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: 741 | 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: 741 | 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: 913 | 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: 741 | 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: 488 | 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: 825 | 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.
Biggest disappointment...Niagara Falls. Felt like a poor man's version of Vegas. I loved the falls, the power of the water, the ga-zillions of photos I took, but the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum of the Dead? The 3 minute 'tour' to the top of the tower to see the falls from the air? Left me stone cold!
Second biggest disappointment...a tie between my non-tour of the Sistine Chapel and my caught-in-the-maddening-crowd to look at darling Mona. Here's my 30 second visit with Mona, including photo. It was a zoo in that small room...a dozen security guards lined up across the front of the room, between me and Mona and hollering, “15 seconds, Madame, move along, move along. 15 seconds, M'sieur... move along, move along, now." and trying to control the hordes of pushing and shoving people totally ignoring the roped-off line-up area. Yikes!
I took several photos. All were completely out of focus, and most of them had this chick's blondeness in the photo! I beat a hasty retreat to Michelangelo's Slaves area of the museum and spent my time in a less-frantic area!
The Eiffel Tower will always be a glorious sight for me...the first time I saw it was at midnight, flying into Orly and seeing it fully lit as a landmark in the night skyline of Paris. Amazing, simply amazing. Then, my son walked with me near the base of the tower at night, and it was so breathtakingly beautiful, with the lights all the way to the top. Wow! There is a vacation rental that is located right beside the middle section of the tower...wouldn't that be a sight in the evenings? Close enough to touch...
"It's known that Leonardo dragged the painting, if not the sitter, around with him to other spots, including Amboise, in France. He eventually sold it there to King Francoise I, for 4000 écus. Of further interest is the pastoral background - the horizon on one side is higher than on the other. You might also note Mona's startling but modish hairlessness--no eyebrows or eyelashes. Plucking feminine facial hair was big business in 1516." ~ Robert Genn Brenda
Gard, I think that this article is dome interviewing the same people that come to the shop and ask: "Aside the shops and Bramasole, what is there to see in Cortona of any interest?"
Again, these are the same people that fill up places along with thousendth people and then complain that there were thousandth people doing the same thing that they were doing.
Or the people that looks at you in a enigmatic way and say "beautiful town, too bad the tourists..." like they should be the one and only "discovering" a place that is been up and running for MILLENIUMS. Or even better, like they are doing something more "noble" than just walk around, and when you point at the museum, they look at you and say...oh, no, another museum?
Originally posted by BGE: "It's known that Leonardo dragged the painting, if not the sitter, around with him to other spots, including Amboise, in France. He eventually sold it there to King Francoise I, for 4000 écus." ~ Robert Genn Brenda
Unless the king had a sex change operation that we didn't know about but Mr Genn knew, his name was François.
I think lists such as these are discouraging to travelers, especially those just starting out in their "travelling lives." Seasoned travellers have a wisdom that is vast and relevant to newbies, but we all create our own meaning and memories from each experience.
Of course it is lovely to have a heads up about lines, pickpockets, costs and traffic, but I think "Top 10 blah blah blah" lists can really turn people off from visiting well known places.
Like Kathy said about Tour Eiffel, the reaction from EVERYONE at 10 PM when the twinklers came on was priceless. One major tourist trap where I live, the mighty Niagara Falls, provides hours of serenity for me when I find a shady spot to sit,think, watch the water and not the people (although, sometimes the people, too!).
Wherever we go, there will be tourists who are travelling for a variety of reasons. Some just have lots of money and want to spend it on a major trip they know nothing about. SOme are travelling on a trip they have saved for their whole lives. Most are somewhere in between. I say forget those lists and let let everyone form their own opinions and experiences without being told how to feel!
Mary Beth
Posts: 228 | Location: Buffalo, NY | Registered: 15 March 2005
My experience with Niagra Falls was when I got lost coming back from the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford. I was supposed to go across the Peace Bridge, (and I'd been over it at least 20 times), but I missed my exit on the QE2 and ended up coming back of the Rainbow Bridge.
Um... Wow does not even begin to express the power and beauty of those rushing waters.
Like Kathy said about Tour Eiffel, the reaction from EVERYONE at 10 PM when the twinklers came on was priceless. One major tourist trap where I live, the mighty Niagara Falls, provides hours of serenity for me when I find a shady spot to sit,think, watch the water and not the people (although, sometimes the people, too!).
Mary Beth, I can only imagine how magical that experience is. If I lived in that area I am quite sure I'd do the same. It sounds utterly blissful to me.
Alessandra, well said. You have hit the proverbial nail on the head!
We are all tourists at some point. We really do need to find a way to stop using the term as a four letter word.
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
Every time I pass Stonehenge on the way to the West Country, I feel sorry for the troops of tourist circling the stones at a distance (especially in the rain - the wind really whips across there). I often wonder why they have ended up there - if you look on some other travel boards you will see it has become a 'must do' feature in a short list of things to do on a trip to England trip which seems to consist of London, Bath, Stratford on Avon and possibly Oxford. I can see that these others do represent a sample of British (or actually English) history/style - but Stonehenge? It's an oddity on the list.
For those with an real interest in early history, yes, or a curiosity about the whole 'how did the builders haul the stone and erect it it' question also yes, but I wonder what the expectations of the average tourist are? Is it something promoted by our tourist boards abroad?
I have a great affection for the circle and it lifts my heart every time it comes into view for some reason - I was lucky enough to visit it a couple of times before it was roped off and it was very moving to stand in the centre in the twilight. It is important to me as part of my country's heritage, but I'm still not sure why it is expected to be that interesting to visitors.
Posts: 1404 | Location: London, UK | Registered: 20 September 2006
My most disappointing tourist spot has got to be the over-hyped and over-rated via del'Amore trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola in the Cinque Terre region of Italy. It was not particularly rustic and was very overcrowded with 'hikers'.
I own up to have been rather disappointed when finally getting to visit Mesa verde the ancient Indian dwellings in Colorado. We had been wanting to see them for months and was one of the main destinations during our motor vacation last year. In mitigation it was (for September)a very cool overcast wet morning when we arrived. We took in the main visiting points and left within 2.5 hours. Maybe we will give it a second try as many folks spend days there! Its not as though we are not interested in the Native American Indian culture...we are. If Ive trodden an anyones toes...I blame the weather! John
We are all tourists at some point. We really do need to find a way to stop using the term as a four letter word.
While sitting and relaxing at Trafalgar Square the other night, I thought the same thing as I watched all the various people doing various things and speaking in various languages.
Are we not all tourists when we are visiting somewhere for the first time? No matter what country we are from? Whether we're Americans visiting Italy or France and England; whether we're Italians visiting England or France or even other parts of Italy; whether we're any nationality visiting any other place we've never been?
Do we not all take pictures with our cameras? Do we not all queue up and babble about this museum, that statue, this shop or that whatever? Do we not all do all those things that are "touristy" and see all those "tourist places" and go in all those "tourist shops" and dress differently because we're dressed like we do in our own country? Do we not all have guidebooks (whatever guidebook, from whatever company and written by whomever. We are carrying the guidebook that we, in our personal opinion, find the most useful and helpful to us personally)?
"Tourist" is not a four-letter word. We are all tourists when we go somewhere new for the very first time (or even the second, third, or fifth), no matter who you are or what country you're from.
Well, if I'm travelling that far I'm probably going to see all ten of them.
We stayed on block from the Eiffel Tower and stood out on our balcony and watched the light show each evening. It was absolutely beautiful! When you're there and who you are with counts alot for how much you enjoy yourself. It was crowded during the daytime and very heavily guarded the summer we went. We've been there on two trips and glad we went.
Niagara Falls---city on way to Buffalo Outlet Malls. Well, my kids were tolerant of the shopping in U.S. if we could stop in Niagara Falls on the way back, once and awhile. The falls is something to see. Not my idea of the Honeymoon Capital.
I know I enjoy places much more when I have researched them thoroughly.
Originally posted by teachick: We are all tourists at some point. We really do need to find a way to stop using the term as a four letter word.
Hear hear, I have lived in 3 cities in my life, all 3 top tourist destinations in the world. I am proud of them and I always try to be helpful to tourists. Especially when I lived in SF, I noticed that those who complained most bitterly about tourists were themselves from somewhere else. doh! Btw, no one in Tchernobyl complains about tourists. (Hey, and no one said he was disappointed by Tchernobyl either!)
To me tha crowds are disapointing anywhere they are. However they won't prevent me from seeing and visiting things.
I found ridiculous this article. Who did these evaluations? The comment about the Eiffel Tower is ridiculous, even more ridiculous the comment on Egyptian pyramids, disapointing because of heat? Come on, are people expecting snow when coming to Egypt?
One of the responses posted below the Telegraph article was:
"But most of the other things are the sort of things that never struck me as interesting. The Mona Lisa for example, looks exactly like it does in photos (which is, er, not very interesting). One doesn't go to see it to be impressed - one goes to see it to say one has seen it."
I should think 'one' would miss out on a lot of wonder and beauty in the world travelling with that attitude.
I can't wait to see the Mona Lisa someday and am definitely prepared to be impressed when I do! I am a little worried about disappointment simply because of seeing her image plastered everywhere, but the real David took my breath away, so I am hopeful the real Mona will as well. Some things just can't be captured in photos.
After reading the list, I learned that of all the places listed in the UK and elsewhere, I have been only to two: Torre di Pisa as a child on a school trip (and too young to really remeber much apart from a vendor selling the most horrible Tower reproduction glazed with a substance that changes color according to temperature or humidity or something else) and the Eifel tower, that I reached on my first night in Paris, Utterly tired after a sleeples night on a train from Milano and one full day of walking all across Paris. So by 9 pm we finally reached the tower. I didn't even climb it, didn't even think of climbing it. I just stood below it, right in the center, and looked up at that lacy texture created by huge iron beams and enjoyed the spin of my head.
Topic Closed
I beat a hasty retreat to Michelangelo's Slaves area of the museum and spent my time in a less-frantic area!
