For me, the most disappointing tourist site was Graceland. I have never seen anything so tacky in all my life. And I saw it when I was young and had no taste whatsoever and I still thought it was tacky.
But if one talks about disappointment, one is also talking about a pre-disappointment expectation, no?
Reading the lists, I have the impression that people go to those places with a vague expectation. They go not because they are interested in art or history. They go because they think they should. Then they find themselves with zillion others there stuck in the same place who think they should be there and queue up in order to tick off one from their checklist. They wait in line not unlike people queuing up at the post office to mail something or to pay electricity bill. Of course it is disappointing.
Example: The Mona Lisa is a beautiful work of art with the kind of grace and proportions that are instantly absorbing. How can it be disappointing? One reader explained that it indeed was disappointing because it looked just like the postcards ! Tourists like that are of course disappointed (and should stay home).
The last two times I saw the Mona Lisa, the room was deserted. It was shortly before closing time on a "nocturne" evening at the Louvre. So at least I could walk around it and freely admire all its angles and its lines. But I agree that the Mona Lisa is one of many fabulous things at the Louvre, and not THE thing. I again blame those who have a checklist tourist mentality placing the Mona Lisa as the Louvre thAAAAng to see. Will it kill them to see the rest of the incandescent Greek sculpture collection?
A few other listed places caught my eye: - The Brandenburg Gate, Germany - White Cliffs of Dover
I understand that tourists waiting to see geographic acrobatic kind of spectacular sites are disappointed. There isn't much to see re the Brandenburg, physically. It is all the symbolism. It is monumental to be able to walk through it from west(ern) Berlin and go right down Unter den Linden. For those of us who do remember history and who really once thought that the iron curtain was something we had to live with all our life (ahhhh, the good old days), walking THROUGH the Brandenburg is still unspeakably moving.
White Cliffs of Dover. Well, yes I didn't even realize people go out there just to see it and come back. The thrill was to be coming from the continent, then you sight the white cliffs. It's England! The first time I came to France, I did it the (opposite and) old-fashioned way and took a boat from Brighton to Dieppe. It was very moving to see the receding white cliffs. (Then I landed in Dieppe, right into the Tour de France...)
Conclusion: I think the places listed are less guilty than the raison d'être of this list-making. By which I mean the kind of checklist tourism.
In going over the list, I have not been disappointed with any of the ones to which I've been. I liked them ALL. In fact, the overcrowding at most places is indicative of their "draw" year after year. Why is it that people don't wanna be around other people when visiting a famous or spectacular place? As if others aren't supposed to be/go there, too. It just ain't gonna happen very often. And what's a little heat exhaution anyway, when you're seeing the Pyramids for goodness sake - didn't anyone tell these people that deserts are hot places?
From my experience: The Taj Mahal was very special, very discreet, very quiet and remarkably well kept and clean, but the hundreds of beggars and hawkers (starting in the parking lot and lining the street for four blocks on either side as we walked to the entrance) made me feel like we were running a gauntlet. Yet I wouldn't put the Taj on a "disappointment" list because of this inconvenience.
Posts: 488 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 September 2006
Stonehenge was a massive disappointment to us - partly as it is situated between the two motor ways and it was just so 'touristy' and underwhelming. It is the first thing that comes to mind when these questions get asked - followed (way behind)by mannekin pis in Brussels - truly awful. And I will come in with a third - the Sistine Chapel - partly the horrendous and tedious kilometres of crowded halls to actually get to it, but once finally there - everything above a whisper by the rather large crowd resulted in a VERY LOUD silencio from the italian guards. Did rather detract from it all.
(I'm risking a censure here, I'm sure, but the moderator can decide whether I'm being argumentative)
Eliza3: I've been to the Sistine Chapel three times and on two of those occasions the guards had to hush the crowd, as you say. With so many people, the volume just continues to escalate to the point of disrespect for the religious surroundings, no? It is a Roman Catholic Chapel afterall - the Taj Mahal's the same way - QUIET PLEASE (plus you gotta take off your shoes) - showing respect for another's religion by being reasonably quiet didn't bother me a twit in either place, nor in the Buddhist Temple in Singapore, nor the Meiji Shinto Shrine in Tokyo - especially compared to the artwork and craftmanship in these places.
Posts: 488 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 September 2006
Originally posted by CDT: They are probably the same sort who demand a full English fried breakfast in Thailand.
I actually personally overheard a tourist from Alsace telling another: "la bouffe thaï c'est pas mal mais ça ne vaut pas une choucroute - Thai food is not bad but it doesn't measure up to a choucroute (meat & sauerkraut)."
I can understand people being underwhelmed by Stonehenge. I think most people expect it to be larger, and I feel that not being able to go up to the stones themselves means that people miss out on the "Full experience".
That said, I really like it. A visit on a very cold December morning with below zero temperatures, freezing fog and minimal visibility made it one of the most atmospheric places I have ever been. When I have visitors from Overseas I always take them to both Stonehenge and then on to Salisbury cathedral. Very rarely do they come back disappointed.
The Eiffel tower and the tower of Pisa are both superb - I do wonder quite what the disappointed tourists wanted, or expected from those.
TimW
Posts: 833 | Location: Hampshire, UK | Registered: 28 March 2005
The good ones are judged to be good for a reason. I went from room to room looking at portrait paintings by many lesser known artists and then, Wham! The Rembrandt room - whatta difference!
Posts: 488 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 12 September 2006
I can understand people being underwhelmed by Stonehenge. I think most people expect it to be larger, and I feel that not being able to go up to the stones themselves means that people miss out on the "Full experience".
The flip-side of this is part of why I did love the Pyramids, even amongst the many souvenir and camel-ride sellers. Being able to actually approach and touch the Pyramids was an amazing experience.
But if one talks about disappointment, one is also talking about a pre-disappointment expectation, no?
Reading the lists, I have the impression that people go to those places with a vague expectation. They go not because they are interested in art or history. They go because they think they should.
I agree with Americana completely. I don't want to seem too much of a snob, but I really think that a lot of people go to these places because they think they should and have no genuine idea of why they are important or significant.
That said, I will offer the following comments: 1). We have driven by Graceland but haven't stopped. However, we would, if in or near Memphis for some other reason and we had the time, KNOWING full well that it IS TACKY and just because we are curious. 2). I saw Niagara Falls as a child, decades ago, and I was suitably impressed. Forget all the people and focus on the sound and site of the falls. 3). The Mona Lisa: I guess I made sure to see it when I first went to the Louvre, also decades ago, but I had also studied it in art history and brought that background to its appreciation. Ginger's response is impressive and genuine. But there were also many other reasons why I was in the Louvre (also as per Americana). 4). The White Cliffs of Dover: Being old enough to remember the WWII song immortalized by Vera Lynn (and written by a Brooklynite who had never seen them himself), I was duly moved when I first glimpsed them on the west-bound ferry I was on crossing the Channel (pre-Chunnel). 5). If I remember correctly (which is becoming increasingly difficult at this point), I have been to Stonehenge twice - once 40 years ago and once a few years prior to that. On both occasions (if, indeed, there were two), there were very few other people around. It was nearly a private experience, and I'm sure that made a difference. However, on our visit in '67, Stonehenge was only one of several neolithic stone formations that we made a point of seeking out. My new (then) husband and I started with Carnac in Brittany and also went to Avesbury and a few other lesser known sites. He, especially, has been fascinated with such formations for years and years. More recently, we made a point of going to sites in Malta and nearby Gozo and to other stone formations in the UK, in both the Cotswolds and in Wales, along the coast.
6). Other US places on the list - a). The White House: I won't comment on this much now because of its present occupant, but it just is what it is. A sense of American history is really crucial to appreciating who has dwelt within and what has occurred there. b). Times Square: Well, it's not what it used to be but there's still probably no other place in NY that can provide such a good sense of the pace and diversity of the city. It's not so much what you see (dirt and all) as what you feel. c). The Statue of Liberty: Actually, I've never been there though I've wanted to since I was a child, and I've seen it multiple times from all different angles (bridges, planes, etc.), including recently from my brother's apartment along the East River. The major impact and meaning of the Statue, though, is symbolic, especially in connection with the Emma Lazarus poem, "The New Colussus," and especially to those of us who are descendants of immigrants who came through New York Harbor and who couldn't wait to gain a glimpse of the noble lady.
So - it makes a difference if you go to these places as people fascinated and moved by human history and culture.
The Eiffel Tower lit up at night is utterly magical to me!
I will never forget the joy of watching as the crowds who were out picnicking (and many of them were locals out dining with friends after work) broke into spontaneous applause when those lights started twinkling at about 10.00 pm on my last trip to Paris. It was such a simple thing and yet so incredibly moving and celebratory. I wouldn't trade that night for the world...
Who decides what "disappointing" is? I am the pickiest person I know,relatively well traveled, abhor tacky stuff, plastic, tourist joints etc, etc and fairly intelligent and I loved the Angkor Wat temples (alluded to in the article) and hubbie and I LOVED the Tower D'Eiffel. Really, spare me, as the saying goes, "one (person's) trash is another (person's) treasure. Gotta go, thunderstorm about to hit South of Boston.
Posts: 466 | Location: Massachusetts | Registered: 11 April 2006
Originally posted by teachick: I will never forget the joy of watching as the crowds who were out picnicking (and many of them were locals out dining with friends after work) broke into spontaneous applause when those lights started twinkling at about 10.00 pm on my last trip to Paris. It was such a simple thing and yet so incredibly moving and celebratory. I wouldn't trade that night for the world...
Teachick, yes Parisians are never indifferent to its beauty. Your story reminds me ... One evening near 10pm I was walking through the place de la Concorde. A policeman stopped me and told me to wait. He wouldn't tell me why. I was becoming more and more alarmed. Then he theatrically waved his hand toward the square and said: "voilà", and the lights came on the square. It was so beautiful we all went: awwwwww!
Originally posted by Karrie: Who decides what "disappointing" is?
Exactly. Not only is there no possible all-purpose definition of "most disappointing," "best," etc., none of these top-10 lists that keep proliferating seem to have any kind of standards or methodology behind them. That's why I can't get too excited about them either way. They're no more authoritative than any other bunch of opinions. Except, of course, for Letterman's Top 10 lists, which are infallible.
Posts: 691 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Mona was not disappointing at all. It was the crowds that were disappointing. That said we went to the Louvre knowing full well that it would be crowded. I think you have to be able to focus on specific things as opposed to some of the surrounding things.
Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Duomo too, both were spectacular. The vendors down the side of the road....well maybe they ruined the ambiance, but at the same time, tacky as some of the stuff might be, it also made it Pisa.
Very few people I would think get to enjoy any of these things without crowds so you have to look beyond them....otherwise everything we seen would have been disappointing.
One of the best things on our trip last year was being in the Uffizi just before closing with hardly anyone else. We had the Botticelli room all to ourselves. It was an exceptional awesome moment to be able to actually stand back and see Primavera and The Birth of Venus in all their glory without having to bob up and down and dogde around others. But I also know we won't have an opportunity like that too often.
And I love the Eiffel Tower.....day and night and it makes no difference to me how many people are there. You don't need to be RIGHT THERE either....it's awesome from wherever you can see it.
I haven't looked at the article yet (I'm in the midst of trying to figure out why we have no power in only one spot though I've changed all fuses and am now using an extension cord for the computer), but will later. This came at a very apropos time as I've been having to bite my tongue so much that it hurts and close my eyes and breathe at some guests that we have right now...the conversation went like this:
(me) Well, on your last day, since you can't figure out what you want to do, you may want to think about the London Eye.
(them) Why? I mean, it's a ferris wheel and it goes soooo sloooooow (their emphasis).
(me) Well, yes, but...
(them) And besides, really, we have the world's largest roller coasters at the large amusement park by us and super ferris wheels.
Well, of course Graceland is tacky! You don't go there to see wonderful architecture or fabulous furnishings. You go there to try to understand the mind of Elvis Presley. Listen, we just had Elvis Dead Week in Memphis, in the middle of a 105 degree heat wave that was so bad 7 people have died (including one visitor to the Elvis celebration). Yet there were 10s of thousands of people from all over the world standing outside Graceland all night in a candle-light vigil (you have to understand that Memphis doesn't cool off at night. We're at sea level and humid, so it can be in the mid-90s at midnight.) It's a phenomenon, not a "pretty place". I was too young to be an Elvis fan, but I am in awe of the devotion the man commands to this day. No other icon gets this kind of devotion after being dead for 30 years. THAT'S why you go to Graceland!
I think it may be right about Stonehenge and atmosphere. I saw it at first light on a misty morning and felt the atmosphere around there and the surrounding area with all its barrows quite eerie. I had a similar feeling going through Glencoe first thing in the morning.
I never got the Elvis worship though, it seems to be the same as Diana worship. Beginnings of a new religion or 2 perhaps.
Originally posted by Ethrush: You don't go there to see wonderful architecture or fabulous furnishings.
But thats exactly what I thought I was going to see, wonderful architecure and fabulous furnishings. This was THE KING, and he lived in a Mansion. I expected taste and refinement and what I got was a giant, orange, hedious 5 and dime ashtray next to a real piece of art on a table.
The decor was a wild mix of trash and treasures.
But let me make it totally clear that I adore Elvis. Even when he fell from grace and beauty he could still sing a song like no other, and even to this day when I hear some of his recordings it makes my eyes leak.
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