Most boring places you've visited

Covid21

hahashake wrote: »

Melbourne and Sydney are world class cities. Both aren't perfect but their upsides are massive.

Just my opinion, I have been fortunate to travel most of the world and probably found Australia the least appealing. I actually spent almost 3 months traveling Oz.

The reason I said I said it’s Overrated is maybe I was traveling through Asia the 3 months before that and South America the 3 months after.

Compared to those continents Australia was :
Crazy Expensive
Average Nighlife
The Australians aren’t the friendliest and can be a touch racist.
Some of the main attractions are underwhelming, Sydney Opera House, Ayers Rock, the great ocean road.

All extremely overrated, just my opinion

breezy1985

fryup wrote: »

any irish midlands town....thank god for the motorway network

Any European midlands town I reckon.
Leicester is the most boring place I have ever been. I have never seen a city so flat and monotone, almost every street looks the same and they place seemed completely devoid of any landmark like a river, hill or architecturally nice buildings.
Cuidad Real is the Spanish Leicester and also in the midlands.

As for all the people bashing Galway it's a fine spot but you would get sick of people going on about it. It's grand but I couldn't pick out anything special about it

iamwhoiam

chosen1 wrote: »

I spent a week in Berlin
It's lacking a proper city centre and massively spread out in smaller districts. Probably due to the damage caused by the bombings in the war.

I spent 5 years in Berlin and believe me it is far from boring .There are two distinct " city centres " because of the Wall .One was in the West ,Kurfurstendamm area and one in the East , Unter den Linden area . There are amazing museums all on Museum Inseln and you could spend days in that are with lovely cafes and restaurants . Take a bus to the lakes or the beautiful Grunewald forest and to Spandau and wander there in the small streets and shops . Wander in the Tiergarten and walk to the Brandeburger Tor which is steeped in history . So much to do there and enjoy

mikemac2

I found Nottingham to be very boring.

Hop on a train to Lincoln and it was super, lots to see and do and they get lots of tourists

feargantae wrote: »

Athens

A smelly kip of a city with cockroaches at tram stations and plumbing so old you can't flush toilet roll in many buildings. Just a bin beside the toilet full of shıt-covered tissue in 40°C weather

The city peaked thousands of years ago

I knew before going there about the graffiti but sure that's unique for them. And the street protests over austerity, hey power to the people

Wander into the wrong street and you'll find huddles of refugee men with nothing to do but lounge around and look you over and the streets with so much rubbish. Ripped open rubbish bags and people selling knock off tat. No far from the tourist parts at all.

I might have been the only person in Athens to buy tickets for the metro. Many times I would scan through the barrier and teenagers would tailgate me and I might get a bump in the back. It was explained to me these barriers were new and people resented having to pay

There are nice parts of course but I saw what I wanted to see and won't be back

orangerhyme

There seems to be different perpectives on whether a place is great to visit or to live. Berlin is certainly both. I spent 10 days there and only touched the surface whereas in Dublin you could do everything in 3 days, but you could go out any night of the week and find a bit of craic.

The Greek islands are lovely to visit but I wouldnt want to live there.

People seem to love living in Galway but visiting there's just going on the piss for a few nights.

The "energy" of place is probably a function of number of tourists, birth rate, populaiton density and also the culture.

I think internet, smartphones, online tv, falling birthrates in Europe has probably decimated the "energy" of many places. Before if you wanted to keep in contact with people you had to physically meet them somewhere or if you were simply bored on a week night youd pop out for a pint.

Lots of desolate towns in the midlands were probably hopping up until the recession.

Spanish cities have a great energy cos they have such high population density and everyone lives close to the city center, whereas in Germany they have similar birth rate but are much more spread out. Also the culture of tapas and bar hopping injects life into the city. Also you'll see 3 generations of a family out late eating and drinking which you wouldnt see here.

In Italy socialising revolves more around food and the family, so I guess they socialise at home more often.

chosen1

The Nal wrote: »

Irish nominations

Mullingar
Athlone
Longford
Navan
Portlaoise
Cavan
Dundalk
Drogheda
Carlow
Tullamore

Don't know what people are expecting in medium sized towns between 10 and 30 thousand in population.

Most of these wouldn't exactly be touristy apart from maybe Drogheda and Athlone which have a few interesting sights, but all of them will at least have a few decent pubs and restaurants to keep you entertained in the evening. Stayed overnight in most of the towns on the list and have always found myself having a decent night.

On the other hand, I've visited towns and cities in the UK with much larger populations and they have shut up shop by 10.30 on a weekday evening. English towns tend to be more picturesque by day but very little happens come evening time in a large number of them.

breezy1985

iamwhoiam wrote: »

I spent 5 years in Berlin and believe me it is far from boring .There are two distinct " city centres " because of the Wall .One was in the West ,Kurfurstendamm area and one in the East , Unter den Linden area . There are amazing museums all on Museum Inseln and you could spend days in that are with lovely cafes and restaurants . Take a bus to the lakes or the beautiful Grunewald forest and to Spandau and wander there in the small streets and shops . Wander in the Tiergarten and walk to the Brandeburger Tor which is steeped in history . So much to do there and enjoy

I stayed right by Friedrichstrasse Station and I found it really hard to pinpoint anything resembling a nice city centre and it's hard to find an area to settle if you are a tourist even in Kreuzberg . Everything feels like an approach road and every area I visited looked really ugly and industrial.
Certainly not boring though as I love both WW2 and cold war history also good beer, meaty food and cabbage so really enjoyed the place. It's just hard to navigate

EmptyTree

chosen1 wrote: »

I spent a week in Berlin and couldn't find much night life the first couple of nights we were there. Looked up a few highly rated clubs but were refused entry on dresscode as everyone wearing blazers going in. Some door men not too keen on tourists either.

Wasn't till the third night when we got chatting to some locals that we found the underground techno clubs in what looked like abandoned industrial estates. Had great nights after that but we met several tourists who hadn't found any of it in their entire stay.

It's lacking a proper city centre and massively spread out in smaller districts. Probably due to the damage caused by the bombings in the war.

Ah ya, that's fair comment, but it's definitely far from the most boring place, I was only there for a few days on my own and found plenty to do. If you want boring try Geel in Belgium.

bosco12345

jiltloop wrote: »

Ah jesus I can't believe Berlin is getting a mention. Some of the places mentioned here would lead me to believe that it's the person rather than the place that's the problem.

Berlin has everything you could ever need in a city for an exciting trip, great museums, clubs, bars, restaurants. You can't get a much better nightlife than Berlin.

Until you spend a night in Berghain you havent experienced Berlin. If you know you know

orangerhyme

bosco12345 wrote: »

Until you spend a night in Berghain you havent experienced Berlin. If you know you know

Berlin has a pretty elitist door policy which is annoying.

In some places the bouncers will stop tourists just for being tourists.

The Nal

chosen1 wrote: »

On the other hand, I've visited towns and cities in the UK with much larger populations and they have shut up shop by 10.30 on a weekday evening. English towns tend to be more picturesque by day but very little happens come evening time in a large number of them.

Oh no doubt. Turned down a job last year that required "up to 30% travel" mainly in the UK. Sprung on me at the end of the process (spun as a positive thing) and the HR guy was a bit miffed that I didn't want to spend 2 or 3 nights a week in Guilford, Bracknell, Reading, Birmingham, Luton, Woking and Watford. "Err yeah I've been to those places before".

breezy1985 wrote: »

I stayed right by Friedrichstrasse Station and I found it really hard to pinpoint anything resembling a nice city centre and it's hard to find an area to settle if you are a tourist even in Kreuzberg . Everything feels like an approach road and every area I visited looked really ugly and industrial.
Certainly not boring though as I love both WW2 and cold war history also good beer, meaty food and cabbage so really enjoyed the place. It's just hard to navigate

Stay in Mitte around Alexanderplatz and work from there.

Berlin is one of the greatest cities in the world. Can't wait to go back.

Berlin is a fantastic city, lots to do during the day, and like others posted, great nightlife if you go to the right areas.

FixdePitchmark

Larbre34 wrote: »

I'll be shot for this, but..........New Zealand.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Stunning - amazing place - but rock up into a town at 8pm and try do something in NZ - very sleepy, no real action. Makes you realize how great a city Dublin is.

hahashake

Covid21 wrote: »

Just my opinion, I have been fortunate to travel most of the world and probably found Australia the least appealing. I actually spent almost 3 months traveling Oz.

The reason I said I said it’s Overrated is maybe I was traveling through Asia the 3 months before that and South America the 3 months after.

Compared to those continents Australia was :
Crazy Expensive
Average Nighlife
The Australians aren’t the friendliest and can be a touch racist.
Some of the main attractions are underwhelming, Sydney Opera House, Ayers Rock, the great ocean road.

All extremely overrated, just my opinion

Great barrier reef, Blue mountains, Whitsundays etc. are great. Melbourne is often ranked as one of the best cities in the world to live in and Sydney isn't far behind. More expensive than the developing world but what do you expect? When people from all around the world want to live there then the prices go up.

Plus you are comparing continents with billions of people and diverse cultures to a country of 20 million.

Eoinbmw

Fanore Co.Clare it's basically like the "Park" in Fr.Ted.

luketitz

I normally try and make some kinda fun happen wherever I go and don't bore easily but have been obliged to visit Penang for 3/4 days on various visa runs over the years and it's an incredibly dull place.

The Indian/Chinese food is its only saving grace.

They even have Asia's only Guinness brewery, and that's not even fun.

frosty123

Eoinbmw wrote: »

Fanore Co.Clare it's basically like the "Park" in Fr.Ted.

Great beach, and lovely burren backdrop

as for boring??? anywhere is as boring or as exciting as YOU make it

The same could be said about life in general

breezy1985

The Nal wrote: »

Oh no doubt. Turned down a job last year that required "up to 30% travel" mainly in the UK. Sprung on me at the end of the process (spun as a positive thing) and the HR guy was a bit miffed that I didn't want to spend 2 or 3 nights a week in Guilford, Bracknell, Reading, Birmingham, Luton, Woking and Watford. "Err yeah I've been to those places before".

Stay in Mitte around Alexanderplatz and work from there.
Berlin is one of the greatest cities in the world. Can't wait to go back.

Wow you have listed some grim places there Guilford, Luton, Woking and Watford are practically giant suburbs and Watford in particular barely has anything that could be called a centre.

Practically every UK town and small city I have been to has sold over completely to the chains. All the town centres are just a copy and paste street with a Spoons, Nando's, Pizza Express and Greenking.
Even the ones that are supposed to be great like Oxford and Cambridge were crap for food and drink.
I'm home now and would take Limerick over any of them for it's independent bars, restaurants and cafes

Aurelian

The Nal wrote: »

Irish nominations

Mullingar
Athlone
Longford
Navan
Portlaoise
Cavan
Dundalk
Drogheda
Carlow
Tullamore

You're wrong on a certain level.

There are cities in Germany with a 100,000 people that have literally no bar or restaurant scene at all. Let alone a club. You literally couldn't go out in them on a week night.

Without question there's more of a nightlife in Carlow or Portlaoise. A tourist in Portlaoise might have nothing to do during the day but at night they could definitely get a meal and have a choice of pubs with a bit of life and craic in them.

GT89

I just don't know what people see in Berlin. Of course it probably depends on what your into but I've been there twice (not by choice) and thought that it was very dull and drab and seemed to lack any decent restaurants and the like everywhere looked like it was geared towards crusties.

Also the locals seem to be very unfriendly and customer service in shops, hotels and restaurants etc. is awful it's like no one can crack a smile they don't even say danke.

The Nal

breezy1985 wrote: »

Wow you have listed some grim places there Guilford, Luton, Woking and Watford are practically giant suburbs and Watford in particular barely has anything that could be called a centre.

Practically every UK town and small city I have been to has sold over completely to the chains. All the town centres are just a copy and paste street with a Spoons, Nando's, Pizza Express and Greenking.
Even the ones that are supposed to be great like Oxford and Cambridge were crap for food and drink.

Yeah. Greggs, Pret a Manger, Premier Inns and Asdas too.

breezy1985 wrote: »

I'm home now and would take Limerick over any of them for it's independent bars, restaurants and cafes

I love Limerick. Always a great night out.

orangerhyme

Aurelian wrote: »

You're wrong on a certain level.

There are cities in Germany with a 100,000 people that have literally no bar or restaurant scene at all. Let alone a club. You literally couldn't go out in them on a week night.

Without question there's more of a nightlife in Carlow or Portlaoise. A tourist in Portlaoise might have nothing to do during the day but at night they could definitely get a meal and have a choice of pubs with a bit of life and craic in them.

I agree with this.

Its probably unfair to compare midlands towns to the likes of Killarney or Westport but are probably much better than similar sized towns on the continent or Uk even.

I think people will still pop out during the week for a pint, cards, pool, darts, watch a pl game on the telly.

I think I heard a German economist saying that theres many small cities in Germany with a population over 100,000 and they wouldnt have a cinema even. I think this is due to the small birthrate since the 70s.
Apparently Germanys native population peaked in the 70s and any growth since then is due to immigrants.

onrail

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Stunning - amazing place - but rock up into a town at 8pm and try do something in NZ - very sleepy, no real action. Makes you realize how great a city Dublin is.

Exact same. Lived there for a year and absolutely loved the place, but the late night atmosphere, particularly in small towns was terrible.

Kiwis just have a different set of values and would rather be in bed early to give them a full day or skiing, hiking or surfing the next day

GT89

The Nal wrote: »

Yeah. Greggs, Pret a Manger, Premier Inns and Asdas too.

And Poundland

keano_afc

Deleted User wrote: »

Vienna, next level boredom

Surprised to see this. Spent two days there and would go back. The arsenal museum was a particular highlight.

All down to personal preference I guess.

lawred2

Covid21 wrote: »

Just my opinion, I have been fortunate to travel most of the world and probably found Australia the least appealing. I actually spent almost 3 months traveling Oz.

The reason I said I said it’s Overrated is maybe I was traveling through Asia the 3 months before that and South America the 3 months after.

Compared to those continents Australia was :
Crazy Expensive
Average Nighlife
The Australians aren’t the friendliest and can be a touch racist.
Some of the main attractions are underwhelming, Sydney Opera House, Ayers Rock, the great ocean road.

All extremely overrated, just my opinion

Jesus the great Ocean road is a snooze alright... The nobbies are the most mundane things going. You'd see the same every 20km up the West coast here with no fanfare..

Route 1 California stands up to its billing much better than the great Ocean road

keano_afc

keano_afc wrote: »

Surprised to see this. Spent two days there and would go back. The arsenal museum was a particular highlight.

All down to personal preference I guess.

A museum, I rest my case

Eoinbmw

frosty123 wrote: »

Great beach, and lovely burren backdrop

as for boring??? anywhere is as boring or as exciting as YOU make it

The same could be said about life in general

So i take you go there on Holidays !
Whatever your into!

Munstergirl854

I did the burren walk as part of that Gaisce ****e in school.

Looking back it was like a final journey a starving family would make before catching a famine ship to the states...

Nothing wrong with Clare though.

breezy1985

onrail wrote: »

Kiwis just have a different set of values and would rather be in bed early to give them a full day or skiing, hiking or surfing the next day

Vancouver is like that. Hated the place

luketitz

breezy1985 wrote: »

Vancouver is like that. Hated the place

Koa Tao in Thailand is similar too, boring as **** if you're there for the nightlife as everyone's up early for diving in the morning.

But if you're there for the diving, it's far from boring! Horses for courses!

hahashake

No wonder there are so many Irish pubs globally, people travel the world then don't want what the place has to offer, they just want to drink in a different location.

tdf7187

Knocklyon. The most boring suburb in the world. I'd honestly rather live in Darndale. At least they're near the coast and the DART.

chosen1

chosen1 wrote: »

I spent a week in Berlin and couldn't find much night life the first couple of nights we were there. Looked up a few highly rated clubs but were refused entry on dresscode as everyone wearing blazers going in. Some door men not too keen on tourists either.

Wasn't till the third night when we got chatting to some locals that we found the underground techno clubs in what looked like abandoned industrial estates. Had great nights after that but we met several tourists who hadn't found any of it in their entire stay.

It's lacking a proper city centre and massively spread out in smaller districts. Probably due to the damage caused by the bombings in the war.

So the entire city would have been boring if you didn’t find a techno nightclub in an industrial centre? You were there a week. Berlin is spread out but for tourists those hop on hop off buses are a good way to get around.

iamwhoiam

keano_afc wrote: »

Surprised to see this. Spent two days there and would go back. The arsenal museum was a particular highlight.

All down to personal preference I guess.

This thread has turned into a thread about the nightlife in places !
How can anyone find Vienna or Berlin boring is beyond me . But if someone bases their opinion in the nightlife only then I guess I have no clue why they need to travel to do that !!!
Vienna is stunning , my only regret was it was in a heatwave of 40degrees and so we couldn’t walk around too much . I would love to go back in less intense heat to see it again .

The Nal

hahashake wrote: »

No wonder there are so many Irish pubs globally, people travel the world then don't want what the place has to offer, they just want to drink in a different location.

Theres a special place in the fiery pits of hell for Irish people who go to Irish pubs on holiday.

GT89

When it comes to places in the UK. This is actually so accurate. They're literally all like this.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A museum, I rest my case

We are talking about trips to cities. Museums matter to many people.

It looks like it’s horses for courses. If you can write Berlin off because it doesn’t have an easily accessible techno dance scene, Vienna for reasons unknown, Howth because you just walked to the fish n chips restaurant and back, then it’s clearly subjective.

In terms of boredom re things to do I’m quite happy ambling about. I like smaller pretty cities like Bruges or Bath but when we visit we just walk around and enjoy rather than visit all the museums etc. Weather is the thing that drives me to museums in any city. The Roman baths in Bath are great, but I’ve done that now so I don’t need to do it again.

In short, cities for me just need to look good. And a good restaurant or two. Different horses for different courses.

Hamachi

The Nal wrote: »

Stay in Mitte around Alexanderplatz and work from there.

Berlin is one of the greatest cities in the world. Can't wait to go back.

Good call. You can’t go far wrong staying near Alexanderplatz. Most of the u-bahn lines intersect there, meaning you can get anywhere pretty quickly.

Not sure why people found it hard to track down nightlife in Berlin. It’s virtually impossible to miss it in Kreuzberg. Speaking of Kreuzberg, it’s an interesting place right in the shadow of where the wall once stood. The people are a curious mix of German hipsters and multi-generational Turkish families, who seem to co-exist relatively happily.

iamwhoiam

Hamachi wrote: »

Good call. You can’t go far wrong staying nearing Alexanderplatz. Most of the u-bahn lines intersect there, meaning you can get anywhere pretty quickly.

Not sure why people found it hard to track down nightlife in Berlin. It’s virtually impossible to miss it in Kreuzberg. Speaking of Kreuzberg, it’s an interesting place right in the shadow of where the wall once stood. The people are a curious mix of German hipsters and multi-generational Turkish families, who seem to co-exist relatively happily.

Kreuzberg has changed so much . In the days before the Wall fell it was run down , huge unemployment and dirty and disheveled . It was re born when young Germans moved in and regeneration took place .

Anyone who thinks Berlin is boring hasn’t done their research. Such a vibrant and exciting city for people of all ages. Germans tend to be dead sound as well. And the kebabs are class.

fryup

GT89 wrote: »

When it comes to places in the UK. This is actually so accurate. They're literally all like this.

just like Ireland then :cool:

Hamachi

orangerhyme wrote: »

I think I heard a German economist saying that theres many small cities in Germany with a population over 100,000 and they wouldnt have a cinema even. I think this is due to the small birthrate since the 70s.
Apparently Germanys native population peaked in the 70s and any growth since then is due to immigrants.

There’s a grain of truth in this. Germany has had an abysmally low birth rate since the 1970s. The same is also true of Italy. The populations are simply older and aren’t likely to be heading out on a session.

In Ireland, we take our relatively youthful demographics for granted. It’s a real asset to this country, giving it a certain vibrancy lacking in much of continental Europe. Long may it continue.

Two German friends visited me in Dublin in the summer of 2019. We spent a lot of time in town and heading out at night. They couldn’t get over how youthful the city is with one of them asking if there are any old people in Ireland at all.

Hamachi

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Kreuzberg has changed so much . In the days before the Wall fell it was run down , huge unemployment and dirty and disheveled . It was re born when young Germans moved in and regeneration took place .

Yeah, it can still be a bit rough around the edges, but overall a very interesting area.

The juxtaposition of the hipsters in the bars and restaurants with the hijab-wearing women shopping in the streets creates a unique vibe.

Redderneck

This thread should be bookmarked so that in future years, when the past twenty years will be viewed as THE golden era of never had it so good until it was gone, relatively affordable, readily organised, straightforward and widespread international travel, the folks on here bitchin' about being bored overseas can have a good cringe for themselves...

...boredom comes from within lads. You can find divilmint/distraction/fascination/wonderment anywhere.

Except Staines.

breezy1985

GT89 wrote: »

When it comes to places in the UK. This is actually so accurate. They're literally all like this.

Is that from Poundland Bandit ?

IsosKramer

I see sheep wrote: »

Every thread about places to live/visit ends up in Galwsy bashing. A lot of jealous people here who've never had the pleasure of living in Galway.

Absolutely.
Whenever I see these threads I feel they should just change the title to:
"What do you hate most about Galway?"

humberklog

The Nal wrote: »

Theres a special place in the fiery pits of hell for Irish people who go to Irish pubs on holiday.

I pop into Irish pubs when abroad now and again especially when in a city (as opposed to a Resort).

Sometimes you just want to go to the bar and get served. Ireland does pubs well and often "Irish Pubs" abroad are pretty well run along the manner of a pub in Ireland.

I don't associate Irish Pubs with being full of Irish people. It's a term (and theme) of a type of pub that for the most part didn't exist in other countries until the Irish pub arrived.

What's the difference? Bar service and seating, longer unashamed drinking, often live music, more informal service and mixing with other customers. General atmosphere. Sure you can get crappy ones abroad but you can get crappy Irish pubs in Ireland too.

I see "Irish Pub" in the same way I see "French Restaurant" or "German Beer Hall" or "Thai Massage". It's just something we do well that at this stage has developed an international understanding.

It's not everyone's cuppa but I for one love popping into an Irish pub after a few days and nights (weeks even) of being in a foreign city.

It can be oasis of familiarity in world of strange. But you could be a Dutch man in Guatemala and see the sign for Reilly's and feel "oh thank fukc for that, un grande cervaze, signor" and roughly know what you going to get, or at least what you expect to get.

chosen1

[Deleted User] wrote: »

So the entire city would have been boring if you didn’t find a techno nightclub in an industrial centre? You were there a week. Berlin is spread out but for tourists those hop on hop off buses are a good way to get around.

Literally no where on that post did I say Berlin was boring in general. There is tons to do during the day and sights to visit.

I was simply stating that the famous nightlife can easily be missed if it weren't for some local knowledge. It's no fun at night time being refused into the more we'll known nightclubs, something that has happened to me no where else in the world except when I was a teenager in Ireland and had a few too many.

Was the underground scene that saved night life for us.

Strumms

i aways make it my business on the second day to pop into an Irish bar , you can get great tips and recommendations on what to do, where to go, what not to do and where not to go..... great also if you are tired of sightseeing and just fancy for a couple of hours a break from the heat, four pints, a sit down and the match..a bite maybe too.