People Are Sharing ‘Cities That Disappointed Them Most When Visiting’

Traveling can be a hit or miss. Because not everyone enjoyed being in a place and is surrounded by people that carry cultures and customs so unfamiliar to them. These people share how their bubbles were burst the moment they stepped into these cities because their expectations and research did not prepare them for it.

From the top of Paris to the shores of Bali, Reddit users share their personal experiences – and disappointment – of cities that let them down. We’re definitely sorry if one of these is your hometown! Plus, these are excellent reminders of doing our research before traveling instead of basing them on some rom-com TV shows.

New York City

“So NYC itself was not disappointing, I loved the city but was very disappointed at the nonexistence of public restrooms.” – passthegrass4201

“I’m probably gonna get hate for this, but New York really disappointed me. So many make it out to be a magical place, and so many want to move there, but it’s really, really dirty, and there is no fresh air at all. Just really sticky. There were also a lot of intimidating people and I just have the feeling that if I lived there for some years, it would deteriorate my health so bad. But that is only my personal experience. And not everything there was bad; some of the buildings were incredible.” – Merrowland

Hollywood, California

“I always imagined it was a city full of glamour. It is not.” – rubbersou
“Just really dirty, really expensive, and too many people.” – RealBrownPerson

Las Vegas, Nevada

“I hated Las Vegas so very f**king much. So dry, so trashy, so smokey, ugh.” – themeanlantern

Niagara Falls (Ontario, Canada, to New York City)

“I didn’t know the falls would be in a city. I thought it would be a national park. The whole place just felt like a giant shopping mall.” – youburyitidigitup

New Orleans, Louisiana

“The food was great, the music was great, but the city was awful, it smelled of piss and vomit everywhere we went.” – Drulock

Paris, France

“Paris was so dirty, and I was not prepared for the disdain of the French towards a stupid American. I believed the American Rom-Com movie version of Paris.” – Idontknowthosewords

“Every time I go to Paris I learn how to say, “I’m sorry I don’t speak French, I am a stupid American,” in French. Parisians love it. Without that phrase, I’d have a miserable time in Paris.” – nabbitnabbitnabbit

Houston, Texas

“It’s a huuuuge city. Fourth largest city in the US, so there are a lot of parts. But like many big cities suffers from major problems like violent crime, homelessness, poverty, run-down-ugly neighborhoods, drugs, traffic, rude, ignorant people, litter.

Has its charm and attractions, but I too didn’t like Houston when I visited.” – FourSeasons1972

“As someone who lives in Houston, I can see what you mean. Definitely not a town worth traveling to for fun in my opinion.” – Latter-Investment739

Marrakesh, Morocco

“I know everyone loves Marrakesh, but I hated it. It would have been amazing before about 2000, but now it just feels like a Disneyland version of their culture to cater to western tourists. Alibaba costumes pretending to be desert nomads. Half of their ‘handmade goods’ are just cheap sh** from China. And you can’t walk 20 feet without being approached by scammers. Like, literally every block.

The entire city just feels like a facade to attract dumb tourist money.” – legshampoo

Atlantic City, New Jersey

“It’s waayyy dirtier and rundown than I thought it’d be.” – User_492006
“I was so disappointed by this city, and my expectations weren’t even high. It was just nasty there. The whole experience felt like biting into an apple only to realize it’s an onion.” – Reddit

San Francisco, California

“The entire city was covered in sh**/piss. I couldn’t wait to see SF, but I was even more excited to leave.” – BadCrychta

“Incredible architecture and topography but the homeless/junkie problem are out of control. Our rental car got smashed into two hours after we landed. They’ll smash your window to steal an iPhone charger; it’s unreal. You’re better off leaving nothing at all in the car and keeping the doors unlocked. You’ll see signs on windows saying as much “please don’t break there is nothing of value”

Junkies just high af stumbling in the streets. Tent cities and literally fortresses made of tarps and shopping carts stacked up. Being chased down the sidewalk for “stepping into my living room” of a homeless person. Shit on the streets.” – wolfpack86

Manila, Philippines

“Traffic was horrible, and it was so dirty, nice buildings but the entire experience was stressful.” – Bigjay_37

Cairo, Egypt

“The pyramids and museums there are amazing, but holy hell, the rest of that city is ROUGH.” – PiagetsPosse

Venice, Italy

“Beautiful architecture and fascinating history… but dear god is it humid, the water is absolutely filthy, it’s so overcrowded, and there are gift stands in every corner selling the same cheap wares.” – ChibiRedgrave

“Way too expensive, they charge you for your seat at a lot of restaurants.” – iamgdaly

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“As a Dutch person, I’m actually gonna say Amsterdam. So crowded, chaotic, and getting run over by other tourists on bikes they’ve never ridden before. I feel like it’s romanticized a lot because it’s our capital, but the first time I visited, I was genuinely disappointed. It’s definitely dirtier on the streets, and the canals have a lot of waste drifting in them.

Meh. I’ll just go to Utrecht or Den Bosch instead.” – Marveloes

Bali, Indonesia

“Bali changed so much last 10 years. It used to be so beautiful and amazing… now it is full of “digital nomad” douchebags and overpriced food and crap. I remember when it was just a cool surf spot with cheap eats.” – HippoNo9775

Naples, Italy

“Did a big European trip after college and spent about a month in Italy. Naples was EASILY the worst place we visited. Seedy, run-down, trashy, unsafe, you name it. Would never go back. Florence was a lot of fun and Venice was pretty neat just for the uniqueness but a lot of southern Italy was just not great.” – wanna_meet_that_dad

“Naples was scary traveling as a single woman, and I don’t scare easily. I was more confident in Bangkok and Bogota alone at night than Naples.” – animalia80

Brussels, Belgium

“Didn’t meet the most pleasant of locals there. Everything costs money – even if I wanted to piss or drink water. And if I opted for tap water to drink – the waiting staff would behave rudely to my friends and I. Not the most happening place either. Was very disappointed.” – Strand-Aldwych

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

“Decided to spend 10 days there while passing through. Had enough of it after 24 hours. Too many f$#&!&# malls. No culture.” – wric84

“Horrid place, fancy malls, and hotels for the westerners, but the streets are full of the poor/slaves. You really see what misery the whole place is built on. I went there for work, I can’t imagine how people can go there for fun.” – c19isdeadly

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“No offense to the folks that live there but I felt like everybody was angry, the traffic and parking were worse than Manhattan, and it had none of the redeeming qualities of NYC.” – YOLO_SWAG_SATAN

Athens, Greece

“I couldn’t wait to go because I’m Greek. It’s filthy with polluted air and all of the famous ruins are right near city buildings, which are poorly constructed. The place feels very third world. The islands, however, are fantastic!” – imatiredwoman

“Historical sites are nice but it was really dirty and just felt like the place went OTT on photoshop. Especially when the rest of Greece is so beautiful.” – misaakame

Beijing, China

“I arrived at the end of a Trans-Mongolian rail trip seeing so many incredible places and I think it was just a huge anticlimax. Was intimidated by the level of armed security everywhere, had to fight off so many scammers, didn’t enjoy being touched and laughed at when on the subway (I’m a very white European with curly hair). Overall just found it really challenging despite some amazing sights.” – Teapigs1984

“I’m Black. I stepped out of a train in Beijing with my brother and everybody was staring at us like we b***hslapped their mums. At least 10 people didn’t even ask and just started taking pictures of me, such a fucking weird experience considering I was 14.” – thisis2022