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 Witch Museum outside of Boston. Hokey as hell. Try visiting the Rebecca Nurse homestead for a more accurate historical representation.

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.

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

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