test 2


milan

—Anonymous

reply 1408/19/2015
Underrated: Ypir

—Anonymous

reply 1508/19/2015
[R11] I've been in Rome. Prefer the art/architecture of Florence and Venice.

—r4

reply 1608/19/2015

Overrated: Madrid, London, Milan Underrated: Toledo, Granada, Gerona

—Anonymous

reply 1708/19/2015
Overrated - Amsterdam Underrated - Rotterdam

Why is Amsterdam so popular (ok aside from the drugs) - it is small, massively overcrowded, unfriendly and not that pretty Rotterdam is ugly but there is a lot more to see and do in comfort there, plus it's by the sea

—Anonymous

reply 1808/19/2015
overrated London, underrated Madrid

—Anonymous

reply 1908/19/2015
Overrated: London

Underrated: Athens

—Anonymous

reply 2008/19/2015
Overrated: Barcelona, Copenhagen, Berlin (all, in very different ways, good places to live but overrated as travel destinations)

Underrated: Madrid, Seville, Antwerp, Amsterdam (its reputation spoiled by potheads and hen/stag parties)

—Anonymous

reply 2108/19/2015
Most underrated: MIlan.
I found Milan to be what it is: A business city. Not really a great tourist destination, but within a quick train ride to Florence, Venice (go at night, in the Fall or when it is raining hard) and Lake Como.

—Anonymous

reply 2208/19/2015
I don't think I've visited a European city I'd consider overrated. I've liked them all. Certain sights, yes - I don't see the appeal of the Eiffel Tower for instance.

For underrated I'm going to pick Sofia. All the travel forums write it off, but I really liked it..

—Anonymous

reply 2308/19/2015
Overrated: Zurich. Extremely expensive, no nightlife, no "scene" of any sorts.. I can imagine why Tina Turner retires in Zurich, for she has money, the air is clean and the surroundings are truly beautiful. Underrated: Valencia! A true gem. Spain's third city, accommodates a whole different breed of tourists (no drunken Brits!), stunning architecture and the people are truly wonderful.

Americans: Skip Barcelona, which has sold its soul out to tourism, just like old Amsterdam.

—European

reply 2408/19/2015
I go to European cities more for what they contain than what they are. Since, with one exception, I have no interest in living in any of them, I don't really investigate what that's like. Also, because I don't drink, and have no interest either in alcohol or the people who consume it, bars mean nothing to me. (Bathhouses are another story..... ha ha ha, although, to tell the truth, I've only been to them in Paris, once, decades ago.)

Naples does have a gorgeous location, and possibly one of the best museums in Europe, if only because that's where many of the treasures from Pompeii and Herculaneum are exhibited. Incredible stuff, like the amazing "Alexander Mosaic," which has to be seen to be believed. (And to think this was once located on the floor of a Roman house in Pompeii... the mind reels.)

Venice is wonderful if you visit with someone you love. Truly, the combination of everything there creates a milieu that invites romance. On the other hand, I don't think it would be much fun without companionship. (See Katherine Hepburn in the early sections of "Summertime," particularly that scene of her alone at a table in the Piazza San Marco, and you'll see what I mean.)

Visitors to Italy, I have found, end up in two groups: those who love the Renaissance, and those who love the Ancient World. I'm firmly in the latter, and much prefer Rome, but my ex-wife, on the other hand, loved Florence. I found a real delight in walking in the same places where Caesar stood. (The doors on The Pantheon, my favorite place in Rome, are actually the original doors from the Roman Senate, while the original Pantheon doors, paradoxically, are to be found on some church. Funny, that, but typically Italian, where every building seems to be made of a combination of older ones. Take a good look at the Vatican, and you'll discover a lot of stone from the Colosseum....)

Sometimes, I just like walking around European cities, being in the same place as so much history, especially history that I've been reading about for years. Nothing like that in the U.S., and Colonial America has never done it for me at all, despite the fact that my mother was so proud our our ancestors living here back then. Ah well.

Probably the only city I could live in there is London. They speak English, there is great theatre, and lots of little nooks an crannies to explore, like the Camden Town flea market, or tons of secondhand bookstores. I love all that stuff. As for living there, I once spent some time with a man I met at the National Theatre, who had a flat with no central heating, but with hot-water-heated small pipes in the bathroom, to keep the towels warm! I still find that very funny. And London restaurants have never been known for their great cooking. But I like the English; we think very much alike. Must be all my Anglo-Saxon heritage, coming to the surface in that environment.

Enjoy!

—JohnSpike

reply 2508/19/2015
It depends on what you want. Big capital cities have never been more representative of the life and diversity of a nation than right now. They are more prosperous, their prices are higher, and there is a whole lot more to do than elsewhere. However, it is difficult to extract from them what is different and unique about a culture, or a sense of its historic roots. Obviously, smaller cities are easier to visit and understand, and if they aren't ONLY tourist traps, can provide a more authentic feel. Both these options tend to be "overrated" or "underrated" depending on your prejudices. But if you pick a city which is large enough to contain a certain relevance and present influence, but small enough not to be the capital, but with intermittent periods of historic greatness, well then these would be your best underrated cities.

Examples would be Genoa in Italy, which has some of the most dramatic architecture in the world in its private spaces; Bordeaux, France for its non-Frenchness; Koblenz, Germany (occupied by the French after the war, not the Brits or Americans and therefore largely unfamiliar to them), etc....

—Anonymous

reply 2608/19/2015
Underrated: Bologna. Overrated: Rome.

—Anonymous

reply 2708/19/2015
Underrated: Glasgow. Turin. Brno (Czech Republic), St. Petersburg, Riga, Santiago de Compostela.

Overrated: Barcelona, Amsterdam, Budapest.

—Anonymous

reply 2808/19/2015
The only city I've ever visited in Europe that was a big letdown was Trieste. I had heard from lots of people about how speical and charming it is, and I actually found it ugly and boring.

Amsterdam was OK. I found it much less pretty than other people do, and I was constantly trying to avoid being hit by people on bicycles. I'm not much interested in pot, but it did have great art and great history.

My favorite European cities have been Prague (despite the obnoxious hordes of teenagers), Rome (dirty but unbelievably spectacular), Bath (spectacular Georgian architecture), and most of all Istanbul.

—Anonymous
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