When we travel to a new place, most of us feel pressure to see all of the famous sights that we have heard about over and over again from guidebooks, television shows, movies, friends and so on. But are all of these cities and sights really worth seeing?
One major site that is on most peoples’ must-see list is the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. It houses the Venus de Milo and Wings of Victory statues in addition to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which has made it a go-to spot for visitors to Paris. The museum was catapulted into further infamy after it was featured in Dan Brown’s blockbuster book The DaVinci Code and its subsequent movie. Many say it could take you weeks to see everything in the Louvre. But is it really worth the visit? Should you really devote a lot of time to it when you visit Paris? I wrote about this in my guest post for CheapOair’s blog. CheapOair is a site that offers cheap airfares. I hope you will take the time to read it and give me your feedback!
Ironically, Nomadic Matt just put a post up today arguing that there is no such thing as a “must-see.” While I actually think there are some must-sees that shouldn’t be missed (like Rome’s Coliseum and Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral), some hyped-up sights and cities are disappointing. Also, some “must-sees” are purely subjective; what’s a must-see for someone isn’t always a must-see for someone else. Matt says he has no interest whatsoever in seeing Europe’s concentration camps despite the fact that some people say you have to see them. But I was raised Jewish and have spoken with Holocaust survivors, so for me, those are important must-sees.
It’s important to keep this in mind and not always plan your travels and itineraries around things you think you should see. For example, this summer I went to three towns in Italy. I expected so much from Rome, but overall, was quite disappointed and felt like it was very dirty and that people were unfriendly. Our next stop was a tiny town called Perugia; I hardly knew anything about it and didn’t have high hopes. It ended up being my favorite city we visited, not because of any major attractions, but for its natural beauty, charm, architecture, and cool vibe.
Are there any “must-see” cities or sights you have seen, but were disappointed by?
While you’re at it, learn about Paris hotels
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree wholeheartedly that some “must-sees” are purely subjective. I also didn’t like Rome, but loved some other smaller towns around Italy. Of course I’ve been surprised sometimes about the “must-sees” I liked and didn’t like, but for the most part the “must sees” I enjoyed the most were the ones I was most interested in even before seeing them. It’s all about what resonates with you…
As I have gotten older, I have more on a “see what I am interested in” kick then just ticking things off a list.
Case in point: I did a package tour of Fraser Island in Australia. It seemed like everyone else on the tour was more interested in ticking things off a list of stuff to see, while I was more into just spending time in each place we went. The tour missed the huge lake on the island and everyone was dissapointed (in rereading the brochure, we realized that the tour never said we would go there) but I wasn’t because we got to spend more time at a small lake that was so beautiful and I assume way less crowded then the bigger, more “popular” lake.