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Anonymous wrote:Quite honestly, you can get incredible food and views in the US without all the hassle. I'd put Big Sur, CA, much of the state of Washington, Sedona, AZ, and the 30a beaches against most international destinations.

Incredible food in the US is very hard to come by, [unless you have deep pockets to pay for the best restaurants] and I say this as a New Yorker with access to the best restaurants in the world. Our food industry sucks, and our ingredients are just not as good/fresh. Even our fruit is not as good as in other parts of the world, it is never quite as sweet and flavorful. Therefore, I suspect that those claiming that the food in Paris, Spain, Italy is not good have what I call that soda/burger palette…

This! Food in the US is of poor quality which is why the majority of Americans are overweight. I recently read an article that China now refuses to import American wheat. China!

Guess where Italy gets wheat from?

Canada, France, Ukraine, etc.

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Anonymous wrote:Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Florence

Barcelona, Venice, and Florence are just too overrun with tourists. I actually thought Madrid was fabulous—it seemed like a real city with actual locals and I wasn’t tripping over a tourist every two feet.

I found the people in Madrid and Barcelona and Spain in general to be assholish.

The feeling was likely mutual.

It’s OK. Portugal and the Portuguese are way better anyway. Plus Portuguese food is superior. People finally learned Portugal is better destination.

I am European, travel is my hobby, I have been everywhere and to many places multiple times, and I actually think Portugal is one of the worst countries to visit with some of the worst, unhealthy food. Zero salads to be had. Crumbling buildings and infrastructure. Sure, the people are friendly, but so are most Europeans.
I love Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Croatia, the UK, the Netherlands and many others.

I doubt you have been even close to everywhere. Who says that?

Barcelona. I expected it to be next level beautiful. It was pretty and had some very cool things (park with all the Gaudi walls and buildings, different plazas etc). I just wasn't mesmerized/captured by the city the way I have been in other places in Europe. The main drag there Las Ramblas was so gross- everything focused on bachelorette party and penis themed things.

Costa Rica. We had a great time, and did lots of cool things. I just thought based on all of the people I knew that went there, it would be mind-blowing. It was beautiful, but felt more like any other tropical island. Yes we did all the things people do there. I think I just expected it to be more unique than other places? Was great, just prob had my expectations set too high.

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Anonymous wrote:I would invite everyone to consider the possibility that if you find somewhere overrated, it is because you are doing it wrong. Eg going in peak season, going to see shat all the tourists are seeing rather than quieter bug still interesting places etc.

People who blithely dismiss cities like Rome, which contain some of the greatest treasures of art, architecture, and history that the world has ever produced, as “overrated”…

Exactly we loved visiting Rome and Venice in the fall. Loved seeing the forum lit up at night and visiting small neighborhood bars. And walking down empty alleyways in Venice. Plus best pizza in Naples.

Yes! I loved Venice in the fall. It was so empty, and the whole "city without cars" / canals just felt magical. I wish we'd spent more time there. I could have just walked for hours.

I've been to 9 different countries, and found something to love in all of them.

A whole 9 countries? Wow!!

What a jerk!

Why? Most Americans have been to at least 30 or more, so it was kind of a weird thing for PP to say.

Statistically, most Americans do not have a passport.

Anonymous wrote:The only place that I've *ever* been that I had thought would be a cool place to wander around and was really disappointed in was Berkeley CA.

So ugly and such rude people.

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Anonymous wrote:Madrid. I lived in several parts of Spain, & Madrid is like a synthesis of the worst aspects of all the other parts of spain: crime, sprawl, crappy new architecture, rudeness, American fast food, etc. Lots of great places to visit in Spain. I found that the capital city isn’t one of them.

And Madrid is my favorite city in the world.

I really liked Madrid too. Was surprised. Found it more charming than Barcelona...

Me too. Madrid was so much better than Barcelona. I really enjoyed it.

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Anonymous wrote:Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Florence

Barcelona, Venice, and Florence are just too overrun with tourists. I actually thought Madrid was fabulous—it seemed like a real city with actual locals and I wasn’t tripping over a tourist every two feet.

I found the people in Madrid and Barcelona and Spain in general to be assholish.

The feeling was likely mutual.

It’s OK. Portugal and the Portuguese are way better anyway. Plus Portuguese food is superior. People finally learned Portugal is better destination.

I am European, travel is my hobby, I have been everywhere and to many places multiple times, and I actually think Portugal is one of the worst countries to visit with some of the worst, unhealthy food. Zero salads to be had. Crumbling buildings and infrastructure. Sure, the people are friendly, but so are most Europeans.
I love Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Croatia, the UK, the Netherlands and many others.

I enjoyed Lisbon, but you can tell it's best days were like 500 years ago.

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Anonymous wrote:Quite honestly, you can get incredible food and views in the US without all the hassle. I'd put Big Sur, CA, much of the state of Washington, Sedona, AZ, and the 30a beaches against most international destinations.

Incredible food in the US is very hard to come by, [unless you have deep pockets to pay for the best restaurants] and I say this as a New Yorker with access to the best restaurants in the world. Our food industry sucks, and our ingredients are just not as good/fresh. Even our fruit is not as good as in other parts of the world, it is never quite as sweet and flavorful. Therefore, I suspect that those claiming that the food in Paris, Spain, Italy is not good have what I call that soda/burger palette…

This! Food in the US is of poor quality which is why the majority of Americans are overweight. I recently read an article that China now refuses to import American wheat. China!

Guess where Italy gets wheat from?

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Anonymous wrote:Quite honestly, you can get incredible food and views in the US without all the hassle. I'd put Big Sur, CA, much of the state of Washington, Sedona, AZ, and the 30a beaches against most international destinations.

This is so true. While I like the occasional overseas trip, my most memorable trips are to the western U.S. Never tire of the landscape and beauty.

+1. This. I'm a huge fan of visiting the US national parks and put them up against any of the world's major travel destinations. It's a shame that so many Americans skip visiting other parts of the US when we have arguably some of the best scenery in the world. We try to do a national park trip once a year - or every other - to ensure that kids will appreciate it. We also travel overseas quite a bit, though still think UT, AZ, WY have been our best vacations.

Very hard agree. We’ve done a big National park trip the last three summers as my kids have gotten big enough to do more hiking/ strenuous activity. I feel such an intense sense of well being when in the parks. The beauty is unreal. We almost planned Mexico City this summer and then I was like nah, save that for another time - summer is for the national parks. Every American should aim to visit the ones accessible to them. Absolute treasures.

I find the Alps & Dolomites just as stunning as the Rockies, but with different cultures, cuisine and languages on top of it. We just returned from two weeks of hiking and biking in Switzerland and Austria. It was amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quite honestly, you can get incredible food and views in the US without all the hassle. I'd put Big Sur, CA, much of the state of Washington, Sedona, AZ, and the 30a beaches against most international destinations.

Incredible food in the US is very hard to come by, [unless you have deep pockets to pay for the best restaurants] and I say this as a New Yorker with access to the best restaurants in the world. Our food industry sucks, and our ingredients are just not as good/fresh. Even our fruit is not as good as in other parts of the world, it is never quite as sweet and flavorful. Therefore, I suspect that those claiming that the food in Paris, Spain, Italy is not good have what I call that soda/burger palette…

This! Food in the US is of poor quality which is why the majority of Americans are overweight. I recently read an article that China now refuses to import American wheat. China!

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Anonymous wrote:The thread is a joke. The idea that people living in DC of all places are qualified to pass judgment on their superiors around the globe is hilarious.

Eh, much of Europe is plagued with rampant pickpockets. That simply isn’t the case here.

Much of the world seemingly tolerates littering. And public urination. Eww.

Much of the world has a shortlist of tourist spots, whereas the US is vast and you rarely feel a crush of tourists as you do at the Trevi Fountain or pretty much any tourist spot in Italy during the summer months.

We are very lucky in the US to have so much space and so many places to visit—including off the beaten path destinations.

Plus, American tourists know how to form a line and wait patiently. Apparently the rest of the world never got the memo.

I am in NYC and people pee and shit here everywhere too, including on our crappy, outdated subways. The streets are covered in potholes. JFK and Laguardia cancel flights all the time. There is not just pick pocketing here but also rape and murder on a frequent basis these days as our woke mayors are set on ruining the city.
At least Europe has culture, plus the average European is way, way more educated than the average American, so it’s pleasant having a conversation with strangers there.

At least we have ice cubes.

Also, the “average European” is not more educated than “the average American” (this is an empirical fact), let alone “way, way more educated.”

You sound like an insecure twit who’s mesmerized by an accent.

Overrated in what capacity?

You have to manage your expectations.

We loved Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica but not Arenal. For us overrated in Arenal had to do with not a lot of great food choices. We didn't feel there was as much to do there that were better than MA for example,

I love Paris but from a perspective of there's something in the air - not literally there's anything special other than being a major city. I love this quality of romance about Paris. But it's just another big city. So you have to expect that any big city is about the same. What defines it is not about what there is to see and do there but the quality of that place.

I think Rome is amazing for its history. Take away that part and yeah it's dirty and just another big city. But how do you call it overrated in terms of its history in its architecture?

I think people like and dislike for many reasons but to call an entire country or city overrated is neither here nor there. You have to define what you were hoping to find there to be fair.

Anonymous wrote:I want to hear about why the people in Amsterdam weren’t nice. And the assholish ones in Spain?

Two of the most fun and friendly nations in Europe.

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Anonymous wrote:I think all of Europe is overrated during high season. It’s awful for those of us with children under 18.

Is that Europe’s fault or do you just want to do adult things on these trips and so your kids complain they are bored? That will happen anywhere if you don’t figure out how to plan trips that cater somewhat to kids’ needs.

Uh, I was referring to the summer weather and the fact that we cannot travel much outside of winter or summer breaks. I am in Europe right now. Do a little reading about the current heat wave before you make assumptions about me or my family.

The US is very hot too….