

I love Florence. I can never get enough of David/Duomo/Uffizi/Santa Croce/Baptistery
Outdoor markets/Piazza's

Although I do agree with there being too many cars/vespas in the area.

alas, we are not going to Florence on this coming trip. I want to see Cinque Terre for the first time.

Siena.
Disliked it the first time I went there and tried hard to appreciate it the second time but came away liking it even less.
People tell me it's beautiful but I found it depressing, oppressive and claustrophobic.
I was also pretty underwhelmed by Nice and thought the Promenade des Anglais was awful and the old town tiny and overrated.
Was disappointed by Toledo too, although I did enjoy it I expected it to impress me more. Expectations too high, I suppose.

I like Florence fine. My son (whom I took when he was 12) liked it tremendously, even though we scarcely set foot in a museum there (go figure).

Nice did nothing for me -- I just couldn't see what the big deal was. I also didn't enjoy Barcelona, although that was 22 years ago. It was incredibly smoggy, awful traffic, and just not that interesting. However, so many people rave about it now that I may have to give it a return visit one of these days, just in case I missed something.

Amsterdam and I didn't get along very well, but I'd be willing to try again and give us another chance.

i thought vienna was ultra bland. the palaces were a complete let down. i am gonna start a thread of places that suprised you. the ying to the yang.

I think Barcelona has been revitalized by the olympics since 22 years ago. You should give it another shot :)


I came up with a theory that travelers go to places based almost 100% on how well they have been advertized... not on how great of a city they are. Florence has been advertized to death and Istanbul hasn't, yet I can almost guarentee you that you would have a hard time having more fun in Florence than in Istanbul. In my opinion people should travel more to the lesser known countries instead of just sticking with the typical France/Spain/Italy route. Just my 2 cents =)

I liked london less the last time I went then the first. It seemed different and this was before 7/7. We barely saw any native english, but I guess if you go outside of london you see more.

Amsterdam- we did not feel safe there- people were following us, lots of characters standing on corners- pickpocket signs everywhere!

Add me to the group who didn't LOVE Florence. We went 10 years ago and I found it to be crowded, noisy, and incredibly 'rip off' centric. We also just came off a Med Cruise (JerseySue - Liberty?) and went to Florence for the day just to shop. And shop we did!!! However, it was hot, noisy and incredibly crowded again. Also, I absolutely hate Naples, and I am not to wild about Dijon.