Stunningly beautiful cities, breathtaking natural wonders, amazing cultural sites, and world-famous landmarks are usually at the top of travelers’ must-see lists. But these supposedly amazing places can sometimes be a huge letdown, as travelers who have been there will tell you. Travelers from around the world shared in a popular online forum some of the world’s most famous tourist attractions that didn’t get their thumbs up.
1. NYC on New Year’s Eve
New York City’s unique environment appeals to millions, yet the New Year’s Eve tradition, although popular, is not recommended.
“I remember a radio host I heard as a kid said the following: ‘The amazing thing about Times Square on New Year’s Eve isn’t that you get tens of thousands of people there every year, it’s that you get a whole different set of tens of thousands of people there each year. Nobody wants to do it twice because it’s cold and boring and crowded and filthy,'” one person wrote.
2. Hollywood Walk of Fame
I know several LA residents who won’t take their visiting friends or family to see the Walk of Fame because it is dirty and the whole walk is too long for an enjoyable walk. I think the Walk of Fame is nice to visit once just to see what the hype is about, but it is a dirty sidewalk with uneven pavement, and some of the stars are illegible. Some famous places are just downright disappointing.
3. American Side of Niagara Falls
Many people said they’d opt for the Canadian side rather than the American strip of the waterfall if they had to revisit Niagara Falls. I agree with them. The American side of Niagara Falls is a giant tourist trap, and the falls are infinitely better on the Canadian side.
4. Plymouth Rock
The infamous rock symbolizes freedom and hope, but the actual landmark is an underwhelming small rock in a protected container.
“It is quite literally just a medium-sized rock with ‘1620’ carved in it, but every elementary school teacher around Massachusetts at least hypes it up for the class field trip to see a literal rock that is not big, impressive, or historically relevant. Driving an hour on a bus to see this was the most anticlimactic thing, and I would not particularly recommend it,” a traveler wrote.
5. Dubai
A slew of jet setters stated that Dubai is like real-life Sims and an overrated example of everything wrong with the world. “Dubai is a Fyre Festival made into a city. The giant housing on artificial islands everyone sees are falling into the ocean and are an ecological nightmare,” a globetrotter expressed.
6. Mall of America
The Minnesota mall is the largest mall in America and one of the largest malls in the world. The shopping plaza hosts department stores, retail businesses, and an indoor amusement park.
Others say the mall is a larger version of any ordinary American mall. The mall won my adoration, but I visited the destination at eight years old, and riding on an indoor Spongebob-themed roller coaster blew my mind.
7. The Mona Lisa
Located in The Louvre, the notorious painting of a woman with an ambiguous gaze sits guarded by a protective layer of glass after last year’s incident of a protestor throwing cake on the portrait.
“Don’t get me wrong, that museum is incredible, but the Mona Lisa is so lame and underwhelming, and you have to wait so long to see it. Not worth it at all,” a journeyer opined.
8. Gatlinburg
The mountainside town amidst the Tennesean Rockies is a popular vacation destination, but it isn’t a great one. The best part of Gatlinburg is not the town but the cabin or lodging you stay in during the trip. The mountains are beautiful, and the ability to see a black bear chilling behind your cabin doesn’t equate to anything else, but the attractions in Gatlinburg are repetitive, overpriced, and boring.
9. Mt. Everest
“Never been, but it just sounds so unappealing having to walk up a mountain in an endless long line of other people, which makes the experience of climbing the world’s highest mountain seem way less meaningful,” a traveler stated. Not to mention the trash that’s accumulated and the human cost. I would rather hike a less dangerous mountain and enjoy the experience in seclusion.
10. Egypt
The majority of individuals voted Egypt as one of the places not worth visiting due to the high levels of scams and poor treatment of tourists. Those who did visit Egypt and liked the historic location said to book everything through a travel group.
11. Checkpoint Charlie
What used to be an iconic Cold War symbol of the division between East and West Berlin is now nothing more than a photo op and the only thing that remains of its former glory is a small museum called DDR Museum, which travelers absolutely enjoyed going to.
“The only thing you can do is pay to get your photo taken with someone in uniform. There’s a frickin’ McDonald’s next to it,” shares a traveler.
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