Q – As we approach the magic day – two weeks from now, retirement will mean that we will be going out to see much of the same world we have been avoiding for the past six decades. We don’t want to see it all – no interest in seeing the Congo or hiking the Himalayas, but we do want o see those places on most everyone’s bucket list. Time and money are factors so we will need to pare it down a bit, which is why we are wondering of there is a list of the world’s most overrated places?
B – That could be a long list. It would also be entirely subjective, heavily influenced by the travel writer’s frame of mind at the time. Leon Logothetis, whose name you might recognize from his work on the Discovery Travel, wrote a piece for the LA Times in which he named his Top Five Most Overrated Destinations. We do not agree with all of his assessments, but we thought you might find his list of interest:
# 5 – ATHENS – Rudeness and a disdain for serving others, particularly Americans. Many of the buildings are unfinished and taxis are sometimes impossible to find. Best to see the Acropolis and leave as soon as you can.
# 4 – DUBAI – astonishing “super-city” sites, the splashiest malls you’ve ever seen, a parade of Mercedes, Bentley’s, and Jaguars and an almost constant demonstration of gold and oil-based wealth. You will be comfortable here. But to understand the Middle East, you can’t be coddled and that is exactly what Dubai does best.
# 3 – PRAGUE – Lots of tourists and surly locals who seem not to want to interact with westerners. The beauty of the city is tainted by the sullenness of the people.
# 2 – MOSCOW -An amazing city that can be vibrant if you are in the company of younger residents like university students. But most tourists pay some of the steepest prices on earth for service levels that are not on a par with international standards of luxury. You have to keep your eyes and your wallet wide open in Moscow.
# 1 – PARIS – (And may we say we are not in agreement with this particular rating) Logothetis faults Paris for the same things that writers have been saying about the city for decades. The Parisians are completely tired of unfashionable tourists, particularly the ill-clothed tourists from the English-speaking world who don’t quite understand why it might be useful to be tri-lingual. At least Paris is, once again, # 1 on a travel list.
