Cities you'd never return to

P.K.M. · 21-04-2014 02:57PM

London..what a kip. Never again!

dj jarvis · 21-04-2014 03:03PM

Spring Onion wrote: »

Really? I lived in Leipzig for 9 months. It has a huge train station, "the world's largest railway station measured by floor area...handles 120,000 passengers per day". There are no problems around the station. In fact it is also a large shopping centre so people flock there even when not travelling. No zombies.

Maybe it wasn't always like that, maybe they "fixed" the problem. I do not know.

Question, what is Dublin doing to fix it's "zombie" problem?

i lived in Germany for nearly 4 years , 3 different city's and visited loads more , i did not come across ONE city train station that was not crawling with drunks and junkies , so no idea how you missed it , and not just Germany , the Nordic country's are just as bad - but as i keep saying , some think its only a Dublin problem becasue "its the worse they have ever seen" , well either they are clinically blind or telling porkies to make some stupid point.

as for fixing the problem , i used to see the German police put 4/5 police vans in a semi circle at the side of the Haupbannhoff in Frankfurt so the zombies could gather inside the semi circle to bang up in peace ,and not to bother others - is that fixing it ? maybe , so should the Irish cops do the same ?

not getting into this , but i will call out the usual suspects Dublin bashing , with pathetic comparisons to Dublin being worse than Barcelona for pick pockets , or Dublin being worse for zombies than Amsterdam for example ,
if only the powers that be would MOVE the clinics around the city , so they would not all shuffle in the same area , they would not be as visible then

but there would be no pleasing some people , get rid of the zombies and they would have something else to whinge about , like i said , if someone is going to rubbish Dublin for no real reason , why dont people pipe up about what **** hole they oozed from , sure we can all have a good pick at that .

dj jarvis · 21-04-2014 03:05PM

I am pie wrote: »

Can't standa Brussels, chips are not a delicacy, at this stage the chocolate and beer is availabe internationally. City has 0 charm and appeal. Constantly miserable place.

Munich was a disappointment for me, as was Hamburg. Hamburg is either completely dull or an unrepetantly seedy sh1thole. Munich was rebuilt without much charm after WW2, didn't fund much to enjoy. Berlin is the only place I have been in Germany that I enjoyed, much prefer Austria. Zurich is pretty dull and horribly expensive. I imagine it's a fine place to live, but it's not much of a tourist draw.

Amen to that first point,

As for Hamburg , i take it you went to the Reeperbhan on a Friday / Saturday ?
Scum central , drugs , guns a hookers , pubs ****e , not one redeemable quality about it

Duck's hoop · 21-04-2014 03:07PM

therealme wrote: »

I don't think I am hard to please (see my post re Prague). I don't expect to be harassed or attempted mugging and don't think it is too much not to expect. Am well traveled and have had no experiences remotely similar to it elsewhere.

Best you don't go to North Africa then. Which is a shame as it is such a fantastic experience otherwise!

I try to take the rough and the smooth wherever I go. As for boring, well some cities are that. Administrative and financial types.

But mostly, if it's a city and you're bored, then maybe it's not all the city's fault.

I've seen Vienna mentioned here as dull and boring. I loved it, on my tod for 5 days mooching about, far too much to see and do in that time so don't get how you could be bored there.

People saying cities are dirty. They're cities. With millions of people milling around. Daily. It's going to get grubby in places. If you're not high stepping over human turds every few yards how bad can it be? Certainly in Europe and N America?

The people are rude! I dunno. You're on your holiday and it's special to you but to most locals you're just another grockle, move out the way.

I like being away. Anywhere. Different is class.

therealme · 21-04-2014 03:15PM

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Best you don't go to North Africa then. Which is a shame as it is such a fantastic experience otherwise!

Mite skip Africa alright lol.

I try to take the rough and the smooth wherever I go. As for boring, well some cities are that. Administrative and financial types. But mostly, if it's a city and you're bored, then maybe it's not all the city's fault.

I wasn't bored just didn't expect to be harassed SO much and I thought there was a lot more to see.

I've seen Vienna mentioned here as dull and boring. I loved it, on my tod for 5 days mooching about, far too much to see and do in that time so don't get how you could be bored there.

I liked Vienna too, had no complaints. As I said, I have had no complaints about any other city I visited.

I totally accept about being a tourist but if I am dropping most of a thousand euro for a weekend, I do expect to be left alone unless I come looking for trouble (which I don't!!).

BuilderPlumber · 21-04-2014 03:16PM

Here are a few that come to mind:

Tehran during the Ahmadinejad years. I was there in 2007. Iran is a lovely country but the poverty and oppression and voodooism was saddening and so unnecessary for a country that should be rich. I hope to return there and hope to see changes and the Iranian people getting the freedom they deserve. Things are getting better now.

Templebar in Dublin. The rest of Dublin is grand.

New Delhi. The rest of India is lovely but there is something threatening about the capital.

Any Swiss city. Compared to German, Austrian or Czech cities for example, there is something dull and disappointing about Switzerland's cities. The scenery and mountains is what Switzerland is about and not the cities.

And worse of all: Lagos, Nigeria. A horrid place. I was there 10 years ago but can't understand what possessed me to go to this godforsaken den of scammers. The rest of West African cities (Cotonou, Lome, Accra, etc.) are grand and I would recommend Africa as a great and different holiday. But give Lagos a miss!

Frank Lee Midere · 21-04-2014 03:21PM

Joe Doe wrote: »

True it's not a real international city by any means, but believe me if the North was ever zoned to 12.5% corp tax the 'Googles' would be on the 1st bus to avail of a workforce all at 50% discount. They might even re-open the shipyards or re-build DeLoreans again

The tax rate is one thing. The animosity towards foreigners is another. We have problems with scumbags in Dublin being racist but they are equal opportunity scumbags and attack everyone verbally. Up north they burn the Polish fleg.

I am pie · 21-04-2014 03:26PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

Amen to that first point,

As for Hamburg , i take it you went to the Reeperbhan on a Friday / Saturday ?
Scum central , drugs , guns a hookers , pubs ****e , not one redeemable quality about it

Walked through it, pretty grim, didn't think much of St Pauli neighbourhood in the surrounding area. Spent hours trundling about afterwards trying to find somewhere decent to go for a drink away from the cheap tackiness. The city just left me cold, not particularly friendly. Had a weird incident with some local header working in a bar who insisted on showing us his collection of (Glasgow)Rangers tattoos. Perhaps Germany just isnt for me, Berlin aside.

PLL · 21-04-2014 03:27PM

Birmingham.

dj jarvis · 21-04-2014 03:33PM

I am pie wrote: »

Walked through it, pretty grim, didn't think much of St Pauli neighbourhood in the surrounding area. Spent hours trundling about afterwards trying to find somewhere decent to go for a drink away from the cheap tackiness. The city just left me cold, not particularly friendly. Had a weird incident with some local header working in a bar who insisted on showing us his collection of (Glasgow)Rangers tattoos. Perhaps Germany just isnt for me, Berlin aside.

Maybe just a bad visit for you , i have been many many times ( was over there 3 weeks ago) and had a laugh , but saying that , you really have to time the visit , if a match is on and st pauli are playing , stay well clear , it gets nasty

in the summer , when the different city festivals are on ,if the sun shines , its lovely , especially around the lake in the city ctr , but as for beauty and architecture ? dont bother , it was blasted to **** during the war,
and it all how you take people i suppose , we ended up in a bar just off the red light district , ( the anchor i think) , i have not met such a rube bar woman in my life ( and i ran a bar for years ) , she was unbelievable , would not even raise her head from her book when spoken to , well i THINK it was a she , either a REALLY ugly woman or an old man in bad drag , but this "woman" made the night for us - it was comical how ignorant and rude she was - loved it , we stayed till 4am just to piss her off :-)

Mrs Garth Brooks · 21-04-2014 03:36PM

PLL wrote: »

Birmingham.

I was there last year and I loved it.

Went and visited Bournville close by. I'd gladly live there. It was a lovely village. And its where the Cadbury factory is.

Olive8585 · 21-04-2014 03:46PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

millions of people visit those cities every year and have a great time so its not just me....

if you can't enjoy worldclass cities like san francisco and barcelona then travel really isn't for you.

then again this is boards.ie where complaining about everything and everyone is part of the course.

My point was that different people are wait for it....DIFFERENT and therefore have different ideas of what a 'great time' is, as well as different ideas of what a 'great holiday' is. If you can't imagine why people might not like San Francisco or Barcelona, then you're really quite narrow-minded. "Travel isn't for you?" How condescending. Perhaps there are enough amazing places on earth that there's no need to go back to somewhere you found utterly overrated?

I live in London. I love it. I never run out of things to do here. But a lot of people hate it. Do I tell them they must be uncultured idiots because this is a world-class city full of culture? No, because I understand that other people don't think exactly like me and that for some people, the negatives outweigh the positives. I'm willing to overlook the pollution, the noise, the overcrowding, the crime, the expense etc. because I find that the good points are worth it. Other people don't. It doesn't make them wrong.

The title is 'cities you'd never return to', not 'cities that don't have a single redeeming factor'.

ivytwine · 21-04-2014 03:53PM

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

Had my kids when I was young so will do it the opposite way round!

I took my kids to Paris when they were both under 10. Just me and the two of them and we loved it. Well, they weren't too impressed with the museums but I was. Found the people I came across were lovely but I suppose I wasn't there for the nightlife.

The French have a soft spot for kids. Went with my mother when I was 10 to Paris and I was the toast of the neighbourhood. We used to have breakfast in the cafe across the street from the hotel, I became known as "la petite fille avec l'orange pressé" (because I like orange juice a lot).

Went back to a different part when I was 22 and I was not as popular :P

Middlesbrough in England is pretty grim. I can't really think of any other cities I didn't like...

Perth in Australia is worth a visit but don't stay there longer than a week. If you do, you'll swiftly realise:

Time has stopped somewhere around 1975, and for all the pretty skyscrapers you have a city centre that is roughly the size of Limerick, and is run by the most narrow-minded of the emigrants who got their 10 shilling tickets from Southampton in the 1950s.

I think things have changed slightly from when I was lived there, but late-night opening and daylight savings were the twin evils threatening the status quo in 2009. If you realised you didn't have milk after 5pm you were screwed, unless you wanted to pay a Chinese grocer $10 for a souring carton (IF he was open).

Whereas every Ballygobackwards in Ireland has a Centra that opens til 10!

Spring Onion · 21-04-2014 04:28PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

i lived in Germany for nearly 4 years , 3 different city's and visited loads more , i did not come across ONE city train station that was not crawling with drunks and junkies , so no idea how you missed it

Your exact line was "you think Dublin city has a junkie problem ??? go to ANY major German city , go to the main train station of that city , and sit back and enjoy the zombie show"

I am not disputing any other German cities, I am saying Leipzig is a huge train station and has no junkie problem in it or around it. A simple apology will suffice.

ivytwine · 21-04-2014 04:33PM

Really not getting the hate for Bristol. One of the prettiest cities in the UK IMHO.

Also I loved Rome. I love that it's mad and chaotic and completely crazy. That's Italy... Anyway I suppose it would be a boring world if we were all the same, ha?!

SamHarris · 21-04-2014 05:13PM

Moscow.

People were absolute jerks. Soviet architecture (terrifying). Nothing to do. Threatening. Poor. Cold.

Full of Russians.

purplecow1977 · 21-04-2014 05:23PM

Glad to see majority of my proposed stops for summer haven't appeared here!!

losthorizon · 21-04-2014 05:25PM

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Glad to see majority of my proposed stops for summer haven't appeared here!!

Where are you going?

purplecow1977 · 21-04-2014 05:27PM

losthorizon wrote: »

Where are you going?

Prague, Krakow, Budapest (Yes I know they appeared!) Ljubljana, Zadar, Split, Mostar, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik

thelad95 · 21-04-2014 05:27PM

Swansea and Cardiff in Wales. Both utter kips.

Chorcai · 21-04-2014 05:35PM

Bangkok, couldn't get away from the place quick enough.

AlanS181824 · 21-04-2014 05:40PM

New York, way too many people in such close proximity for me. Great place yes but the constant bumping and loud noises really got to me.

ABajaninCork · 21-04-2014 05:46PM

thelad95 wrote: »

Swansea and Cardiff in Wales. Both utter kips.

Cardiff isn't too bad actually, especially around the dock area. I'd agree with you about Swansea. You can also add Pembroke to that list.

Absolute toilet, but can't say I'd never go there again. Not if I want to go home with the car!

Barely There · 21-04-2014 05:46PM

AlanS181824 wrote: »

the constant bumping and loud noises really got to me.

We should never have sex then.

losthorizon · 21-04-2014 05:47PM

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Prague, Krakow, Budapest (Yes I know they appeared!) Ljubljana, Zadar, Split, Mostar, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik

Mostar is really interesting. Try and add in Kotor as well. You can get the bus from Dubrovnik - its in Montenegro. It was part of the Venetian Empire so they have lovely pizzas and wine. You can climb up to the citadel behind the Town and there is a secret way down. A hole in the wall about a third of the way down takes you through meadows that shepherds used to use.

ivytwine · 21-04-2014 05:49PM

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Cardiff isn't too bad actually, especially around the dock area. I'd agree with you about Swansea. You can also add Pembroke to that list.

Absolute toilet, but can't say I'd never go there again. Not if I want to go home with the car!

Fishguard has to be the worst place in Wales. Maybe the world. Probably Europe, anyway.

Went to Holyhead for the first time this year and it's the height of glamour and cleanliness compared to Fishguard.

I am pie · 21-04-2014 05:52PM

Mr.S wrote: »

Thought of some more:

Santa Cruz, Tenerife.
Porto Bonus / Marbella
Gibraltar (not a city, but still!)

Some horrible things were done to some spanish resorts in the 60s and 70s. Torremolinos is horrible too. The cheap bit of Ibiza town is a disgrace, benidorm & alicante aren't great in parts either.

Parts of Bali have been over run by Australian's bargain basement booze hunters. Parts of the island are spectacular still but more and more you have to spend some money to get away from the boggans or go inland.

ABajaninCork · 21-04-2014 05:56PM

Since we're speaking of ports: Add Le Havre to the list too. Not only is it a dump. The flics are bar stewards, the people rude (despite speaking to them in French) and the place absolutely stinks! You don't get rid of the smell for at least 10 miles!!

And whoever said Middlesbrough was a dump was bang on. Absolutely horrible place, dominated by the old ICI factory. But the people are lovely, and the surrounding Yorkshire Dales are stunning.

Grumpy Greg · 21-04-2014 05:59PM

Johannesberg. Violent, unfriendly with seriously rude inhabitants. This was during the apartheid era admittedly but things have apparently disimproved.

ivytwine · 21-04-2014 06:02PM

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Since we're speaking of ports: Add Le Havre to the list too. Not only is it a dump. The flics are bar stewards, the people rude (despite speaking to them in French) and the place absolutely stinks! You don't get rid of the smell for at least 10 miles!!

And whoever said Middlesbrough was a dump was bang on. Absolutely horrible place, dominated by the old ICI factory. But the people are lovely, and the surrounding Yorkshire Dales are stunning.

That was me. My cousin lived up there (he's passed away now) and where his actual house was in the 'burbs was lovely. Had a view of a cricket ground, and I remember watching the locals playing cricket from the spare room in the attic as the sun sank on a gorgeous July evening and thinking I'd never seen anything so quintessentially English and I probably never would again.

The city centre is just so gloomy. You can tell the place has been decimated economically and there's such an air of decline. Yorkshire is beautiful though, and York itself looked nice from the train!

Cities you'd never return to

Comments