Underrated places/sights

appledrop

Following on from thread about overrated sights/places I thought we could have one on underrated places/sights.

I will start with Krakow. I was there about 10 years ago and it was unreal. While some tourists not overrun like Prague. Very beautiful city + surrounding countryside which I wasn't expecting. Thought there would be more high rise excommunist buildings. Very cheap we would have our dinner out every evening with wine for less than €20.

I hope it hasnt changed + is still charming.

The Cliffs of Moher draws in busloads of tourists but Slieve League is undeservedly overlooked.

Ten of Swords

Montenegro, a country of astounding natural beauty but frequently overlooked by European tourists.

The view at the Mausoleum of Petar II is like nothing I've ever seen before.

Edgware

Have you seen Uranus? wow!

Roger Hassenforder

Bishop Lucey Park.

rossie1977

Canary Islands. Usually only visited for a weekend boozing session but away from the stripmalls and bars each island offers it's own unique charm with some fantastic scenery, national parks, hiking trails etc. Weather is liw to mid 20s year round too.

Inishowen, Donegal. One of the most scenic places in the country. Despite it's small size it's filled with great (empty) beaches, nice towns, Malin head, Mamore gap and Lough Swilly and Foyle.

Milan and the lake region. Beautiful part of Italy which gets a little overshadowed by Rome, [font=Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif]Amalfi coast[/font], Venice, Florence but the city itself is nicer than most describe and lake [font=arial, sans-serif]Maggiore/Como are stunning[/font]

Ahorseofaman

I went to the the Natural History Museum for the first time recently and had a fascinating few hours there.Well worth a visit.

gerrybbadd

The drive to Lough Easkey in Co. Sligo. You head up through the Ox Mountains. It's really stunning up therelough easkey.jpg

Hurrache

rossie1977 wrote: »

Canary Islands. Usually only visited for a weekend boozing session but away from the stripmalls and bars each island offers it's own unique charm with some fantastic scenery, national parks, hiking trails etc. Weather is liw to mid 20s year round too.

I don't think any of that is underrated though, it's even used as a selling point to visit it and go train(cycling/tri/running) there.

LirW

My mom moved to Fuerteventura and I think it's massively underrated compared to the other islands. Tourists tend to stick to their tourist enclave and would maybe go to the zoo, which is really nice btw.
But there's a lot to do and see really and it has a very desert-y charme.

Also Sofia, I love that city. It's not wealthy and definitely Eastern European but it has a great vibe. Same goes for Plovdiv, lovely place.

AlanG

Le Mans is an amazing old city and you can have a street to yourself even in summer - it's quite bizarre how quiet the old town is.

topper75

AlanG wrote: »

Le Mons is an amazing old city and you can have a street to yourself even in summer - it's quite bizarre how quiet the old town is.

Le Mans the 24 hr race venue or Mons the Walloons town??

CelticRambler

rossie1977 wrote: »

Milan and the lake region.... Maggiore/Como are stunning

Underrated? Everyone I know has been to Milan/the lakes! :cool: I was there myself in August and you couldn't see the place for all the tourists!


But up that end of the country: Aosta, and further up the valley, Cogne. Great mix of art, culture, history, hiking, and not too many tourists.



Also most of central France is full of quirky little towns that rarely feature on any tourist maps or TripAdvisor.

pekitivey

Lismore, Co. Waterford. Such a beautiful town. Loads of amazing walks along the R. Blackwater and some lovely places to eat. Not to mention "The V" a lovely mountain walk 20 mins from the town by car.

wakka12

Most cities in Italy outside Florence rome and venice I think are incredibly underrated, Vicenza Siena Milan

I think Krakow is big on the tourist hit list now, most people I know who did inter railing in winter went there as part of trip from berlin through krakow, prague, vienna, budapest

FTA69

Gasteiz in the Basque Country, beautiful stone old town, a street packed full of bars that are heaving at the weekends. Loads of mountains nearby with lakes you can swim in and quality food to be had.

Aglomerado

pekitivey wrote: »

Lismore, Co. Waterford. Such a beautiful town. Loads of amazing walks along the R. Blackwater and some lovely places to eat. Not to mention "The V" a lovely mountain walk 20 mins from the town by car.

Lots of events in the castle too and the magical towers at ballysaggartmore!

MayoForSam

wakka12 wrote: »

Most cities in Italy outside Florence rome and venice I think are incredibly underrated, Vicenza Siena Milan

I think Krakow is big on the tourist hit list now, most people I know who did inter railing in winter went there as part of trip from berlin through krakow, prague, vienna, budapest

+1 - Italy is fantastic, you can add Lucca, Lecce, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara to your list. Hill towns in Puglia are also hidden gems - Matera, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Cisternino. Elba is also well worth a visit (we spent our honeymoon there many years ago).

If you're in Krakow, don't miss the salt mines.

Dr. Bre

Philippines . Spent 3 months there. Great place and people. Great beaches

Richard Hillman

Ljubljana and Slovenia in general is beautiful. It looks like an incredibly livable place.

The Austrian countryside is also stunning.

hurler97

It hasn't changed, a work colleague was there in early October... Got two main courses, two sides, 2 Heineken bottles for 20 Euro.
I was there myself during Summer 2016 and I'm only aching to go back. Didn't get to see half the sights.

hurler97

Gleninchaquin Park near Kenmare is a gem of a spot. Nice walking trials with brilliant views and it even has its own waterfall.

LirW

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Ljubljana and Slovenia in general is beautiful. It looks like an incredibly livable place.

The Austrian countryside is also stunning.

Oh yeah I agree with this, hidden gem! I was born and reared 45 minutes away from the border and when I was a child we'd go to Maribor at least twice a month to get Petrol, fags and booze and usually a cheap meal.
Many drive through Slovenia in order to get to Croatia and all the beauty is ignored.
A travel landmark is Trojane with this restaurant that sells these HUGE homemade doughnuts. Everyone knows it, no tourguide tells you about it though.

And since I'm from there I might be biased but Styria is so incredibly pretty. It has soft vineyard hills and rough alpine mountains with everything nice in between.

Now I'm getting all nostalgic.

Liam28

MayoForSam wrote: »

+1 - Italy is fantastic, you can add Lucca, Lecce, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara to your list. Hill towns in Puglia are also hidden gems - Matera, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Cisternino. Elba is also well worth a visit (we spent our honeymoon there many years ago).

++1 for Lucca, much nicer than nearby 'destination town' Pisa. Also Padua / Padova is lovely. And Verona, even if most people just want to see The Balcony, but an open air opera in a 2000 year old Roman amphitheater is an amazing experience.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Colombia is a great country to travel in but a lot of people are put off because they have a view of the country that is about twenty years out of date.

murpho999

Turkey.

For some reason (mostly Midnight Express) has a poor reputation but I love it there.

Packed with historical sights (Loved Epheses). Natural places like Pamukale.

Istanbul is a beautiful city.

People are very friendly and the food is fantastic.

A very varied country to visit that many people in Ireland ignore or are fearful of for no valid reasons.

ArnoldJRimmer

Was in Philadelphia recently. Its a little grubby, but it has some beautiful historical buildings and despite their reputation for being brash and loud, pretty much everyone I encountered was really lovely. Ended up staying a day longer than planned

whiskeyman

Crumlin Shopping Centre.

selwyn froggitt

I’d say Malaga, which is usually seen as an airport through which to access the mostly-dreadful Costa del Sol, but has fantastic outdoors life, food, museums, history and architecture.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Slovenia in general.

appledrop

For a historical piece of archtiture the Casino in Marino is fab. Looks kind of like a monument from outside but loads of hidden rooms inside.

Also a fantastic view over Dublin city.

Spanish Eyes

selwyn froggitt wrote: »

I’d say Malaga, which is usually seen as an airport through which to access the mostly-dreadful Costa del Sol, but has fantastic outdoors life, food, museums, history and architecture.

Agree with you there, most people turn right coming out of the airport and miss a city that is easy enough to walk around with many hidden streets and a great vibe. City beach too and great shopping area + amazing Tapas. Such a nice place. Great for a long weekend.

Roadtoad

Sea Head on a bicycle, about 40 km, can take all day if lubrication is needed.

smilerf

murpho999 wrote: »

Turkey.

For some reason (mostly Midnight Express) has a poor reputation but I love it there.

Packed with historical sights (Loved Epheses). Natural places like Pamukale.

Istanbul is a beautiful city.

People are very friendly and the food is fantastic.

A very varied country to visit that many people in Ireland ignore or are fearful of for no valid reasons.

So agree. There is nothing like a Turkish sunset while looking out at samos

Esel

murpho999 wrote: »

Turkey.

For some reason (mostly Midnight Express) has a poor reputation but I love it there.

Packed with historical sights (Loved Epheses). Natural places like Pamukale.

Istanbul is a beautiful city.

People are very friendly and the food is fantastic.

A very varied country to visit that many people in Ireland ignore or are fearful of for no valid reasons.

Is Human Rights abuse a valid reason?

pawdee

The Cake District. Lot's of fat hill walkers there but it's lovely.

tupenny

murpho999 wrote: »

Turkey.

For some reason (mostly Midnight Express) has a poor reputation but I love it there.

Packed with historical sights (Loved Epheses). Natural places like Pamukale.

Istanbul is a beautiful city.

People are very friendly and the food is fantastic.

A very varied country to visit that many people in Ireland ignore or are fearful of for no valid reasons.

Agree it's an interesting and beautiful place. But there as a 16year old white girl was not fun, creeps touching you while your dad's back is turned. Wont be returning

Dick phelan

Busan in Korea is a fantastic city lovely near the beach as well. Haven't been but a mate studied in Slovenia said it was a stunning place. Also Xian in China is pretty well know but as a place to visit it beats Shanghai or Beijing hands down imo.

murpho999

Esel wrote: »

Is Human Rights abuse a valid reason?

No as it’s about locations and sights that are underrated not politics.
Not all great places to visit are in democracies.

tupenny wrote: »

Agree it's an interesting and beautiful place. But there as a 16year old white girl was not fun, creeps touching you while your dad's back is turned. Wont be returning

Yes, I have heard some stories like that which is a pity.

Hector Savage

Ahorseofaman wrote: »

I went to the the Natural History Museum for the first time recently and had a fascinating few hours there.Well worth a visit.

Have they still closed off the top sections ? they were the best part of that museum ... now safety nonsense means you can't go there...

Hector Savage

pawdee wrote: »

The Cake District. Lot's of fat hill walkers there but it's lovely.

Surely its a typo and you mean Lake District ?
or maybe not, Cake District could be a place too ....

questionmark?

selwyn froggitt wrote: »

I’d say Malaga, which is usually seen as an airport through which to access the mostly-dreadful Costa del Sol, but has fantastic outdoors life, food, museums, history and architecture.

Couldn't agree more. People think of the airport and not the city. Fantastic destination for a long weekend. A real spanish city with a great vibe unlike most the places on the costa del Sol.

MarkY91

I think most Irish attractions are a bit crap for international standards but the cliffs of mother in my opinion were impressive. We had a perfectly blue sky day with no wind thought. Our tour bus driver mentioned that the week before, it was so foggy and rainy etc that you couldn't even see the cliffs. So depending on weather.

I don't know if Budapest is underated or not but before going, I wasn't really aware how beautiful the waterfront is. We spent the day exploring the buda side of the river. It's probably one of my favourite days ever of exploring Europe.

Philippines in general. Never seen it advertised anywhere in travel agents. The hype is all for Thailand. Thailand is oversaturated with westerners. Philippines has no much natural beauty, it's like the Maldives in parts. A negative though(for me anyway) the cities are absolute ****holes. I know Bangkok is bad in parts but not as bad and Bangkok has culture and Buddhist temples why which I really missed out on in Philippines due to them being Catholic.

Closer to home again...howth. such a short ride from town to a wonderful cliffwalk and picturesque harbour/town. I always leave howth satisfied.

MarkY91

tupenny wrote: »

Agree it's an interesting and beautiful place. But there as a 16year old white girl was not fun, creeps touching you while your dad's back is turned. Wont be returning

Went to gumbet on a family holiday. Witnessed the typical Turkish creep chatting up my ma day and night, one even touched her arse.

My ma was like 65 at the time......

MarkY91

Hector Savage wrote: »

Have they still closed off the top sections ? they were the best part of that museum ... now safety nonsense means you can't go there...

Was closed off when I was there about 6 months ago and also about 2 years ago.

Pity as I remember it being open as a school kids on school tours and summer projects.

Hurrache

Hector Savage wrote: »

Have they still closed off the top sections ? they were the best part of that museum ... now safety nonsense means you can't go there...

Unfortunately still closed but works are due. They're building an external elevator to add wheelchair access and they also need to add fire escapes, which I don't think there are any at the moment. Reasonable requirements as opposed to nonsense I would say.

Hector Savage

Hurrache wrote: »

Unfortunately still closed but works are due. They're building an external elevator to add wheelchair access and they also need to add fire escapes, which I don't think there are any at the moment. Reasonable requirements as opposed to nonsense I would say.

Yes its the fire escape reason that its closed.

I can't imagine a scenario where people couldn't use the regular stairs from those 2 balconies and then use the regular fire escape.... it's checking boxes.

Birneybau

Can highly recommend Albania. Did the below tour a few months ago, bit of a lungbuster, but spectacular. Also, spent a day/night in Pogorica in Montenegro, flew home from there, and would have like to have spent more time there.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/albania/travel-tips-and-articles/hiking-in-albanias-accursed-mountains/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d27619f0

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

I was amazed at the natural beauty of Corfu. It’s one those places where you just think ‘sun holiday’ when you hear the name but the mountain roads and their concomitant views, the old town of Corfu town and the views across to the mountains of Albania were all beautiful.

gerrybbadd wrote: »

The drive to Lough Easkey in Co. Sligo. You head up through the Ox Mountains. It's really stunning up there

Sligo county in general is criminally underrated. Mullaghmore, Lough Gill, numerous gorgeous beaches actually, the Ox mountains, Ben Bulben etc. For a small county, it really punches above its weight.

Alpha_zero

I was in Krakow 11 years ago and it was thronged with tourists, cool spot but even then with direct flights from Ireland was a big hotspot and with Auschwitz close by as a major tourist attraction.

Everyone wants this really amazing place just for themselves. Overrated/Underrated is merely one's opinion.

Alpha_zero

You can travel to an uninspiring destination and meet really cool people which makes it memorable. All everyone wants is the picture for their multitude of social media bragging.