The most overrated places in the world - as voted by you

written by Rough Guides Editors

updated 23.07.2021

We asked our readers to choose the most overrated places in the world, and the responses encompassed everywhere from Skegness to Sydney. Below are the places you voted into the top ten (for destinations that shouldn't disappoint you, read our month by month, where to go when guide).

10 - Bali

Bali might be renowned as one of Indonesia's most beautiful and popular destinations, but it was summed up by @Reevole as “terrible, expensive, polluted, full of hassle, terrible food, and then they even charge you to leave”.

puta-tanah-crowd-bali-indonesia-shutterstock_781888876

© JM Travel Photography/Shutterstock

9 - Venice

Venice was an opinion-splitter among our readers. For every hater the Italian city had a defender. Luke Dady remarked on Twitter, “There's a couple of touristy bits, but nothing else apart from grime. Hugely unimpressive”.

St Mark's Square from the Grand canal. Venice, Italy © volkova natalia/Shutterstock

St Mark's square from the Grand canal. Venice, Italy © volkova natalia/Shutterstock

8 - Las Vegas

What happens in Las Vegas is apparently vacuous, irrelevant and of no concern to most of you – the Nevada playground slots into 8th place.

Las Vegas evening ©  Shutterstock

Las Vegas evening © Shutterstock

7 - Barcelona

Madrid got off lightly in our poll but Spain's second biggest city didn't fare so well. The weather, food and architecture weren't enough to save Barcelona from a bit of a drubbing online.

barcelona-spain-shutterstock_178539545

© Kanuman/Shutterstock

6 - London

The Big Smoke was too much for a lot of our Facebook fans and Twitter followers. Prices, crowds and traffic were all cited as reasons for skipping over England's capital city.

london-bus-shutterstock_222417841

© S.Borisov/Shutterstock

5 - Bangkok

Bangkok got a bashing in our poll. Chris Rushton was one of the Thai city's critics on Twitter, although he did also admit, “I have heard it takes a few visits to totally appreciate Bangkok”.

Street food Bangkok © Anansing/Shutterstock

Street food Bangkok © Anansing/Shutterstock

4 - Paris

For a lot of you, price is a factor in determining how overrated a destination is, and this much-lauded romantic city was not feeling the love this month. Tasha Preston was one of many who felt that Paris was both “overrated and overpriced”.

Taking selfie with phone at Trocadero overlooking Eiffel tower in Paris, France © Alliance Images/Shutterstock

Taking selfie with phone at Trocadero overlooking Eiffel tower in Paris, France © Alliance Images/Shutterstock

3 - LA

The City of Angels is a diabolical place according to you, and came third in our poll. Claire Toomath was succinct in her appraisal of the Californian behemoth, declaring ”what a dump”.

Los Angeles, California © Gabriele Maltinti/Shutterstock

Los Angeles, California © Gabriele Maltinti/Shutterstock

2 - Dublin

Lyndsay Lorraine had no love for the Irish capital on Facebook. “Sorry but Dublin was crap” she said. ”Everyone tells you to go to Temple Bar but it's full of smelly old mans pubs!”

Streets of Dublin, Ireland  © massimofusaro/Shutterstock

Streets of Dublin, Ireland © massimofusaro/Shutterstock

1 - Dubai

The runaway winner as voted by Rough Guides' readers was Dubai. “'I'll never quite understand why people pay to go there,” Ryan Wiggington remarked.

Dubai skyline  © Jens Ottoson/Shutterstock

Dubai skyline © Jens Ottoson/Shutterstock

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