What cities do you think generally get a bad rap from travellers but
you personally found interesting and rewarding?

Brussels - great beer, great food, lots of Art Nouveau architecture,
and the most beautiful square in Europe.

Marseille - great provencal cuisine and seafood, a beautiful port area,
an interesting old quarter, and a strong North African influence.

Liverpool - the maritime museum is a must-see, lots of Beatles sights,
friendly locals, a great youth hostel, and plenty of cafes and pubs.

On 24 Mar 2005 15:22:05 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

    |What cities do you think generally get a bad rap from travellers but
    |you personally found interesting and rewarding?
    |
    |Brussels - great beer, great food, lots of Art Nouveau architecture,
    |and the most beautiful square in Europe.
    |
    |Marseille - great provencal cuisine and seafood, a beautiful port area,
    |an interesting old quarter, and a strong North African influence.
    |
    |Liverpool - the maritime museum is a must-see, lots of Beatles sights,
    |friendly locals, a great youth hostel, and plenty of cafes and pubs.

I have no idea about good or bad "raps". Our two favourites were
Prague and Oxford. Our least favourites were Naples and Athens.

There were a lot of others knocking on the door of the favourites
list. I enjoyed all of them, despite difficulties in some, including
Prague and Oxford:-)




Cheers, Alan, Australia

"Alan S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On 24 Mar 2005 15:22:05 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
    > |What cities do you think generally get a bad rap from travellers but
    > |you personally found interesting and rewarding?
    > |
    > |Brussels - great beer, great food, lots of Art Nouveau architecture,
    > |and the most beautiful square in Europe.
    > |
    > |Marseille - great provencal cuisine and seafood, a beautiful port area,
    > |an interesting old quarter, and a strong North African influence.
    > |
    > |Liverpool - the maritime museum is a must-see, lots of Beatles sights,
    > |friendly locals, a great youth hostel, and plenty of cafes and pubs.
    > I have no idea about good or bad "raps". Our two favourites were
    > Prague and Oxford. Our least favourites were Naples and Athens.
    > There were a lot of others knocking on the door of the favourites
    > list. I enjoyed all of them, despite difficulties in some, including
    > Prague and Oxford:-)


Ox ford could get tagged as underrated, but Prague? Not a chance.

On 24 Mar 2005 15:22:05 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

    >What cities do you think generally get a bad rap from travellers but
    >you personally found interesting and rewarding?
Nancy in France has a poor reputation amongst the French, but I was
pleasantly surprised. The Place Stanislas is impressive and elegant,
and the Old Town has some pleasant narrow streets.

Stayed there for the first time in December last year while
accompanying a tour group on the way back from Austria. The hotel bar
was closed, so a group of customers and me decided to find a bar and
have a beer or two. We were all so fascinated by the architecture that
we just wandered and forgot all about the beer!

Came back to the UK and told a friend from Alsace that I'd enjoyed
visiting Nancy - he still maintains it's a dump!



Keith, Bristol, UK

DE-MUNG for email replies.

"Keith Anderson" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...

    > We were all so fascinated by the architecture that
    > we just wandered and forgot all about the beer!

I found Riga to be wonderful architecturally, as well as having good bars
and restaurants. Darn cold, though!

Ian

My vote goes to Napoli. Absolutely the best city in Europe. I spent many
months there with my then-girlfriend, a native of the city. I am once again
planning to move there.

Maastricht is my nominee for most underrated.

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 11:32:48 GMT, "colin." <colin###@###j0o.com>
wrote:

    |My vote goes to Napoli. Absolutely the best city in Europe. I spent many
    |months there with my then-girlfriend, a native of the city. I am once again
    |planning to move there.
    |
From my short experience of Napoli, I congratulate you on finding such
a wonderful girl. Sure it'll be the same place without her? :-))


Cheers, Alan, Australia

"Our least favourites were Naples and Athens."

No argument there: http://tinyurl.com/3n2wb

"Our two favourites were Prague and Oxford."

Both wonderful places, but I wouldn't call them underrated! Most
people rave about Prague, and the only negative comments I've heard
about it come from people who think that it has become overtouristed or
overcommercialized. I've never heard anything bad about Oxford.

"Nancy in France has a poor reputation amongst the French, but I was
pleasantly surprised. The Place Stanislas is impressive and elegant,
and the Old Town has some pleasant narrow streets."

Just looked it up...it looks beautiful.

"Stayed there for the first time in December last year while
accompanying a tour group on the way back from Austria. The hotel bar
was closed, so a group of customers and me decided to find a bar and
have a beer or two. We were all so fascinated by the architecture that
we just wandered and forgot all about the beer!"

A beer in France? What were you thinking?!

"Came back to the UK and told a friend from Alsace that I'd enjoyed
visiting Nancy - he still maintains it's a dump!"

When I told Parisians how much I enjoyed Marseille, they thought I was
on crack! Before my visit, most French people I talked to took the
position that if I went to Marseille I would be robbed, beaten, or
blown up.

"My vote goes to Napoli. Absolutely the best city in Europe."

Many people say it's the most truly Italian city. The city has a
streetlife that is much more vibrant than the North Italian
cities...IMO the city's highlight was its people rather than the city
itself.

"I found Riga to be wonderful architecturally, as well as having good
bars
and restaurants. Darn cold, though!"

Let's hope the stag party crowd doesn't find out about it...

"Tom Bellhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Maastricht is my nominee for most underrated.

Underrated or just plain UNKNOWN?

Agreed it is a great place, but the traffic is horrendous! If you are
visiting by car park outside the city.

Gerrit - Oz

[email protected] wrote:
    > "My vote goes to Napoli. Absolutely the best city in Europe."
    > Many people say it's the most truly Italian city. The city has a
    > streetlife that is much more vibrant than the North Italian
    > cities...IMO the city's highlight was its people rather than the city
    > itself.

Palermo and Torino would be on my list of underrated Italian cities.
Elsewhere, Brussels and maybe Malmo. In the UK, Birmingham.

    | From my short experience of Napoli, I congratulate you on finding such
    | a wonderful girl. Sure it'll be the same place without her? :-))

Who says it's going to be without her? From talking to her lately, looks
like there might be hope fot us yet again (;