Hedgecutter Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I've lost the love for travelling to the point I've not booked any holiday this year despite having plenty of opportunities to do so. My last two trips to Lisbon and Morocco appear to have broken me. I'm sick of being amongst people happy to stand in an hour long queue to walk up a tower. I'm sick of seeing interesting landmarks being ruined by endless lines of trinket shops all selling exactly the same thing. I'm sick of having to bypass most cafes/bars because the giant menus with more pictures of dishes than the entirety of Instagram screams tourist trap. I'm quite frankly absolutely sick and tired of feeling like a walking wallet there to be manipulated. What I'd ideally like is the foreign equivalent of Dunfermline's historic quarter with Culross instead of the Royal Mile. The NE250 instead of the NC500. St Monans instead of St Andrews. Dunnottar instead of Urquhart Castle. Mull instead of Skye. A steak bridie instead of haggis neeps & tatties. Brno instead of Prague. Nova Scotia instead of Niagara Falls. Haarlem instead of Amsterdam. Botswana instead of the Serengeti. The Gaza Strip instead of Cairo (there are no words to describe my disdain for Cairo). So help me P&B, you're my only hope. Where can I visit that is averagey enough for UNESCO to file in the bin, but interesting enough to keep one occupied much of the time? A nice enough place to wander around and stop for some typical traditional fare? Somewhere to give me a genuine flavour of a country without hating myself for being another bloody tourist further clogging up a tram? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 47 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said: I've lost the love for travelling to the point I've not booked any holiday this year despite having plenty of opportunities to do so. My last two trips to Lisbon and Morocco appear to have broken me. I'm sick of being amongst people happy to stand in an hour long queue to walk up a tower. I'm sick of seeing interesting landmarks being ruined by endless lines of trinket shops all selling exactly the same thing. I'm sick of having to bypass most cafes/bars because the giant menus with more pictures of dishes than the entirety of Instagram screams tourist trap. I'm quite frankly absolutely sick and tired of feeling like a walking wallet there to be manipulated. What I'd ideally like is the foreign equivalent of Dunfermline's historic quarter with Culross instead of the Royal Mile. The NE250 instead of the NC500. St Monans instead of St Andrews. Dunnottar instead of Urquhart Castle. Mull instead of Skye. A steak bridie instead of haggis neeps & tatties. Brno instead of Prague. Nova Scotia instead of Niagara Falls. Haarlem instead of Amsterdam. Botswana instead of the Serengeti. The Gaza Strip instead of Cairo (there are no words to describe my disdain for Cairo). So help me P&B, you're my only hope. Where can I visit that is averagey enough for UNESCO to file in the bin, but interesting enough to keep one occupied much of the time? A nice enough place to wander around and stop for some typical traditional fare? Somewhere to give me a genuine flavour of a country without hating myself for being another bloody tourist further clogging up a tram? Antwerp ticks most of those boxes. A beautiful city with good pubs and restaurants and some interesting cultural attractions but without all the hen/stag weekend arseholes that you get elsewhere. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamthebam Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I've been to Utrecht and Deventer, both of which were quite interesting and not as busy as Amsterdam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 2 hours ago, Hedgecutter said: I've lost the love for travelling to the point I've not booked any holiday this year despite having plenty of opportunities to do so. My last two trips to Lisbon and Morocco appear to have broken me. I'm sick of being amongst people happy to stand in an hour long queue to walk up a tower. I'm sick of seeing interesting landmarks being ruined by endless lines of trinket shops all selling exactly the same thing. I'm sick of having to bypass most cafes/bars because the giant menus with more pictures of dishes than the entirety of Instagram screams tourist trap. I'm quite frankly absolutely sick and tired of feeling like a walking wallet there to be manipulated. What I'd ideally like is the foreign equivalent of Dunfermline's historic quarter with Culross instead of the Royal Mile. The NE250 instead of the NC500. St Monans instead of St Andrews. Dunnottar instead of Urquhart Castle. Mull instead of Skye. A steak bridie instead of haggis neeps & tatties. Brno instead of Prague. Nova Scotia instead of Niagara Falls. Haarlem instead of Amsterdam. Botswana instead of the Serengeti. The Gaza Strip instead of Cairo (there are no words to describe my disdain for Cairo). So help me P&B, you're my only hope. Where can I visit that is averagey enough for UNESCO to file in the bin, but interesting enough to keep one occupied much of the time? A nice enough place to wander around and stop for some typical traditional fare? Somewhere to give me a genuine flavour of a country without hating myself for being another bloody tourist further clogging up a tram? Get yourself up to the northern isles, plenty to see and do, visit the smaller isles, see the puffins, historical stuff, do some walking over the hills and take a rod for a bit of trooting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Doc Holiday said: Get yourself up to the northern isles, plenty to see and do, visit the smaller isles, see the puffins, historical stuff, do some walking over the hills and take a rod for a bit of trooting Good shout. I've been to Orkney a couple of times. The first involved being stuck on Hoy for a few days during a storm, saying "shall we walk to the Martello Tower again?", having had a sniff around the old WW2 fuel tanks and the obligatory Old Man walk. The second was a private piss-up in a brewery (it was the owner's birthday party) before going to look at the whole Neolithic thing. My lasting memory of that was my 'Land Rovers are f***in great' mate getting his Defender stuck on the highest point before realising he still had the handbrake on. I can literally see Shetland if I look out the window just now . Edited July 7 by Hedgecutter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Rural France or Italy cheap as chips or Albania 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarapoa Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Good OP - I feel the same about travel. On a recent work trip to Barcelona I spent the weekdays living in an outer area, where locals/students etc live and loved it - proper living and breathing a city, given I am now a country dweller. My wife joined for the weekend and we moved to a hotel just off the Ramblas - and I hated the place - completely eaten itself, the old town and all that modern developments down at the port. In the US my fav spot is Pismo Beach - chill out hotels where you can overlook the ocean watching pelicans flying into the cliffs and often see dolphins and whales. Europe still remains full of mid-sized gems that are not overly touristy - Sicily and Puglia in Italy - Cesky Krumlov in Bohemia, Trogir in Croatia - and San Sebastián /Thessaloniki (saw the Dons in both) all ticked a few boxes. They all had some tourism - just not too much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomersetBairn Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Once the Euro's are over, Bavaria is a nice place to go. Plenty of towns and cities with historic/ scenic venues to explore. I like Augsburg. Enough in and around there to keep you occupied for a few days. It's also a good base to get into the mountains for day trips etc. They have their own version of the Munich Oktoberfest, held in the last week of August, so the weather is good. Not as commercial as the aforementioned Oktoberfest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Lubeck somewhere i want to go 30 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said: Good shout. I've been to Orkney a couple of times. The first involved being stuck on Hoy for a few days during a storm, saying "shall we walk to the Martello Tower again?", having had a sniff around the old WW2 fuel tanks and the obligatory Old Man walk. The second was a private piss-up in a brewery (it was the owner's birthday party) before going to look at the whole Neolithic thing. My lasting memory of that was my 'Land Rovers are f***in great' mate getting his Defender stuck on the highest point before realising he still had the handbrake on. I can literally see Shetland if I look out the window just now . Any Shetland roses in view lol 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 My avatar pic is all you need to know. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 9 minutes ago, pozbaird said: My avatar pic is all you need to know. FWIW, I immediately think Niagara Falls when I see that; without doubt the tackiest place I've ever set foot. I think it should be renamed 'Largs Vegas'. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 1 minute ago, Hedgecutter said: FWIW, I immediately think Niagara Falls when I see that; without doubt the tackiest place I've ever set foot. I think it should be renamed 'Largs Vegas'. The falls themselves are amazing, I never realised you could get so close to them on the Canadian side, but aye, the town… 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Friday/Saturday nights at the Canuck side are tremendously tacky it's Blackpool on steroids 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holiday Song Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 3 hours ago, tamthebam said: I've been to Utrecht and Deventer, both of which were quite interesting and not as busy as Amsterdam. Second this. I live in NL and Utrecht is my favourite city. Someone mentioned Antwerp in Belgium which is decent IMO, but my favourite place around there is Leuven, I don't think it's very tourist driven. Bilboa is favourite place ever been I think. The pincho food culture there is incredible. It is a little touristy, but not so much as San Sebastian near it (although it was fine as well). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 3 minutes ago, The Holiday Song said: Someone mentioned Antwerp in Belgium which is decent IMO, but my favourite place around there is Leuven, I don't think it's very tourist driven. Leuven is quality,massive student town and a square full of boozers and the home of wife beaters choice of beverage,apart from the square and it being the next stop after Brussels airport on the train there isnt much in the way of touristy things,however a finer drinking town would be harder to find 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 42 minutes ago, The Holiday Song said: Second this. I live in NL and Utrecht is my favourite city. Someone mentioned Antwerp in Belgium which is decent IMO, but my favourite place around there is Leuven, I don't think it's very tourist driven. Bilboa is favourite place ever been I think. The pincho food culture there is incredible. It is a little touristy, but not so much as San Sebastian near it (although it was fine as well). I was planning to go to Bilboa a few years ago to check out the Guggenheim... but the pandemic got in the way. I'm pretty sure you could fly with Easyjet from Edinburgh at the time but that flight has been pulled. I'm not sure the best way to get there now... possibly fly to Santander and get a bus or train? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yabass Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 2 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said: I was planning to go to Bilboa a few years ago to check out the Guggenheim... but the pandemic got in the way. I'm pretty sure you could fly with Easyjet from Edinburgh at the time but that flight has been pulled. I'm not sure the best way to get there now... possibly fly to Santander and get a bus or train? I did that flight from Ed-Bilbao before it got pulled. Bilbao is a tremendous city Flight to Santander then bus or slow train looks like the best bet these days. For other off-the-beaten-track suggestions, wholeheartedly second Albania, Puglia, Thessaloniki and Belgium (Antwerp, Ghent etc.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxRover Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Couple of U.S. notes: The Maine coast is beautiful, as it the Oregon coast…and both can tie in with Canadian visits. Portland (Oregon) has a massive bookstore that covers a city block. Charleston, South Carolina is very attractive, and the coast is interesting in both directions, although give Myrtle Beach a wide berth. San Diego is heavy on tourists, but has more interesting stuff, after you discount the typical stuff, to see than capacity for people to stay. Spending a few days between Pensacola, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana can be interesting….good food, swamps, casinos, history and a generally laid back approach (more so to the western end), but don’t make the mistake of visiting Gulf Shores or venturing east of Pensacola. The Mississippi beach’s are acceptable, if that’s what you want, but aren’t anything special at all. A drive up to Memphis from New Orleans can be languid and historical, but Memphis is now a tourist hellhole, like Nashville. On the other hand, there are lots of AirBNB cabins in the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area that are nice stays other than the high season (For that matter, there are some great cabins in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, around Beavers Bend and Broken Bow…but they are often booked up, but are reasonably remote and often used by people trying to get away from the DFW area). You can also go further up to St. Louis, which has some interesting things, and quite favors German style cooking. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 We spent a week in the Belgian Ardennes on the way back from Germany and really enjoyed it. Had great days in places I'd never heard of before like Dinant (a wee bit touristy but still a real town) and Bouillon, with its ancient castle on a spectacular ridge above a bend in the river. Didn't hear another English speaker in either town. We took the train down to Luxembourg City for a day and it was everything you'd expect from a beautiful old European city, minus the hordes of tourists. We saw literally one tourist tat shop in the whole city. All public transport in Luxembourg is free so you just jump on and off trams and buses, no hassle at all. The most touristy thing we did was visit the war museum at Bastogne, which was busy but certainly not a tourist trap. Seeing the foxholes in the woods (made even more famous by Band of Brothers) was chastening. Apart from that we spent a lot of time in rural areas. In one village there was a farmers market starting at 5pm, which seemed weird, until we realised the stalls of local produce were secondary to the huge piss-up. They had excellent food vans and games for children too. We might have been the only outsiders there. I'll be happy if I never get on another plane and the Ardennes is only a few hours from ferry ports like Calais and IJmiuden. I was expecting a lot of Brits but we didn't see a single UK plate in the whole week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Cumbernauld city centre. Best to get there quick mind you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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