You really can't believe all the hype.
Tourist traps are called traps for a reason--they cost lots of money and/or resources to get to, they take up a lot of time, and was it really worth it?
If any of these things come up on your itinerary, reconsider.
u/SayLittleDoMuch asked:
What popular tourist attraction is TOTALLY not worth it?
Here were some of those answers.
Part Of The Wall
If you go to the Great Wall of China, I'd suggest not going to the section right there in Beijing. Very rebuilt and touristy.
Take a van ride a ways out of the city, to the Simitai section. Now there's some uncrowded, old-school Great Wall.
Out Of The Box
As someone living in Dublin, it's a beautiful city. But the difference between it and the rest of Ireland is so striking that I'd go as far as to say you haven't really been to Ireland if you've only been to Dublin City. I'd suggest Powerscourt Waterfall, a visit to Cork or Kerry, the Aran Islands, Newgrange. If you are limited to Dublin, don't buy pints in Temple Bar. Sure, go to it and have a look, but walk the extra fifteen or so minutes to a bar you've never heard of before for a more natural, authentic experience that wont put you too out of pocket for a single pint.
Salem
Salem Witch Museum outside of Boston. Hokey as hell. Try visiting the Rebecca Nurse homestead for a more accurate historical representation.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/d54053...
The Peabody Essex Museum, on the other hand, is very much worth a visit: well-curated exhibits plus a Qing dynasty house that was dismantled brick by brick and re-erected in Salem, Mass. Depending on your tour guide, the House of the Seven Gables can also be a fun experience.
Real Guns Were Harmed
The spire in Dublin. It's literally just a big stick. What annoys me is that while it's a cool stick and all, there's the GPO next to it, which is 100x more interesting. I mean, the building literally has authentic gunshot damage from a revolution over 100 years ago.
I'd Pay To See You Frown
Well, it's more like one small facet of a bigger tourist attraction, but The Mona Lisa.
That whole area of the Louvre is clogged, the crowd inside is crushing, and all you can see are people their phones up in the air to take pictures above everyone else's heads (assuming they still allow photos, I was there years ago).
The painting itself is fine, and likely very rewarding to students of art history who want to see the real deal, but man it's not worth the hassle.
Scary Deterrent
This happened back in the 90s before 9/11. It's not exactly a tourist attraction, but my poindexter scientist of a dad got the whole family handcuffed, detained, and thrown off of the Los Alamos National Laboratory on a family road trip. That place was part of the Manhattan project and it is NOT open to the public. We were passing by it and my dad thought they had a museum there, so we wandered into a building looking for information and were immediately cuffed and detained while they pulled our Volvo station wagon apart, looking for spy gear. Everyone had a good laugh after they figured out we were no threat and were, in fact, just a mom, nerdy dad, moody kid, and toy poodle on a road trip. They cheerfully sent us on our way but strongly cautioned us not to return.
Slowly I Turned
The American side of Niagara Falls. Do yourself a favor, plan ahead so you have the proper documents (if coming from the states), and visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
No Monsters Here
Scotland here. Loch Ness. There are so many other nicer places to see in Scotland. If you have to 'do' Scotland, Edinburgh, golf and whisky are solid bets, but you'll have more scenery 'bang for your buck' in places like Torridon, Skye or Assynt.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/d54053...
The Cats Are Happy
"World's Largest Ball of Twine" in Darwin, Minnesota. I mean, if you're willing to go to Minnesota as a tourist, skip the silly twine ball and head on up to see Big Ole in Alexandria. At nearly 30 feet tall, Ole is America's biggest Viking! You'll be glad you visited this important landmark.
J'adore Seattle
Seattle person here. The gum wall in Pike Place. It's gross. Totally disgusting and all it is is a bunch of chewed up stale gum stuck to the wall. You can practically see the germs running around in it. I've seen it up close one time in all the years I've lived here cause a cousin that was visiting from out of the country wanted to go. But OMG. 🤢 Also, Pike Place market in general. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the market when I go after work during the week. Ulli's sausage is amazing and there's awesome fruit and veggie stands. But go on the weekend? No thank you. Nothing but thousands of people crammed into a VERY tight space taking pictures of everything and just standing in big clumps blocking everything everywhere you need to go. Yes I know the very first Starbucks EVER is right there. You don't need to go in. There's 10 more in a 2 block radius, go to one of those
People Describe The Exact Moment They Realized Their Friends Were A-Holes
Everyone has friends who you become less and less close to with each passing year.
This isn't always by choice, though, but simply by circumstance, when your lives both take different directions.
In some cases, however, we do find ourselves making a very conscious decision to stop spending time with certain friends.
Owing to the fact that these people might not be our friends after all.
In certain cases, the communication ends as the result of one specific moment.
Redditor D1Tytos was curious to hear the triggering moment when people decided to end their friendships, leading them to ask:
"What's the moment that made you realize your so called 'friends' were really just d*cks?"
Lack of Compassion
"When I got cancer and they never checked on me."- justagirlx19
Being Taken Advantage Of
"Worked with and rented a large house with my friend group after high school."
"Dumb and inexperienced with life, I didn’t know they were lying to me about bills and making me pay more/whatever they felt like until a family member asked about it."
"Eventually they all looked at moving into a new place without telling me."
"I felt guilty and confessed they would basically steal my money to shop with and planned on moving out while I was visiting family so I came back to an empty place and responsible for everything."- dylandbloom
"I found myself getting irritated whenever they called/hit me up."
"Because every time they'd only ask for something , never just to talk to hang out."- ybbetter_ratio
Happy Birthday Indeed...
"The last time I tried throwing a birthday party for myself."
"It always seemed like the ratio of people who said they'd come to people who actually showed was...lacking."
"But my final attempt."
"I had 20+ people say they'd show."
"Exactly one actually came."
"I've never had a birthday party since."
"But I'm still good friends with the one guy who showed."- Lachwen
Unkind Exclusion
"They asked to not have one of the people in our group over."
"They didn't want to tell him there was no game, they just wanted him to knock and pretend no one was there."
"I wasn't very cool with this but they didn't want to be 'confrontational' with said person."
"Before the next week rolled around they were saying 'there wasn't going to be anything going on' that Saturday."
"I knew they were full of sh*t, but went by to confirm they were all there that Saturday, and sure enough they all were."
"Just dropped them like a sack of potatoes and never spoke to them again, no reason to."- MickCollins
True Colors
"Had 3 friends."
"2 I liked and 1 I didn't really like at all."
"Turns out they had a secret group chat where they just called me slurs and talked about me behind my back."
"The guy I didn't like sent me screenshots of this and me and him have been friends 3 years now."- c_a_t2·
Blurred Perceptions
"When I stopped drinking and realized that’s all we had holding our friendship together."- BillieBoJangers·
Unreliable
"I remember I was severely depressed and I called someone I thought was my friend."
"When he realized I wanted to talk about real sh*t he made up an excuse to hang up."
"After that he kept ignoring my calls."
"What's crazy is I was there for that dude when his wife left him for another guy."
"There were times where I wanted to escape his depressing stories, but sat there and listened because he was my friend."- horsetoothjack@ss119
Ungrateful
"Couples retreat of 3 pairs, other 2 girlfriends flaked last minute, leaving mine."
"They still came, then had the nerve to tell mine the trip would’ve been better without her right to her face when I was out surfing."
"This was never established as a guys trip at any point."
"She fed them, organized the trip as a whole, etc."
"Losers."- SwingmanSealegz
Provoking Others
"Guy lies about his well-being being bad cus he loves how worried someone reacts."
"I called him out on it when he lied to someone else and he literally said 'I enjoy winding people up, I love how they react when I say x'."
"That's gross to me."- PastaNotFound
Ending a friendship is never pleasant.
But time heals everything, and over the course of a couple months, it might become evidently clear how much better off your life is without certain people in it.
We all have songs that we can't get out of our heads, resulting in our randomly humming them while walking down the street.
Among the most infectious songs are theme songs to TV shows.
Be it from tuning in every week to catch up with Friends who will always" be there for [us]", or being "stuck in the middle" of a Grace And Frankie binge, we often find ourselves humming the theme songs of our favorite shows more often than we find ourselves quoting the best lines.
Even if it means humming an infectious melody to a wordless piece of music (Will & Grace or Seinfeld anyone?)
Redditor LinksOtherUncle was curious to hear what people considered the all time greatest theme song to a TV show, leading them to ask:
"What is the greatest TV Show theme song of all-time?"
"Whoo-oo"...
"Duck Tales, of course."- Beautiful-Stranger20
"Believe It Or Not It's Just Me!"
"Greatest American Hero!"- GayHole
"Bum Bum BUM bum...bum bum BUM BUM bum bum bum..."
"Sanford and Son"- jkulpa
The Original MCU
"90s X-Men."- Ourobius
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale..."
"Gilligan's Island"- Cantbetoobad1953
"It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights..."
"The Muppet Show theme song!"- Poorkiddonegood8541
"A World Of Criminals Who Operate Above The Law"
"Knight Rider!"- BladeBronson
"Heroes in a half-shell, TURTLE POWER!"
"The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon theme."- Petulant_Platypus
"You want to go where everybody knows your name."
"Cheers."- Big-Significance3604
The only thing more comforting than turning on our TVs to revisit a familiar town with familiar characters, is the comforting familiar music which greets us on our return.
People Explain Which Bits Of Common Knowledge They Learned Way Too Late In Life
Who hasn't had a moment when they learned what they thought was a revelatory piece of information, ran to share it with their friends, and were then greeted by a barrage of stone faces?
Owing to the fact that what we only just learned a few minutes ago, was apparently common knowledge.
These include your favorite movie star was in fact the offspring of another movie star, what gelatin is actually made of, or little tricks and strategies which make certain experiences so much more pleasurable.
For no particular reason, some people learn these things far later than just about everyone else.
Redditor Big_Piccolo_8369 was curious to learn which bits of common knowledge people were late to the party in knowing, leading them to ask:
"What is common knowledge that you found out way too late?"
Strategic Planning
"Always eat before shopping at Costco."- mtl_jim
Sometimes Silence Is Golden
"Just because I hold an opinion on something doesn't mean that I need to share it."
"I spent WAY too much of my early adulthood inserting my viewpoint into discussions that I wasn't really a part of."- xjuggernaughtx
How To Keep Friendships Strong
"Simply asking 'how are you' once in awhile is all it takes to not fall apart from old friends."- a_burdie_from_hell
Know Your Worth
"Hard work isn’t always the answer."
"When I worked a minimum wage job, I would work hard and not take breaks, so a great job, and always finish early."
"I just then got told to pick up the slack for the employees who spent their time goofing off."
"Never got a promotion, raise, or even a 'hey, good job'."- Disco-Onion
Think Twice Before Lending Money
"That when people ask to borrow money especially if it's a friend or family just expect to never see it again."- Different-Chest-5716
Spotting Charlatans
Being well-educated in one area doesn't mean that a person can't be a total idiot in other areas."- Red-belliedOrator
Never Make Decisions When Angry
"'Every action made in anger ends in sorrow'."
"An attorney, when I was 24."- yours121110
"Don't make permanent decisions based on temporary feelings."- Yoschnitzel
The Importance Of Sleep
"Going too long without sleep can impair your ability to drive the same way as drinking too much alcohol."- SuvenPan
We're all bound to be looked down upon every now and then for just learning something everyone else already knows.
Though always remember, the wisest ones are those who never want to stop learning.
I'm a simple person when it comes to video games.
I prefer to go with nostalgia.
All of these fancy deals put me on sensory overload.
But my goodness the technology really has come a long way.
And there are actual storylines and drama.
Good for y'all gamers.
Redditor TolisKoutrowanted everyone to list their thoughts on the greatest of the great.
"What video game do you consider a masterpiece?"
I love you Ms. Pac-Man. Always and forever.
It's a Ride
"Roller Coaster Tycoon 2."
Icy_Entrepreneur_859
"Loved RCT2. The canned child laughing sound and the chain lifts noise are permanently burned into my brain."
Career-Known
my whole childhood...
"Man I miss Valve... Their games were designed in a way many developers could only dream of, they were revolutionary in almost everything they laid their hands on."
johnbacosta
"Yeah that’s my whole childhood, still some of the best games… and actually playing HL- alyx for my very first VR experience was nuts. Loved it."
dub3ra
"They made a new game based in the Portal universe. It’s really short but it’s free and funny."
Advanced_Position_25
Better than Perfect
"Portal 2."
Natural-School5690
For real. The first one was absolutely perfect and then they somehow managed to make the second one even better."
Jack_Mackerel
"Portal 1's only fault is that it's very short. I just replayed it a decade since I last touched it and I cleared it in under 2 hours. Portal 2 had so much more room to add more mechanics, more puzzles, and more story. It's the perfect sequel."
YossarianWWII
Classic
"Half Life 2 was brilliant. After that I'd call out WoW Classic. It's hated now, but the first couple of years it was magic. It was a completely new experience exploring such a massive open world and nobody knew anything. So much fun on Ventrilo. Will remember forever. Championship manager in the early 90s. Maybe what I have played the most. I'll mention Fallout series, Witcher and Skyrim as well."
Joppe84
Simply the Best
"Star Wars knights of the old Republic. KOTOR. Surprised it hasn’t been said."
gerbs650
"Absolutely! I played it as a kid and it practically taught me life lessons. KOTOR 2 is a little darker but quite good also."
Lensk
How can you even tell any of the Star Wars games apart?
FAVE!!
"Super Mario World. It’s perfect. I don’t think there’s a single thing about it that I would change."
AdevilSboyU
"That game is awesome. That and Mario 64. But I love the soundtrack from Yoshi’s Island."
HmGrwnSnc1984
Options
"Deus Ex the first one."
Funkyouup82
"At the time the open ended options and story presentation were both really impressive. You could really appreciate that the developer committed to that (e.g. you could physically destroy most locked doors). I think a lot of games stop short of doing that because they don’t want to allow brute force solutions in addition to more elegant ones."
NewKitchenFixtures
"Journey. Not as long and vast as many games here but an artistic masterpiece in my books. It’ll age much better than most games too because of the simplicity."
justthisones
"I absolutely love journey; the music mixed with the visual story telling is absolutely stunning. Also it has, imo, one of the most interesting multiplayer experiences of any game."
"It’s def one of my top three games, but Gris’ artwork and music are peak for me. Also if you really enjoyed the exploration of Journey, you’ll probably love Outer Wilds. Great game, it’ll leave you wishing you could forget it and play it all again."
SynnamonSunset
Play NOW!
"Chrono Trigger, if you know you know, and if you don't, go play it immediately."
sketchypoutine
"Definitely, I feel like some of the best RPGs came from the SNES and Sega era. Chrono Trigger, FF 6, Secret of Mana, super Mario RPG, Earthbound, shining force 2, Phantasy Star 4. Still some of my favorites that i try to revisit every year or so."
chrono_bound20xx
"Came here for Chrono. Time travel just makes for amazing stories, and I love how you can make the game different each play through."
anna1781
i can see your...
"Halo 3. Incredible story and thrilling gameplay. Hilariously fun multiplayer. Fantastic community. Nostalgia."
Current-Ad1250
Video games have surely come a long way from Atari.
What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.