World Travel
Top 10 most disappointing tourist spots
THE Eiffel Tower is 'frustratingly overcrowded and overpriced'.
And Stonehenge is 'just a load of old rocks'.
So says a recent report, which has named the Top 10 most disappointing tourist spots in the UK and around the world, reported The Telegraph.
The Louvre's Mona Lisa and New York's Times Square also have difficulty enticing tourists to rush back, the UK survey reveals.
Even Egypt's great pyramids, one of the seven wonders of the world, made the list of underwhelming and overrated attractions, no thanks to the oppressive heat and the persistent hawkers.
But top of the 'world' list was Paris's famous tower, which almost a quarter of the 1,000 plus British tourists questioned dubbed a flop.
Ms Felice Hardy of Virgin Travel Insurance, which commissioned the survey, said holiday-makers looking for unexpected delights should opt for less mainstream destinations.
Famous sites in the UK were not spared. Other than Stonehenge, which was No 1 on the UK disappointing list, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben were also mentioned.
Instead, attractions like Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, and the Isle of Skye in Scotland were listed as places in the UK promising not to disappoint.
On the global list, those looking to avoid the crowds but wish to witness something spectacular could seek out the recently unearthed fortress of Kuelap in northern Peru, a just rival to crowded Machu Picchu in the south.
The far-flung, jungle-clad temples of Cambodia are another option waiting to be discovered, as is the Javan temple of Borobudur.
The tourist sights voted most disappointing around the world were:
1. The Eiffel Tower
2. The Louvre (Mona Lisa)
3. Times Square
4. Las Ramblas, Spain
5. Statue of Liberty
6. Spanish Steps, Rome
7. The White House
8. The Pyramids, Egypt
9. The Brandenburg Gate, Germany
10. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Comments
I'm full of questions. Am I missing something about the travel insurance industry? Isn't the entire industry hurting enough? Do we really need a study on what destinations are disappointing right now!!
Ill timed would be an understatement. And right now I'd imagine a smart traveler would spend some quality time in just these spots - face to face with Mona Lisa or walking around the Pyramids and they would be ALONE.
Moreover, where did they find these 1000 British sour pusses?.. I don't believe it. Is it true that UK travelers actually rate the Eiffel Tower as disappointing? It's a tower! What did they expect it to do for them.
And I'm sorry... every single one of the top 10 inspires me.
While the survey is perhaps a wake up call for perhaps better management of visitor demand (New York is answering the call by 'pedestrianizing' Times Square), our friends at Virgin Insurance should work on more productive pursuits for their company and industry.
Agree about the Pyramids altho would do it over again. Totally disagree about Leaning Tower of Pisa. One of the very few sight more overwhelming in person that photographs.
Off this list the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt one of the 7 wonders of the world shouldn't be on the list however each time I bring freinds there it gets worst and worst. The Hawkers are agressive and getting more and more clever with no ways of trying to sell things. Upon entering someone not in uniform will ask for your ticket and try and take you around then ask for money. Hawkers throw things at you and then come back for money. It a historical monument and people are selling junk. Donkeys, camels and horses leave their droppings that nobody picks up. Egyptians, tourists, tourist police and even the tourist guides throw garabage everywhere! When you want to see a tomb the guard asks for a tip.. for what!!!!
The area around the Pyramids including Pyramids street is a giant garbage dumb with an open sewer near by. For all this plus the horrible traffic and constant hasseling... our childhood dream of seeing the Pyramids in Egypt are crumbled... why because nobody cares to take care of it! Since 2003 I have been taking freinds to the Pyramids, my last visit February 2009. I saw it as a child, then many times after that as a teenager and in the 1990s and I have seen how horrific it has become. It should be treated with respect by all. Those who want to see Egyptian Pyramids without all this.. go to the ones that are less well known.
Tourism is about meeting and interacting with other people. It is wrong to class a destination as boring simply because it attracts many people. Popular destinations will definitely attract large crowds unless, unless. Of course unless we discourage it by exorbitant charges. If you desire less crowds, get in touch and we will take you for gorilla tracking in Rwanda. One hour will cost you USD 500.00.
Actually I found all the places on the list to be exciting precisely because I had seen them before in books and on the net, and here they were before my eyes. There is a lot of human energy surrounding these places that have made them iconic.
Meanwhile as one of the respondents said, they are also magnets for people preying on tourists. Enjoy the sights, but steer clear of touts and put your money securely under your clothes!
I think one of the reasons many sites are disappointing is because of things like the Discovery channel. I see lots of nice places on TV and on the interent and after a while, it seems that you have already been there. The media seems to take some of the initial thrill away because it secrets have already been exposed.
The net and TV help me realize which places I don't want to visit so can be a good thing but it seems to take a little more effort on my part to get the super-wow factor. Its not all bad and the media can not replace the personal visit but sometimes, it feels like I have already been there.
I suspect the reason these attractions are so disappointing is that they are just buildings or static places. As Sue points out, at Niagara Falls, there are activities you can do to experience the destination, while there is not much you can do at most of the places on this list, other than go inside or just stare at them. There's also so much hype around them that expectations are probably very high, which inevitably leads to disappointment.
I suspect the reason these attractions are so disappointing is that they are just buildings or static places. As Sue points out, at Niagara Falls, there are activities you can do to experience the destination, while there is not much you can do at most of the places on this list, other than go inside or just stare at them. There's also so much hype around them that expectations are probably very high, which inevitably leads to disappointment.
Expectations are what lead to disappointment. When I first saw Niagara Falls I stared at them and thought, "Ok now I've seen it." I wasn't impressed. Years later when I returned I got involved with the falls by going on the Maid of the Mist and experienced the pure excitement of all that cascading water. I went behind the falls and took a helicopter tour over the falls. This time I had no disappointment since I changed my experience. Don't just pause and look...but experience the destination.
Eres, Im a big fan of Egypt as well, I believe the Gyza piramids that everyone mainly notices are Keops Kefren and Mykerinos, pardon the spelling. I was disapointed, the whole mystique I grew up with was gone when I was in the clammy overcrowded, underlit interior... It smelled of piss.
better to see them from afar and not enter.
I think Prague should have made the list. It's dirty, prostitutes and drug deals occur in the open and the shopkeepers and restaurant staff have to be the unfriendliest group on planet earth. They lie cheat and steal. There are men trying to exchange money in broad daylight while one block away is a police kiosk warning people of pick pockets - another HUGE problem on the public transportation. Locals even point out the pick pocket family but nothing is done! It's amazing how beautiful the city is but how backwards it is at the same time.
One mans trash is anothers treasure.
I personally would not have placed the pyramids on this list but I can agree on most of the others. I am a big fan of Egypt and have a number of trips. I was thrilled to see the Mona Lisa the first time but the rest of the items were mostly non events. I think I would place the King Tut exhibit at the Cairo museum on the list instead of the pyramids.
By the way, there are over 100 pyramids reported to be in Egypt. I have only seen about a dozen of them and only been inside 4 of them. I suspect the ones on the list are probably the Giza pyramids of which there are (I think) 9, 3 large photogenic ones and the 5 or 6 small ones that are seldom noticed.
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