Quote:
Originally Posted by suburbanite
My go to for a classic over-saturated tourist city that I still think is one of the coolest places in the world is Venice. Yes, the main areas are way too crowded for most of the spring/summer, you can get caught in tourist trap restaurants or attractions, and it can feel like Disney World at some times. Still, I think it's a place that everyone should experience at least once. The best part about Venice is the complete lack of any sort of logical navigability. My favourite memories are just having a general idea of what direction you need to head, and winding left and right down tiny side streets away from the tourist hordes. Finding a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with some amazing Venetian seafood pasta dishes.
On the other hand, I thought Dubrovnik was a cool place to check out for a couple days when I went ~10 years ago. I went back two years ago and it was a nightmare and felt twice as crowded. Cool to see for sure, but not somewhere I have a huge desire to rush back to now. I guess for someone who hadn't been, I'd still say it's worth it to check it once or twice.
Not as high a proportion of tourists as the previous two obviously, but I think Athens is my least favourite major Mediterranean city I've been to. It feels crazy sprawly for a metro of ~3 million, and I didn't find the inner city residential areas nearly as interesting to walk through as its Italian or Spanish counterparts. It was hotter than hell when I was there as well.
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I haven't been to Venice yet, and the main reason that I haven't is because I don't like tourist traps. But I am motivated to go see it since it might be underwater soon.
I agree about Dubrovnik. I went three years ago and it was interesting to see, but I was expecting it to be more of a functional city. It's an extremely beautiful region, and the Old Town is phenomenal, but the only reason I would ever go back is as a stop during Yacht Week. I would go back to the region to visit other places, though. Montenegro is high on my to do list.
Athens is okay for a city, but it's not nearly as interesting as many other European capitals. IMO, the main reason to fly across the globe to Greece is to visit the islands.
Paris is a super touristy city that's worth it. Barcelona as well, which I think is the most interesting city in Spain.