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The world's most disappointing tourist attractions
The Taj Mahal. La Sagrada Familia. The Grand Canyon. These are places that give visitors goose bumps and must be seen in person. The kinds of places that photographs just can't do justice. I know that when I arrived at the Taj Mahal my jaw dropped. I was in awe. But not all travel destinations live up to the hype. All to often, you arrive at your prized spot only to snap a perfunctory photo and get back into your rental car feeling disenchanted and cheated. The Sydney Morning Herald did us a solid and put together their list of the world's most disappointing tourist attractions.
Included on the list are Buckingham Palace ("It's just a big grey building."), the Spanish Steps in Rome ("It's hard to get excited about a flight of stairs...") and New York's Times Square ("And what's there to look at once you arrive? Billboards?").
I missed the Spanish Steps when I was in Rome because I decided to take a nap instead of joining my friends on that walk. Their reaction when they returned to our apartment? Some shrugged shoulders and a lot of "meh." And living in New York, I can tell you that Times Square is nothing more than one of Dante's outer circles of hell, filled with sidewalk hustlers peddling schlock and not much else.
Take a look at their list and let us know what you think. Ever been underwhelmed by a famous landmark? What places have lived up to your high expectations? Drop us a line in the comments.
Alternatively, click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world -- covering topics from funeral customs, to penises, to stripping.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Chris Feb 4th 2009 11:42AM
I was definitely underwhelmed (possibly even "unwhelmed" altogether) by Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills as well as the "Hollywood Strip" (Hollywood Blvd?...the one with all the stars). You see both of these in the movies and they seem incredible. Well, Rodeo is about 2 blocks long and quite frankly they have the same selection of stores in the Short Hills mall not to far from where I live. Not to mention I wouldnt know what to do in one of those stores, but then I dont do "designers" nor do i "shop"...this stop was for the fiancee. As for "the strip", I describe it as the NYC subway without the charm. There were homeless harassing you for change (I've lived in and around NYC all my life, so the homeless arent an issue to me, here they ask, mostly politely, but never harass), its filthy, stunk, and I wasnt too impressed with any of the sights day or night. Of course the Chinese theater was nice, and the El Capitan also. All in all LA as a whole wasnt so impressive but those two stood out.
joyce Feb 5th 2009 3:50PM
if you think that was bad try Plymouth rock. I have bigger more impressive rocks in my yard.
Jon K Feb 4th 2009 1:38PM
the pyramids in giza!
a) people trying to get money from you by pretending to be tour guides or trying to run a taxi scam
b) seeing that the pyramids are right in the middle of a suburb with apartment buildings surrounding the site
c) having to pay money to crawl inside them only to end up in a small, plain room with nothing in it
Rose Feb 5th 2009 5:01PM
Exactly !!! re:- the pyramids at Giza, for all the reasons listed by Jon.
jk Feb 4th 2009 3:59PM
Hands down, it's got to be Neuschwanstein Castle. It's not even that old, the various architectural styles don't go together, it's overrun with tourists, and you can't go into the most interesting areas (in my mind), the unfinished parts - which is most of it!
donna Feb 5th 2009 3:24PM
You should have been there 10 years ago. They showed us all the little secret rooms and trick doors.
plus, the views are amazing from all the windows and the village view....Wow!
jkiel Feb 5th 2009 3:53PM
Oh sure, rub it in! ;-)
ke Feb 4th 2009 5:30PM
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. I always thought it was huge and grey. It turned out to be tiny and yellow.
GB Feb 5th 2009 5:36PM
Yes, what a disappointment!! As a monument it was nice, but since the wall went down they have built new modern buildings on both sides that come right up beside the Brandenburg Gate, and all but touch it... there's maybe a 10-inch gap between the old and the new. How on earth can an intelligent country so utterly ruin the effect of their most famous landmark? It should be all by itself out there on that plaza. The great St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna is the same situation... a magnificent ancient Gothic structure that deserves a huge plaza in front, but no, they've gone and stuck hideous modern buildings right in front of it, totally destroying the effect it could have made.
phill gold Feb 4th 2009 8:11PM
hollywood blvd in cali- its so run down and scary to walk down alone.
brussles- chateu le' piss- its a small little tiny statue and a pain to find
Songster Feb 7th 2009 3:23PM
Initially had problems finding it but with the help of tour books, took me right to it. They dress it up (depending on holiday and time of season) and the townsfolk and tourists make a big deal about it.
Diagonally across from Godiva Chocolate shop. The candy bars are a fraction of the cost to buy the candy here in the states.
Diane O. Feb 4th 2009 11:09PM
The Taj Mahal -- I thought it would be so blah, because it was so iconic, but it was amazing, I could just sit and contemplate it for a long time. But our guide dragged us from pillar to post and would tell us where to aim the camera for the best pictures. Of course, he was right.
The London Eye was kind of meh...
Mariah Feb 5th 2009 2:24PM
The white house was kinda pathetic. It's tiny in the front. Expected it to be bigger. Meh.
Charles C Feb 7th 2009 4:16PM
My daughter and her husband just recently returned to Virgia following a visit to the Alamo. They were very excited. They did note that it was just sort of an island in the midst of lots of buildings and could easily be overlooked. But, they were excited about the history, which they had studied (again) before the visit. Many, exciting and beautiful palaces must be seen with an understanding of the history.
Nick Nick Feb 5th 2009 2:57PM
I went to Massachuesetts and was having a wonderful time site seeing around Boston. I love history and it was full of it; but then came the time to go down to Plymouth and Martha's Vineyard.
I loved Plymouth itself and there are lots of wonderful things to see, but Plymouth Rock is just a rock. I snapped a couple of pictures so the folks back home could see, but its just a rock.
Martha's Vineyard was hot and dirty and we have better looking houses where I live. I didn't even waste my film.
Bette Feb 7th 2009 10:49PM
What do you think Plymouth Rock is? You want a big boulder to announce that this is where the Pilgrims landed in America? What has the size of the rock have to do with what it commemorates?
Eric Feb 5th 2009 4:34PM
The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Pisa itself is an italian version of Tijuana, the tower itself will make you wonder why you ever wanted to see it in the first place!
OldTeacher Feb 5th 2009 6:52PM
Hey, just remember, it's really leaning...:]
Steph C. Feb 5th 2009 2:45PM
For me The Alamo was the bigget let down of any place I have ever visited. I know it may not be a world class tourist attraction, but in Texas The Alamo is a big deal. You grow up learning all about what happened there and hearing "Remember The Alamo", and you expect it to be this fantastic place brimming with Texas history. Sadly, this is not the case. There is little left of the original Alamo. It is right in the middle of downtown San Antonio, and all you see when you walk in are some old uniforms and a gift shop. I saw it for the first time when I was 16 and I was so dissappointed I nearly burst into tears.
Thankfully the other missions that are still standing around San Antonio were amazing, and well worth the visit.
Mrs. Coley Feb 5th 2009 5:31PM
I agree! The Alamo didn't stand out. If it weren't pointed out to me I might have missed it. They should have preserved some of the land so that it had more of the original feel to it. I understand the world progresses and the town sprung up around it, but after all the sacrifices made there it should have held some reverence. It was just an old building with a nice monument in the front. I was disappointed to say the least!