Comments on: My Favorite Cheesy and Overrated Tourist Activities

By: Meneghino

Meneghino — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 15:34:55 +0000

Can we add the selfies with the duomo in Milan too? It’s almost impossible (when tourism is going well) to take a picture without 1000 others on it, but it’s still the most iconic thing that everyone must do in Milan!

By: Helga

Helga — Fri, 22 May 2020 16:25:49 +0000

I had so much fun reading through this. I’ve been thinking about the line between the overrated attractions and activities while I’ve been gathering some ideas for future posts, and I realized how much I just couldn’t skip these activities if I’m visiting new places. I mean, I couldn’t leave Rome once without throwing a coin in the Trevi Foutain or go to Paris without visiting Disney Land.
Same I feel about Venice, I couldn’t be more a “cheesy tourist” in Venice. It somehow just feels great mixing the fantasy with reality.

By: Wayne Emde

Wayne Emde — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 16:47:35 +0000

Sometimes you simply need to relax and have fun and not worry that you’re not getting the “authentic” something. I worked on cruise ships for a couple of years, teaching digital photography, and as ship’s rep, was able to sample many of the must see places and came away from them with a new sense of wonder in many cases. There’s something very relaxing about repositioning cruises that cross the oceans – no daily rush to board a bus, etc. and time to relax and unwind. I’d suggest that you add Quebec City to your list – inside the walls nothing much has changed in hundreds of years, and it’s a perfect walking city, comparable with York, Dubrovnik, or Chester, the food is wonderful, the service is great and there are little gems to find. I live close to Vancouver, and love to visit that city on a regular basis, but don’t overlook Victoria. I’d return to Florence on a minutes notice, and Venice at night, after the ships and buses leave, is magical. And, I could go on and on about Kyoto which I visit every year and always find something new. Travel should result in joy as well as discovery. Sometimes all you need is a cheesy gelatto. In Florence, of course.

By: Peter J. Andros

Peter J. Andros — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 01:39:08 +0000

Nary a “comment” from anyone over thirty What a shame. We older folks found these places after (and during) the war, WWII. Every ten years or so it was easily discerned by one and all that prices were moving up and the quality and uniqueness of place were moving down as “mass tourism” took over the travel business. I still travel occasionally to old places that were once “a secret” but have now become staged travel sites for the innocently naive tourist, and invariably I’m disappointed. Its gotten tough to find the real thing, anymore. My advice to eighteen, twenty year-olds is, stay home. Or travel just a week or two, if you must. Don’t waste your time and money. The microchip and mass tourism have ruined the joys of discovery. Not to mention worldwide terrorism, TSA, screeching infants, rude parents, schemers, impolite airline employees, crooks at every destination, and over the moon costs, among many reasons not to buy a ticket to boorish, dangerous days in foreign lands.

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:43:00 +0000

In reply to Alison. That is one good way to put it about Venice!

By: Joanna

Joanna — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 23:42:04 +0000

I appreciate this article a lot – cheesy tourist things have been my and my fiancé’s first forays into traveling and have helped us to get acclimated to the types of things that come up with traveling (cancelled flights, bad weather, coordinating itineraries, etc etc). And they’ve helped plant the seed for wanting more authentic adventures – and plenty more touristy ones, too!

By: Alison

Alison — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 19:42:25 +0000

Yeah Matt, we’ve done almost all of these things, and had a great time doing them! I agree with every word. Touristy things have their value. I always say there’s a reason that these places are crowded – it’s because they are worth seeing. We do pick our battles though – in the Louvre we stayed away from all the famous paintings and focused on the artifacts (not crowded there) but I’ve never been inside the Rijksmuseum or Notre Dame even though I’ve walked by both at least two times – the lineups were just too daunting.
We took our Barrier Reef trip from Port Douglas, not from Cairns. Perhaps that’s the difference. It was amazing in every way – not crowded, and a great abundance and variety of fish and reefs. It still remains one of the highlights of our travels and I was surprised to see it on your list.
I absolutely loved both cruises I’ve done, I’ve never been to Disneyland or world and have long wanted to go, we passed on Kao San Road and I wish we hadn’t, and I’m amazed Venice is on the list! Venice! The entire city is a museum and I found it completely magical. Our hotel concierge told us “there’s 45,000 of us, and one million of you” so yeah lots of visitors but I still found it amazing.

By: Georgie M

Georgie M — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 09:29:35 +0000

On one of my first overseas trips I had the displeasure of travelling with someone who was adamant that everything popular was bad! I too love getting off the beaten path but at the point when the Eiffel Tower gets dropped off your itinerary because it’s “too touristy”, I think you need to rethink!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:08:29 +0000

You have to do the cheesy tourist spots, it may seem lame but how many times in your life will you be at the leaning tower of Pisa, you NEED that photo of you trying to hold it up.

PS Pub crawls are always fun.

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Mon, 27 May 2013 16:01:58 +0000

In reply to Tracy. Thanks Tracy! I'm glad you are a fan!