Clifton

There are a larger number of places I haven't been than places I have. In each place I know there's some well known &quot;something&quot; that makes me want to research an area and possibly draws me to travel there. Still, I'm not a plastic souvenir fan and wouldn't enjoy losing a day to a place that was overwhelmingly manufactured.<BR><BR>On the other hand, a more well traveled person could likely feel a sight is overrun and/or oversold and would recommend accordingly, if asked.<BR><BR>So the question is: If you are well versed in an area, do you feel it's best to warn people away from a heavily touristed area? Or is there still value to the first timer? Where is the line between the original value of a site vs. &quot;too much&quot;?<BR><BR>And as a first time traveler, do you feel compelled to see those world famous sites anyway? Say, could you look friends and family in the eye at home (and yourself on the mirror) and say you passed on the Leaning Tower; Neuschwanstein; Blarney or a gondola ride?<BR><BR>Thanks.

maitaitom

Definition of tourist:<BR>&quot;One who travels for pleasure.&quot;<BR><BR>I ama very lucky guy. My parents took me to Europe when I was a kid, and I have visited the continent numerous times. It makes me laugh when people say, &quot;don't go there it is too touristy.&quot; To quote Billy Cystal in City Slickers, &quot;I'm on vacation!&quot; Yes, I want to dine at restaurants that locals (whether French, Italian, German, etc.) eat their meals. Yes, I want to feel the local culture. Yes, I want to try to speak (as best as possible) the language of the country I am visiting. That said, when I visit any country (or even another city in the U.S. or anywhere) I want to see and experience what I have read about my entire life. If you pass up places where tourists congregate, you pass up history. To use a couple of your examples; gondola rides are probably as overpriced and as touristy as anything. My wife and I loved it. Nobody who I have ever met who went to Neuschwanstein said, &quot;Gee, it was so touristy, I wish I had never gone there.&quot; When traveling, I try to mix the &quot;touristy&quot; places with other venues that might be frequented more by locals. I also try and meet the people whenever I can. To demean a place because a lot of tourists show up, to me, is ignorant. Yeah, Venice is like Disneyland on speed during the day, but at night you can experience what the city has to offer. Hell, I even liked The Sound Of Music Tour in Salzburg, and nothing is more cheesy than that. Maybe the Mona Lisa is overrated, but I got to see it in person. Most people in this world will never get that opportunity. Traveling means experiencing. Attitude is everything. Some people try to make negatives out of something that is popular just because it is popular. However, if you go with an open and inquisitive mind, there is something to enjoy about virtually every place on earth, no matter how touristy it has become.

Kristina

Interesting question. I've traveled all over the world, and while some of the places I've been to have been very &quot;touristy&quot; and I've enjoyed them, I do try to stay away from the pre-packaged places.<BR>I've been to Thailand many times, but never to Phuket, because I'm not interested in the package hotel scene there. I've been to Paris three times and never climbed the Eiffel tower.<BR>On the other hand, I can't imagine going to Venice and not having taken a romantic gondola ride, or going all the way to Cambodia without having seen Angkor Wat.<BR>An example of a place I would no longer necessarily recommend is San Gimingano in Italy. I know it's very popular with tourists, but the difference between a visit 10 years ago and a visit today is astonishing. My last time there felt like going to Disneyland. <BR>I always encourage people to see the things that make a place popular and to search out the lesser known sights as well.

robbydigi

Does anyone know of any hair salons that specialize in black women's natural hair?

robbydigi

oops sorry....wrong button!!<BR>hee hee

Surfergirl

I have always found comfort in visiting at least one tourist-overrun attraction and taking at least one cheezy tour per trip, and sometimes one per city, depending upon how many cheezy (or is it &quot;cheesy&quot tours exist (the larger the city, generally the more tourist traps). I figure it this way: if there's that many people willing to do/see it, there must be something of interest. <BR><BR>I mean, how many of you have been to Niagara Falls and taken the Maid in the Mist tour?! If you have, you have to admit it was pretty cool. No, I do NOT visit the Believe it or Not and all the Madame Toussaud's Wax Museums in the world because those are even too cheezy for my tastes. But after regretting not taking a gondola ride in Venice, I fear missing the opportunity of something that might either blow me away by its beauty, or just be a lot of great fun. Like the salt mines tour outside of Salzburg. I want to do this stuff before I am unable to by age or malaise. Like the old line, &quot;we'll always have Paris&quot;, we'll always have our memories. I would hate to trod on someone else's memories by telling someone to give it a miss.

lyb

I personnaly think that there's a reason why the &quot;touristy&quot; places became that way...they are places that are usually worth seeig and are interesting to a lot of people, that simple. I've never quite understood why it is so negative to be a tourist...let's face it, without tourists a lot of cities would have no economy to speak of. I know, I lived in Monterey/Carmel, CA for 5 years and thank God for the tourists and my sister lives and manages vacation rentals in Hawaii, and once again, thank God for the tourists!

AllyPally

It's interesting what Kristina said about being to Paris 3 times and never climbing the Eiffel Tower. I can understand not climbing it because sometimes it is enough just to see it. I have been there early in the morning, in early March and there have only been about 12 people around me. Sometimes what you perceive as 'touristy' isn't touristy at all because of the time of day or time of year you visit. I personally would recommend climbing it but it's all down to making your own choices - that's the great thing about travel.<BR><BR>I live in London and this place can be really ugly in an obviously touristy way. I hate Piccadilly - sometimes I stand there and just erase, in my mind, all the shops (Gap, Boots, etc) and cheap pizza slice stands and imagine what it would look like. But, at the end of the day, Piccadilly is a 'site' and a major thoroughfare and always has been. I know that there are plenty of charming places in London to visit but I would never recommend that a tourist avoid the obvious places. They just have to be seen. And if you mix it all up successfully, you can't fail to have a good time!

Anonymous

I think it's important to distinguish between &quot;touristy&quot; meaning full of tourists (or perhaps even overrun with them) as opposed to &quot;touristy&quot; meaning plastic-y, fake, and existing only for the sake of tourists. I certainly have no use for the latter (including anything by Disney), but have no problem sharing famous places with other people who are attracted to them. Places like museums, the Eiffel Tower or Stratford-upon-Avon are full of tourists because they are inherently interesting!

Sue_xx_yy

Anonymous nailed it on the head; there's a difference between 'popular' places, and 'badly managed' places. <BR><BR>But if a place is inherently interesting enough, or beautiful enough, even badly managed places are worth visiting. With a little practice, one can teach oneself to look right past the crowds, and any tacky souvenir shops. <BR><BR>I don't expect my friends and family to share my tastes, or at least not all of them, and fortunately my friends and family accord me the same respect, as well.

Snoopy

Yup, Anonymous is on target. Artificial and touristy are often used interchangably and I don't think they should be. Also, a lot of people are very arrogant about travel and don't want to do what &quot;tourist-class&quot; people do. I have heard people say they didn't go to the Changing of the Guard in London or visit Pisa or ride to the top of Victoria Peak because those spots were touristy . . . and I think they meant that in a sort of condescending, supercilious way.<BR><BR>On the other hand, there is a restaurant in Copenhagen across from the town square that caters largely to the tourist crowd. It holds no local attraction . . . it isn't really artificial, they serve good food. So maybe &quot;attraction&quot; means universal appeal, &quot;tourist attraction&quot; means that the locals are tired of looking at it, and one sense of &quot;touristy&quot; means the locals never really cared.

PatrickLondon

(Seriously) when a place obviously cares more about packing in people and separating them from their money than it does about maintaining whatever it was that might have attracted people in the first place.<BR><BR>(Cynically) when somebody else wants to see and do what I want to see and do, and gets in front of me. )

aj

I can't imagine going to Paris and not ever seeing the Eiffel Tower! That was the first thing I wanted to see. That being said, it is not the most interesting part of Paris. I really enjoy the back streets and the &quot;local&quot; hang outs. I will be making my 5th trip to Paris in May and still enjoy at least one &quot;look&quot; at the Eiffel Tower.

mclaurie

I agree with most of what other posters have said. To answer Clifton's 2 questions:<BR>Do I warn people away from heavily touristed areas? Not usually if I think they'll like them. I may warn they're crowded. For example on the US board most people, particularly with kids, LOVE to stay in Times Square. Do I tell them not to stay there? No. I may even encouarge it if they're in NY to see shows because it will be convenient with good transportation.<BR><BR>As a first time traveler do I feel compelled to see famous sites? Yes, particularly if I'm going to be near them. I had been to England 4 or 5 times before seeing Stonehenge because I had never been near it &amp; didn't want to make a special trip. On a car trip to Bath we decided to &quot;pass by.&quot; When I saw the stones from the car I screamed and insisted on stopping. It was awesome!

MGB

I think I would warn someone that it may be over crowded but I would still go if it was a sight that I was truly interested in seeing. Two in point we are seeing this fall Carcassonne and Mont St Michel. The history is so impressive along with the architecture that we want to see it. <BR>I think half the battle is being prepared for the crowds. Then perhaps adjusting the time you go that it may be less crowded (ie going in Sept and spending the night to see it early morning or late).<BR>We love Rothenburg, which tends to get busy during the day, but by spending the night you really get a feel for it.<BR>So to answer the question, I would never warn someone away, but I would alert them to the possibilities.

Cassandra

As others are saying, it depends a bit on what &quot;touristy&quot; means.<BR><BR>Some guidelines for myself and therefore for what I tell others:<BR><BR>1. Crowds. Too touristy means being crushed or jostled or forced to wait interminably in a line. Worth alerting people to this because if it's still a good thing to see/do, you can at least try to plan around heaviest traffic times.<BR><BR>2. Commercialization: There's a hierarchy of tackiness here, such that the presence of global corps. like Disney or Sony is, for me, a guaranteed no-go. But locals can be as bad, for example, the forced funneling of tourists into &quot;factory showrooms&quot; at Toledo, Spain, or those shopping section of certain cities devoted to dreck gew-gaws. Too touristy means way too high a ratio of sales to sights.<BR><BR>3. Value: Some things are worth doing but not for $100 for about 6 minutes of &quot;experience&quot; -- can't think of an example here, but I'm sure you can. Some sights are memorable, but maybe not so great if you have to devote an entire morning to get there and it's just an &quot;oh, that's interesting&quot; sort of thing. On the other hand, some things are so &quot;important&quot; and unique that you'll put up with a lot of nonsense just to have done them &quot;once in your life.&quot;<BR><BR>Venice is a good example of a place that's overpriced, over-commercialized, over-crowded and a logistical menace in a flood, but how could you not go there &quot;once in your life&quot;?<BR><BR>

lynlor

I'm no particular fan of Disneyland....I have seen it too many times with my children.....but Disney is CLEAN and is NOT badly managed. Is Clean what you mean when you say it is fake or plastic?<BR><BR>The places that I don't like are those that are covered with graffiti and have litter all over the ground.<BR><BR>I don't like crowds so I prefer to see the national treasures at a time when others don't want to see them.<BR><BR>The choice of the word &quot;manufactured&quot; is interesting. I think almost everything that is man made has some component of being manufactured.

SiobhanP

Tourity means different things to me in different places. Every once in a while my partner and I do a touristy day or night in Dublin. Why is it touristy...well we go to a packed pub in Temple bar that has Irish Music and gears the songs to a foreign audience (i.e songs they may know). Yes it's a bit cheesy but we always end up having a laugh and chatting to tourists and telling them where to go afterwards. <BR><BR>We went there on our first date and 3 guys from England asked where to go dancing etc. I told them a place down the road and then one asked me did I go there. No I don't, it's too busy and full of drunken tourists over for the weekend. So they then asked me all the places I would go to and I gave a list. They just wanted to hang out where people our age who live in Dublin go not where the book said to go.<BR><BR>Saying that we can put an an embarassingly &quot;Irish&quot; show for the tourists. Fake Irish bars with crappy traditional music, cheesy cabarets that is in no way a true reflection of Ireland. And &quot;Irish&quot; food in restaurants that is inedible. But....if it's fun then why not just go with it.<BR><BR>In Morocco I went to a traditional night that had dinner and dancing etc....it was a Moroccan Version of Johnny Fox's show (Dublin) and we had a great night. I have also been with work to the show in Johnnie Foxs and we ended up entertaining the tour groups singing etc. <BR><BR>Seeing significant sights in the world will always be a draw for people so it makes it more populated. It's still worth climbing the Great Wall and going to the top of the Eifel Tower even if it's crowded.

MichelleY

In 1994, my husband and I went to Venice. He really wanted us to go the first evening on a gondola ride, but I resisted because my Rick Steve's book called it a rip off. I gave in a said we would do it the next day. Well, it poured the rest of our time there and we didn't get to do it. I regretted it for the next 8 years until this fall when my sister and I were in Venice. We took the gondola ride and I think it was well worth it. Yes, it was expensive, but this is Venice!!! <BR><BR>If concluded that many places are popular and &quot;touristy&quot; for a good reason: they are fun, historical and interesting.

julies

The &quot;touristy&quot; places that have disappointed us are the picturesque towns that have become major tourist attractions and thus are jam packed with nothing but shops and restaurants catering to tourists. As far as we are concerned they are not worth spending our time on if they have no true historical significance or major sights to overcome the mob scene of people who overwhelm the quaintness and picturesqueness the town once had. Another way to look at it is, if the stores no longer sell what people living in the city need, but rather cater to the tourist trade, then it probably isn't going to be to our liking.