Random Tourist Destinations People Say You Have To Go To That Are Actually Terrible (16 items)

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  (#1) Hollywood

  Apart from the fact that you might be able to spot a random celebrity as they go about their everyday life, there is nothing all that spectacular about Hollywood. At least, there's not really enough to make it a desirable tourist destination. In fact, many visitors to this overrated destination have felt shocked by its rundown look and lack of interesting features. Even the infamous Hollywood Boulevard isn't much of an attraction, lined with expensive restaurants and tourist stores filled with tacky merchandise.
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  (#2) Four Corners

  • New Mexico, USA

  The Four Corners Monument is a popular attraction in the United States, as it has a special status - it is the only place in the entire country where four separate states share a border and it is appropriately marked by a concrete slab that visualizes where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah all meet. Unfortunately, it isn’t much of an attraction and is considered to be highly overrated by people living in those states. The disappointment mostly stems from the monument being located in the middle of nowhere, plus there are no other attractions nearby, a lack of facilities at the location, and almost no cell phone or Internet service.
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  (#3) Bondi Beach

  • New South Wales, Australia

  Bondi Beach in Sydney is one of the most famous beaches in the world and attracts more than two million people to its sun-soaked sands every year. It is essentially one of the must-see locations in the Australian city, but is considered by many locals to be something of a tourist trap rather than a beautiful beach. This is due in large part to the growing number of people who visit the location every day, leading to the presence of large crowds and rubbish littering both the sand and the streets. Local facilities are also not up to scratch, and many of the surrounding buildings have been covered in ugly graffiti, detracting further from the overall experience.
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  (#4) Loch Ness

  • Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom

  If you're not looking to get caught up in the Loch Ness monster conspiracy, then going to Loch Ness is probably not going to be an enjoyable adventure. Much of the area has been overtaken by shops and attractions that sell merchandise surrounding the mythology and a busy main road just north of the lake detracts from the location's natural beauty. Considering how many other spectacular lochs there are in the rest of Scotland and the United Kingdom, it is really not worth visiting. Most tourists would be far better off visiting the likes of Glencoe to better experience the raw splendor of Scotland.
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  (#5) Times Square

  • Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

  Times Square has played a major part in Hollywood films and television shows set in New York City for what seems like forever. This constant media presence, and the fact that it has become so deeply associated with the all-American city, means that it is something of a go-to attraction for anyone visiting New York.

  It’s a shame, though, that so many tourists flock straight to Times Square rather than experience other parts of the city, as it is a tightly packed area that is covered in litter and rubbish from the thousands of tourists who pass through it. And it is so busy that many people simply become overwhelmed at not being able to move around. Those who decide to make the trip during the winter for the News Year’s Eve celebration will be even more disappointed thanks to the freezing-cold weather that will greet them in the open space.
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  (#6) Stonehenge

  • Wiltshire, United Kingdom

  Almost one million people visit Stonehenge every single year in the United Kingdom, despite the fact that there really isn’t that much to see. Compared to other similar monuments and structures nearby, such as the Avebury henge, Stonehenge is much smaller and far more damaged. Add to this the fact that Stonehenge is actually located right next to a busy road (which kind of spoils the atmosphere) and is roped off so that you can't even get near to it - instead, you have to put up with a rather distant view of the archeological site while being smothered by dozens of other tourists - and you've got a pretty solid argument about why Stonehenge isn't exactly a must-see.
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  (#7) Leaning Tower of Pisa

  • Pisa, Italy

  The Leaning Tower of Pisa is definitely one of the most overrated tourist attraction in the world. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, though, if you really think about it as just a bell tower that is leaning slightly to its side. It’s possible to recreate the same experience in almost any city in the world that has a bell tower by just tilting your head. The only unique thing that the Leaning Tower of Pisa offers is that you can pretend that you are holding the structure up in a photograph. Even this redeeming quality is diminishing, though, as the tower is actually straightening out.
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  (#8) Las Vegas Strip

  • Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  Las Vegas is the kind of place that people either love or hate. For much of the experience, tourists can expect to find exactly what the city advertises - places to gamble and party, expensive restaurants to eat at, and shows to watch from whichever star is headlining at any particular casino. However, this isn’t what everyone wants and it is far from the relaxing vacation that many people seek in their time off. Everything Las Vegas offers also comes at a high price - combined with the lack of facilities, long lines, high price tags, and a variety of experiences that many other cities also offer, Vegas can be a bit of a disappointment.
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  (#9) Mount Rushmore National Memorial

  • South Dakota, USA

  Since the US is comparably a pretty new country, it does not have the same number of historic attractions and locations that many other nations have. One of the few, though, is Mount Rushmore - the giant mountain-side carving that has been featured in countless films and has become part of the national consciousness. The problem is that the sculpture just isn’t all that big in real life. The millions of tourists who attend often leave disenchanted by both the small size of the faces and the extreme distance they have to be seen from, as the viewing platform isn't exactly close to the sculpture. The attraction might not have been so underwhelming if it had actually been completed rather than left half-finished due to a lack of funding.
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  (#10) The Australian Outback

  The Australian Outback holds massive appeal to tourists visiting the country, as it is a huge sprawling area of nature left largely untouched by civilization. What many people do not understand, though, is just how dangerous and tough this area is. Rather than being a place where a person can get in touch with nature, it is in fact a hostile world that far from a walk in the park.

  First off, its remoteness is a huge problem for anyone visiting. With little in the way of buildings or facilities, anyone can be put in real danger if they get lost, as it can be difficult for help to reach those in need in a timely manner. The heat can also wreak havoc on tourists, leading to dehydration. Combined with the dangerous animals and creatures that occupy the land, the Outback becomes something that probably isn’t that great of an idea for a tourist destination.
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  (#11) Paris

  • Île-de-France, France

  Paris is one of the most highly visited cities in the world, attracting tens of millions of tourists every single year. Yet, for many, it is not the idyllic destination that it has been made out to be, largely due to the fact that the nitty-gritty Paris streets do not resemble the romantic alleyways that movies present them as. There is even a transient mental disorder referred to as Paris syndrome that affects some visitors to the French city causing extreme shock at its not being what they expected. The problem is so bad that the Japanese embassy has a dedicated hotline help number for tourists to turn to if they are suffering from the disorder.
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  (#12) Hobbiton, New Zealand

  The Hobbiton set that was used in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series has a permanent home in New Zealand and has become a huge tourist attraction due to the success of the movies. While the hobbit holes and outside structures look somewhat impressive at first glance, when examined up close it becomes obvious to tourists that these were simply film sets rather than actual homes. Even the buildings that you can actually go into are totally unfurnished and plain, as the interior shots were all filmed in a separate studio. Overall, the attraction has been pretty overrated considering how little there is to actually see.
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  (#13) Great Wall of China

  • Shanhaiguan District, China

  The Great Wall of China is the longest manmade structure in the world, stretching for thousands of miles across the country. This fact, combined with the ancient historical importance of the wall, has made it an incredibly popular tourist attraction. Unfortunately, many who visit the wall are met with utter disappointment - not only is it not as wide as many might have expected, but the structure itself is badly damaged. This is, of course, due to a lethal combination of natural erosion, locals stealing the stone for building materials, and tourists continually harming the structure with their very presence.
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  (#14) Great Sphinx of Giza

  • Giza, Egypt

  The Sphinx is a major Egyptian tourist attraction and has taken on something of a mythical quality thanks to appearances in movies and television shows. However, the reality of visiting the Sphinx is not as glamorous as it has been made out to be. Exacerbated by a lack of shade to protect visitors from the blistering heat and the constant badgering of local sellers, the monument itself is just not that impressive. It is much smaller than many people have imagined it to be and has been so badly damaged over the years by erosion that the face has become barely recognizable.
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  (#15) Venice Canals

  The canals of Venice have a historically romantic reputation that makes them a desirable location for couples from all around the world. While they do have a certain mystique surrounding them, the canals are not as beautiful as one might imagine. These overrated waterways are filled with litter, garbage, and gross pollutants - as it is, it acts more like a sewer than anything else. It also emanates a foul-smelling stench and has a rather unpleasant look.

  And cleaning the water is no easy task, as the sheer amount of water and muck that needs to be processed makes the ordeal both time consuming and expensive. Some 50 years passed before they finally cleaned the canals in 1995, and the process was so slow that it took 20 years to complete.
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  (#16) Pompeii

  • Italy

  Pompeii has become a legendary tourist destination thanks to its tragic history and numerous film appearances. The ancient Roman city, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption around 2,000 years ago and buried under several feet of ash, is a supposed marvel for the way its artifacts have been preserved. As the most famous example of its kind, Pompeii is almost always packed with tourists and is under a constant state of repair due to the progressively poor condition the ruins are in.

  Herculaneum is another city that the eruption destroyed; however, its preservation was far more complete, with almost every structure surviving. Thanks to the fact that it was a wealthier location, the city is also far more lavish and a rather remarkable sight when compared to its neighbor, Pompeii.

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