Dublin

clivex said:
Gamla is right im afraid. Ive seen most major european cities and its definitely the most underwhelming. Euro also right. Although it was 15 years ago finding decent food was really hard

But glendalough is most certainly worth a visit
Click to expand...

Used to stay at Glendalough for my Punchestown trips......lovely place but very Anti Uk every year too....shame:(
 
Still massively over rated city but thought the area between Mannion Sq and Lansdowne Road was nice. Some lovely houses around there.

National Stud very good day out and far far better than the one at Newmarket.

Obviously had crap weather all weekend!
 
I stayed in Blessington for 3/4 years when coming over for the Punchestown. Really friendly village. Landlord of the Pub treated us like regulars yet we only ventured there 4 nights a year.

Would happily go back there if they sort the time of the racing out again.
 
I think that ws the point. nothing much wrong with the place but just overrated

Heres a nice list of the underrated and overrated

Overated

Manchester (there is abolsutely no reason to go to this drab dump)
Milan (cathedral is fine and thats it)
Vancouver (very nice but not quite the wonderful place its made out to be)
Stockholm (nice but boring. Swedish)
geneva (dated feel and drab

Underrated

london. (might seem strange to say, but few can really get a grip on the scope of the place. Theres more in an average postcode than many large cities> art scene is incredible)
Berlin (fascinating. Great art too)
Hamburg
Chicago (stunning architecture)
Madrid (slightly prefer it to Barca. Better buzz)
Liverpool (most underrated uk break. the seafront is stunning and theres great architecture and a good vibe)
 
Last edited:
What time of year were you in Stockholm? It's a great place to visit in summer, when you can get out on the water, but probably not in winter.

Other favourite big cities of mine include Madrid (I agree, slightly better than Barcelona), Berlin, Rome, Melbourne (better than Sydney), Sevilla and New York. But there are literally hundreds of smaller cities and towns in Europe which are very pleasant to spend time in such as Lisbon, Lyon, Venice (out of season), Perugia, Prague, Gdansk, Gent, Regensburg, Vienna... I've always enjoyed my visits to Liverpool and Newcastle and there's plenty to do in London, especially if you have a generous budget. Belfast is not the prettiest but it's on the up and the welcome is warm.
 
clivex said:
I think that ws the point. nothing much wrong with the place but just overrated

Heres a nice list of the underrated and overrated

Overated

Manchester (there is abolsutely no reason to go to this drab dump)
Milan (cathedral is fine and thats it)
Vancouver (very nice but not quite the wonderful place its made out to be)
Stockholm (nice but boring. Swedish)
geneva (dated feel and drab

Underrated

london. (might seem strange to say, but few can really get a grip on the scope of the place. Theres more in an average postcode than many large cities> art scene is incredible)
Berlin (fascinating. Great art too)
Hamburg
Chicago (stunning architecture)
Madrid (slightly prefer it to Barca. Better buzz)
Liverpool (most underrated uk break. the seafront is stunning and theres great architecture and a good vibe)
Click to expand...

Disagree on Manchester, it's nicer than Dublin anyway. Plenty to see and Salford area has been done up well. Stockholm is lovely, wasn't boring when I went but do need to head off the beaten track a bit. Agree on Milan though, desperately dull. Geneva is awful, have a very good friend there but it's dire, plenty of nice spots out of town though.

Wouldn't say London and Berlin are under rated, I think they're justifiably highly rated and top class world cities. Never been to Chicago but I am desperate to go. Disagree on Hamburg (boring and some areas v seedy) and Madrid I couldn't warm to at all. Barcelona the best city in Europe for me.

Other ones to note....

Hit

Gdansk - Stunning city with beaches nextdoor at Sopot and lots of history. Amazed it's never took off like Prague, Tallinn and Budapest but for the best it hasn't.
Valencia - Immense food and nightlife plus old town and new Expo area both brilliant
Split - Forgot Dubrovnik (see below), this is the best Croatian city.
Istanbul - Top 10 in the World for me. Absolutely brilliant. So welcoming.
Sheffield - Best city in the North and has the Peaks on the doorstep
Budapest - Lots of architecture and history but definitely a summer city
Utrecht - Nicer version of Amsterdam without the tourists
Kanazawa - Best gardens in Japan and off the tourist trail.
Nagasaki - Amazing how it's recovered and is much nicer than Hiroshima and again, less tourists but still has the history

Miss

Amsterdam - It has it's nice parts but I've always struggled to enjoy it when I've been. Utrecht is much nicer.
Vienna - Terribly boring
Helsinki - Only visited on a bank hol on a day trip but it was awful.
Dubrovnik - Has been ruined by cruise ships. It's also extortionate
 
Last edited:
Firmly a Sydney fan over Melbourne but heard Melbourne does get better with more visits. The harbour setting of Sydney is so impressive, could sit watching the world go by for days there. Manley is very nice too.

Really want to go to Lisbon.
 
I didnt mention the cities that lived up to expectations (ie New York, New orleans, San fran, paris, rome etc) and feel all those were wonderful trips. Especially new York which i love and been to a good few times now

Not many cities warrant repeated visits, but new York and paris certainly do

I am very much with your list grey although not been to aus

But big budget for london? Hotels yes, but surely has more free attractions than most big cities. tate modern etc?. The other surprise i find when going outside m25 is that because its so competitive and high turnover food is way better in london and often cheaper

Maybe im a bit harsh on Stockholm in truth

Gamla... Surprised about Amsterdam but utrect has me curious now. Haarlem was a pleasant surprise. I do like holland. Madrid couldnt warm to? I fouind the buzz (at night especially) better than Barca

Budapest is terrific. Vienna can come across as stuffy but went there with work a good few times and you can warm to the place
 
LIsbon is a nice city. Slightly arabic feel strangely enough. it wont blow you away but worth a couple of days
 
Gamla Stan said:
Still massively over rated city but thought the area between Mannion Sq and Lansdowne Road was nice. Some lovely houses around there.

National Stud very good day out and far far better than the one at Newmarket.

Obviously had crap weather all weekend!
Click to expand...

If this was your first time seeing Merrion Square you obviously haven't ventured much beyond a few well beaten paths in the city centre. Next time you go, if the weather is nice take a Dart out to Howth and go for a walk around the cliffs, or to Dun Laoghaire for a walk on the pier. Hire a bike and go for a ramble in the Phoenix Park. Or go down through the new docklands area to the East Wall which protrudes out into Dublin Bay on the south side of the river and offers great views across to Howth and the mountains to the south of the city. Go racing at Leopardstown, the tram from Stephen's Green will take you to within a ten minute walk of the enclosures. And then go relax in a pleasant local bar rather than a drink factory in Temple Bar.
 
A nice list maybe grey but perhaps not that exciting? Didnt quite get me reaching for the ryanair website :)
 
Budapest > Prague, Warsaw
Chicago v New York...I know what Clive means about Chicago.
Melbourne > Sydney
London > Paris
Moscow v St. Petersburg is a high scoring draw.
Tokyo > Beijing

I think these are the only cities to which I have had multiple visits or stayed 5 nights or more. My opinion is that you need to spend a lot of time somewhere to really get a feel for the city.
 
Last edited:
The problem is a lot of people go to a city and want to experience the things they like and are comfortable with, and if they can't find them, they write the city off. And they seem to be incapable of going outside their guidebook/main areas.

For example, I think you need a broad understanding of the arts and history to really appreciate a lot of western European cities - Amsterdam (look beyond the Rijksmuseum and VVG museum; the Stedlijk is pretty good; Concertgebouw); Vienna (opera and classical music heaven); Paris (everything - general history, birthplace of a lot of modern literature, classical music in the 1800s, Haussmann, la belle epoque, the last 250 years of art history), Rome (where to start?), etc.

Also, a lot of people go to a city for a sporting (racing/rugby/football) break, take out their guidebook, 'tick off' the main sights, then look to eat something they are familiar with, complain when they are slaves to their guidebooks that the city has little to offer, and go home.

Bizarre to see so many great cities dismissed above.

Unfortunately, most of the above is British and Irish tourists - I have seen so many people in Paris not able to say 'je voudrais x' when ordering their dinner - how difficult is this? Whatever country I am in I think this is the smallest gesture you can make - it takes 5 seconds to understand how to say this (regardless of the language).
 
Last edited:
Grey said:
What time of year were you in Stockholm? It's a great place to visit in summer, when you can get out on the water, but probably not in winter.

Other favourite big cities of mine include Madrid (I agree, slightly better than Barcelona), Berlin, Rome, Melbourne (better than Sydney), Sevilla and New York. But there are literally hundreds of smaller cities and towns in Europe which are very pleasant to spend time in such as Lisbon, Lyon, Venice (out of season), Perugia, Prague, Gdansk, Gent, Regensburg, Vienna... I've always enjoyed my visits to Liverpool and Newcastle and there's plenty to do in London, especially if you have a generous budget. Belfast is not the prettiest but it's on the up and the welcome is warm.
Click to expand...

Lyon is very nice indeed - what did you enjoy there?

It is far from a tourist destination because of the lack of internationally recognisable features (far from a bad thing). Great restos (some say better than Paris), Parc de la tete d'or, Musee des Beaux Arts.

Very inexpensive when compared to Paris.
 
I think that tourists to london from wherever, dont exactly go far out of main areas too. Its understandable when "exploring" could mean that they spend an afternoon in Hounslow or Romford wondering what the **** they are doing there

Its certainly not just irish and british who stick to the main areas, that i do know.



Many guide books are pretty decent (always rated Time out the best) these days
 
Last edited:
Back
Top