# What are your least favorite places that you've traveled to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740 "2018-03-17T17:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/81 "2018-03-19T19:19:51Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Were you under the impression that I was lobbying Congress to enact legislation curtailing Rome tourism? He’s not from around here. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/82 "2018-03-19T19:20:54Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Apparently Rome was the trigger location to shift this thread from “Places I didn’t like” to “Defend places other people didn’t like” 😛 No, that was New York City. Look at posts 2 and 3. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/83 "2018-03-20T09:20:21Z")
Least favorite ever, is _any_ cruise. We took exactly one and it was the most miserable vacation of our lives. Stuffed into a tiny room, crowded in with a thousand other people, instructed on when and where to eat (down to the particular table), and dropped off at various tourist traps where I’m nothing but a walking wallet to the locals – Yeah, sign me up again. :rolleyes: > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Eloy, Arizona. Been there (well, drove thru anyway). I actually stopped in Benson Arizona because of the song in John Carpenter’s [Dark Star](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/). Should have kept going. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/84 "2018-03-20T09:51:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you asked me after my first trip to Moscow, I would have said Moscow. I’ve been there twice since, and I’ve actually developed a little bit of fondness for it. Wow—I came here to post almost the exact same thing. I’ve been there maybe a half dozen times in the past ten years. It’s a struggle to find anything interesting to do there, and despite the huge public transit system, getting anywhere is always a chore (thanks to many stations being located several kilometres from the nearest attractions, and the bus and marshrutka system being inscrutable to foreigners). If you had asked me five years ago, I would have said it was my least favourite major city to visit, and would have advised people not to go (or at least to carefully plan their itinerary in advance). Fortunately, the more often I go, the more adept I’ve become at entertaining myself. In particular, I’ve learned to avail myself of the multiculturalism of the city (much of which was inherited from Soviet and Imperial times). For example, there are a good number of non-Russian attractions and restaurants to visit—lots of great food and folk art from Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan are scattered around the city, and even concentrated in some places like VDNKh. There are also a lot of off-the-beaten-path gems to experience, like the arcade museum full of working Soviet-era coin-op games that you can play. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/85 "2018-03-20T11:42:22Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > despite the huge public transit system, getting anywhere is always a chore (thanks to many stations being located several kilometres from the nearest attractions That’s one of the things that put London ahead of Washington DC in the “most favorite” thread for me. DC’s Metro stops are too far away from each other. London seems perfectly spaced: in NYC if anything the stops seem too _close_ to each other, resulting in a slower ride. Boston is a bit between London and DC but I’ve only ridden the T twice. If I ever go to Moscow I’ll make sure to remember to research the subway stops! ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/86 "2018-03-20T14:33:56Z")
Athens. Boring, nondescript and a lot of the locals are, perhaps not rude, but let’s say not very happy to see you. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/87 "2018-03-20T14:40:56Z")
One year when I was living in Bozeman, a group of my classmates took a trip to Butte, MT on St. Patrick’s Day, because apparently that’s the place to be for Irish in Montana. The only sign I saw of any Irish culture whatsoever in the entire city was two fiddlers busking on a street corner. For the entire rest of the town, St. Patrick’s Day just meant “get even drunker than usual for Butte”. Which I’m guessing is already pretty darned drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/88 "2018-03-20T18:00:32Z")
I had a pretty crappy time in Belgium on a vacation a few years ago. Literally half an hour after passing into the country by train from the Netherlands, I noticed that I was coming down with a cold. Bruges was OK, but I didn’t think it was anything special, especially with my cold. After about three days, I headed to Brussels to catch my flight. All I wanted to do was go home. Unfortunately my flight was cancelled, and there were no other flights home until the following day. To top it off, Kesha released a new song on the day I was originally supposed to go home. The cancellation meant that I had to wait a whole extra day to hear the song. :mad: I traveled back to the Netherlands a couple of years ago (this time for business), and enjoyed it immensely. However, I didn’t even think of returning to that Belgium shithole. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/89 "2018-03-20T20:33:25Z")
You know, I didn’t like Cancun. The water was gross (very choppy and full of seaweed), the food wasn’t good and it was difficult to find anything vegetarian, and when you went shopping you got bombarded by people trying to get you to buy their stuff. It was like running a gauntlet. ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/90 "2018-03-20T21:10:59Z")
Salt Lake City, I had a stop off there travelling across the US by train. The Amtrak station seemed miles from the city the other side of a rundown, very sketchy at night, industrial estate. The city itself seemed full of aggressive junkies and assorted weirdos and really rundown somehow. Also you couldn’t just walk into a bar and have a drink, you had to be a member or some such rubbish. Luckily some kind soul got me in one as a guest. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/91 "2018-03-20T21:23:45Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > If I ever go to Moscow I’ll make sure to remember to research the subway stops! Do all the research you want; no matter what you want to see above ground, you’ll be in for an awful lot of walking. 🙂 Mind you, if you’re mobility-impaired but appreciate good architecture, you could probably spend a very fulfilling holiday in Moscow visiting nothing but the metro. The stations are literally palatial in design. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/92 "2018-03-20T22:57:25Z")
I used to live in Vegas, but got no use for that dump anymore. Beautiful little spots that were once miles from town are now Circle K’s, casinos and apartment buildings. And those goddamn strip malls. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/93 "2018-03-20T23:57:51Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I had a pretty crappy time in Belgium on a vacation a few years ago. Literally half an hour after passing into the country by train from the Netherlands, I noticed that I was coming down with a cold. Bruges was OK, but I didn’t think it was anything special, especially with my cold. After about three days, I headed to Brussels to catch my flight. All I wanted to do was go home. Unfortunately my flight was cancelled, and there were no other flights home until the following day. To top it off, Kesha released a new song on the day I was originally supposed to go home. The cancellation meant that I had to wait a whole extra day to hear the song. :mad: > > I traveled back to the Netherlands a couple of years ago (this time for business), and enjoyed it immensely. However, I didn’t even think of returning to that Belgium shithole. Maybe you would’ve liked Bruges if you’d grown up on a farm. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/94 "2018-03-21T02:26:01Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I must stand up and walk for Gatlinburg. I found it an interesting place. Not even Las Vegas (I assume, I have never been there) can match it for pure middle class American tourism. When I visited the Great Smokies Park I drove through “downtown” Gatlinburg. Driving is an exaggeration, people were strolling, not really walking, faster than the traffic was moving. I was in no hurry and I kind of got in to the groove, stare in astonishment at the giant tourist “attraction” on the left, admire the cheesy strip mall on the right, edge around the construction markers in the road, move 5 feet-repeat. > This was during the weekday. I was impressed. Certainly impressed enough to never try to drive through the there after 8 AM in the morning. > > Now that I have described a few negatives, lets point out the positives. Any of the smaller towns a couple of miles outside the Gatlinburg “downtown”. And of course the National Park itself. Yes, it is crowded, but heck it is a national park. Find a parking lot and start walking. You will get away from the crowds in a few minutes. Downtown Gatlinburg is like a school of fish. Fascinating to watch but one would never want to join them. The rest of the area is quite nice. Indeed, the Great Smokies Park was gorgeous. As for Gatlinburg, we drove up the main drag which took an eternity, (driving isn’t the correct words, we actually mostly braked and idled), then when we found a place we could turn around, we headed right back out. If there was anything there to see, somehow it just didn’t seem worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/95 "2018-03-21T03:19:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I was very unimpressed by San Diego. I was there for a conference, but when I explored the city, I couldn’t find much interesting (no, I didn’t go to the zoo, but I don’t think that would have changed my general impression). It had less personality than any city I’ve ever visited. > > I also don’t care much for Florida. It’s really a ugly state; about all it has going for it is the view from a beach, and I much prefer a lake view to an ocean one. I like San Diego, but I understand what you mean about it not having much personality. The only real vibe I got there was a materialistic vibe, not really a culture of its own. Las Vegas is nice to visit, but only for a day or two. After that, nah. It isn’t a city I could spend a week in. ---
**Author:** ![Itself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/96 "2018-03-22T00:31:14Z")
Paris. It’s like New York but without any of the good parts. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/97 "2018-03-22T03:31:27Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I like San Diego, but I understand what you mean about it not having much personality. The only real vibe I got there was a materialistic vibe, not really a culture of its own. You HAVE to be materialistic to afford to live there. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/98 "2018-03-22T05:51:27Z")
My first trip to Vietnam wasn’t anything I’d care to repeat. The second one was pretty neat though. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/99 "2018-03-22T09:28:19Z")
Tuscany. Lots of people rave about it. I just remember roasting under that infamous Tuscan sun, staying in a villa (celebrating my stepmother’s 65th birthday some years ago, around the end of June) that not only didn’t have A/C, but didn’t even have any ceiling fans, or any other electric fans for that matter. Everything in the nearby towns shut down during the afternoon - don’t blame them - but there was no place at the villa to hide from the heat. Inside, it was sweltering and, as I said, not even a fan to push the air around. Outside, no shade, nowhere to hide from the damned sun. Felt like a week in hell. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740/100 "2018-03-22T09:38:12Z")
I’ll concur with the majority opinion on Gatlinburg: even back in 1982, it was impossible to navigate, and what my then-gf and I could see from the car (before we had the sense to turn around), it looked like a bad attempt to be a cheap knockoff of a Swiss mountain village. We turned around and enjoyed the more blatantly tacky charms of pre-Dollywood Pigeon Forge. Had a great time there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-least-favorite-places-that-youve-traveled-to/810740.md?page=6)