Paris is a magical place. The smell of cigarettes and urine on the street creates the perfect ambiance for enjoying a croissant, and seeing the Mona Lisa through dozens of cell phone screens is exactly what every child dreams of. Times Square is just as enchanting, with hordes of Midwesterners pushing through to see screens of ads for Broadway musicals and people dressed up like Pikachu and Mario on the street…
While it’s inevitable for famous attractions to bring huge crowds, it’s important to have reasonable expectations when visiting some of the world’s most popular locations. So Reddit users have recently been sharing all about the “most disappointing, tourist infested” places they’ve ever been to. Keep reading to also find a conversation with travel expert King Siu of Solo Traveler, and be sure to upvote the replies you’ll keep in mind when planning your future travels!
#1
Ground Zero in NYC. It wasn’t so much the number of tourists, but rather the number of smiling selfies being taken. It felt like it was in bad taste.
Image credits: IreCalifornia
#2
My own city in the last 10 years. Amsterdam really took a nosedive. Lots of unique little shops disappeared in favor of approx. 10 million frozen yogurt/chocolate waffle stores. Tourists used to be a few chill, cheery groups interested in the city they were in – now they sometimes look like hordes of zombies hobbling from one tourist trap to the other. Painstakingly slowly, and of course taking up the whole sidewalk.
Image credits: dreamy_25
#3
Times Square, NYC It’s just a bunch of screens. I’m not joking, that’s *it*. New York City is an amazing place, but please avoid this giant tourist distraction that offers nothing. Side note: and for those who want to see the Statue of Liberty, since you can’t go up in the crown anymore, the trip isn’t really worth the unbelievable line, imo. Just take the Staten Island ferry, and you’ll get close to the statue and pass at a leisurely pace. Then hop on the ferry back! Unless… you know, you want to hang out in Staten Island… which is entirely your prerogative, I mean… you do you!
Image credits: Schneetmacher
#4
Egypt. So many scammers and thieves. Can’t check into a hotel without getting some miscellaneous upcharge. Can’t take a taxi without having 50 miles tacked on to the fare or driver goes in an incredibly roundabout way. Can’t report to the cops without paying a ~~bribe~~ fine for whatever fake penal code they make up. Then you go to the pyramids and its just a line full of more scammers. Fake tour guides, camel rides that will quote you a small charge, but end up charging you a ridiculous tab, miles of trinket shops, orphan pick pockets, the over population of tourist. Its just crazy. It’s one of the few tourist locations that if you visit, you better know a local or you will get scammed during your trip, multiple times.
Image credits: WanderlustFella
#5
Yellowstone NP is fantastic when it’s just you or a few other people. However, most of the main sites are so full of people it really feels like Disney World at some points instead of nature. It’s also infuriating when I see so many tourist disrespecting the nature by walking off of the paths/board walks and leaving trash around.
Image credits: wyatt_sw
#6
Every cruise ship port in the Caribbean
Image credits: Lallner
#7
The Disney parks in Orlando, we paid an absolute fortune for tickets but the place was so overcrowded it just wasn’t fun
Image credits: st2826
#8
Bourbon Street, New Orleans.
I don’t want to sell my shoes to you, and I don’t want to give everyone on the street a cigarette.
Just didn’t feel safe at all, and there wasn’t much jazz playing either – day and evening.
Lovely city tho.
Image credits: CatFaceRocker
#9
The Sistine Chapel. It was incredible to see in person, but it was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with people and they were trying to usher everyone through as fast as possible, so I felt like I was in the way and couldn’t stay long. I would have loved to just gaze quietly at the ceiling and take it all in for several minutes, but that wasn’t an option.
Image credits: Atheist_Alex_C
#10
Dubrovnik after GoT. So many Khaleesies
Image credits: ComfyHomonto
#11
The big Christmas tree at Rockefeller center NYC around Christmas… So packed I got just close enough to barely squeeze myself out.. Didn’t even really see the tree… That area always looks so nice in movies 🤷.Time square also.. straight up stressful just being there . An I still don’t understand why gridlock traffic everyone feels the need to beep their horn constantly as if there is anywhere to go?..I’m just to country boy I guess…
Image credits: Wkdp1ssa86
#12
Any tourist destination in Bali. Beautiful place, amazing food, stunning vistas, friendly people, but the pushy salespeople on the street outside every tourist destination trying to extract every rupiah I had for tourist knick-knacks ruined a lot of the good vibe.
Image credits: PeterJoAl
#13
Venice in August, I felt bad being there. Luckily was only a day trip but it was like something from a horror film.
Image credits: luckybeee
#14
Nassau, Bahamas. It was like being in a very expensive prison.
Image credits: outerproduct
#15
Sadly I live there.
Nashville, Tennessee
Image credits: iwishiwereonabeach
#16
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen was…underwhelming. To be fair though, I shouldn’t really have expected to be whelmed by a little mermaid statue.
Image credits: Apprehensive_Jaguar
#17
Plymouth Rock
Image credits: ImprovementUsual1361
#18
Oxford Street, Central London. The place for you if you enjoy:
Claustrophobic levels of crowding, overpriced / borderline fraudulent retail, traffic that barely moves, groups of roadmen/hood teens everywhere
Image credits: o1frmda4
#19
The leaning tower of Pisa.
A field of tourists trying to take a picture of the tower without other tourists in it and souvenir shops trying to sells those tourists stuff.
Image credits: Korpikuusenalla
#20
Niagara Falls, overrun during the summer. The Ontario side is the tackiest of tourist destinations, the NY side is a great place to get shot in the face.
Image credits: buffaloeccentric
#21
Rome. People complain about Paris, but I really enjoyed it. Rome, on the other hand, was horrible. Amazing art and architecture everywhere, ancient ruins, the opulence of the Vatican… it’s all there, but absolutely ruined by the thousands of tourists, the locals, and the overall dingy unkempt depressing nastiness of the city. Sorry, didn’t love it.
Image credits: DonktorDonkenstein
#22
Cabo San Lucas. It’s certainly pretty, and the tourists aren’t the problem, it’s that you can’t go anywhere in town or on the beaches without being constantly hounded by people trying to sell you stuff.
Image credits: ARandomPileOfCats
#23
Dublin… nothing Irish about it. Every pub is Americanized to the max, to include a dude with a guitar playing the same American “hits” from the last 40 years.
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Image credits: Equal_Win
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