Dirty Little Secrets: Favorite Tourist Traps

We thoroughly enjoyed the Moulin Rouge in Paris!

We were in the area and just had to see Cheddar Gorge ( but skipped The Wookey Hole). The natural beauty of the gorge was amazing but there were too many tacky shops, fee to climb up the stairs to the bluff, pay to park, etc. It should be a National Trust property.

I'm sure I'll go back to both Oktoberfest and San Gimignano. I liked Blarney Castle and Stonehenge a lot too.

I'm glad I went but doubt I'll go back to Pisa, Neuschwanstein or the Hoffbrau Haus in Munich.

The world's biggest wine cask in Schloss Heidelberg! Seriously, that thing is huge.

Ooh, forgot about that one! I love the wine cask. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I still think that no trip to Germany is complete without going to Neuschwanstein.

Madame Tussauds in London

Maduradam in the Netherlands (I don't know if this is spelled right)

We laughed so hard and so much at both of these "attractions" that they are worth spending money on.

Hello my name is Reg and I'm addicted to Oktoberfest.
Prost!

Hofbräuhaus in Munich Very touristy but inexpensive food, good bier, and fun.

I actually enjoy the Jorvic museum in York. I know it is disneyesque, but it is fun. I also like the Whisky experience in Edinburgh- maybe there it is the free "wee dram" at the end....

Fun question! I enjoyed Blarney. There's not much to the castle, but the grounds are lovely and I don't know why but I like being able to say I kissed the Blarney Stone.

I loved Neuschwanstein too. In fact, I would not call it a tourist trap. Kissing the Blarney Stone - now that's a tourist trap.

Show me a wax museum -- especially one with a Chamber of Horrors -- and I'm there! I know they're cheesy and overpriced, but I do love 'em.

The Sound Of Music tour in Salzburg! lol!
I really enjoyed it!

Hofbrau Haus, Any torture museum with eerie music and wax figures, Bran Castle, Venice and the Golden Lane at Prague Castle.

Some of us don't need Google to answer...we have our experiences to rely on.

Not really a tourist trap...but...took a day trip to York from London. Much colder than expected so I went looking to purchase a sweater--this being wool country. Saw a store on the Shambles with a sign saying "sale." Went in and saw a sweater I liked at a very reasonable price. Was warm and toasty the rest of the day.

Got back to London and looked at the label:

Made in the U.S.A

I had fun seeing Manneken Pis in Brussels last month. I think my favorite part was the tourist shops selling all sorts of peeing tchotchkes. I admit I bought my brother in law a Manneken Pis corkscrew.

We loved the Abbey Tavern in Knowth Ireland, just outside of Dublin - peat fire in the fireplace, trad music and dancing with Irish food and Guiness - hokey tourism yes, but great fun as well!

I also like being able to say that I kissed the Blarney Stone - although I didn't purchase the photo :)

However, I was not so impressed with the bullfighting in the ring in Madrid - I was cheering on the bulls! It was an opportunity to experience a Spanish cultural tradition, but I couldn't stomach more than two bull fights.

OK, ok....I'll admit it. I love Rüdesheim! It's just so stereotypical...but always seems to pull me back.

I have to second the Sound of Music tours! Loved the movie so much I had a Sound of Music theme to my wedding. We've done the tour at least 4 times... and I'd do it again.

And I'll third the Sound of Music tour. I loved singing along in the bus and listening to the guide make fun of the implausible movie scenes.

In Edinburgh I was excited to see the statue of Greyfriars Bobby because I'd read that story as a kid. Twenty years later I was amazed to find myself equally excited to see the Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station.

We enjoyed an overpriced glass of wine at a cafe in the Place du Tertre in Montmartre, watching the strolling artists trolling for money.

Warwick Castle,,the jousting show(even the "war horses" were wearing colors)and the seeing the over the moat toilets,, lOL

I would say standing in line in the summer on a suuny day--you can imagine how long it is--for the Eiffel Tower. You say to yourself, "I'm not standing in that line." but you do anyway. And, it didn't take so long anyway...about 25-30 mins.

Is it a tourist trap? Well, you do it anyway, period.

I agree...the Hofbrauhaus is a good place to have lunch, good food without a big expense.

I loved the Night Watchman's Tour. I regret not buying the DVD. He was hilarious!

Regarding one of the posts, there's been a recent change in the posting guidelines and the Webmaster is now deleting posts with graphics.

The new posting guideline asks that you post a link to the graphic rather than the graphic itself.

Speaking of cheesy ghost tours, I thought the ghost tour in Kinsale, Ireland was a total hoot.

One of the many ghost tours in York. The one my sister and I went on was particularly cheesy with people wearing rubber masks jumping out of dark corners, but it was great fun and the guide was very entertaining. To borrow a line from Rod Stewart,"[his]ad-libbed lines were well rehearsed", but funny just the same.

I would live the rest of my life in Rothenberg ob der Tauber and be best friends with the Nightwatchman!

Don't know if some would consider this a tourist trap but a recent visit to the Tower Of London was much more enjoyable then I expected.

Two for me:

1 - Night watchman's tour in Rothenberg. Funny, informative and the Watchman is great.

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2 - Salt mine tour outside Salzburg. It was a blast and I actually learned a lot about salt!

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Pete

Hop-on, Hop-off bus tours. They are usually overpriced and not worth the money. I've taken half a dozen. Sometimes I just don't want to figure out things for myself.

I'm with Toni on the Jorvik Tour in York, Ghost Tours in Edinburg and York, The Scotch Whisky Experience. You get to drink whisky and go on a Disneylike ride. I had to go see the Monarch of the Glen sights near Loch Laggen! The Tartan Weaving Mill and Exhibition also on the Royal Mile is pretty cheesy. These Scottish Exhibitions always have red-haired man with a big mustache holding a claymore. ; )

Pam

I always loved the Jorvik museum, and on my last visit to England in May we went to Windsor Castle which I ended up really enjoying.

For us, no trip to Munich is complete without at least one visit to the Hofbräuhaus.

A Fiaker (horse-drawn carriage) ride in Vienna at least once a year!
Even though I am a native, I never tire of this terribly overpriced but delightful pleasure :-))

1) Overpriced Italian piazza restaurants

2) The London Dungeon. I went there soon after it first opened as more of a museum and watched it turn into a complete tourist trap...and loved every minute of it.

My wife and I rode the 3 wheel bicycle taxi in Innisbruck.It was a delightful trip and the driver was a man from Holland with a Doctorate in Physics who came to practice his English and German.

I loved both Jorvic and the Sound of Music tour. (Must be an NC thing, Toni.)Also, the Mary King's Close tour. Far from being tacky,which I expected, it really brought home the history of Edinburgh. Wax museums have fascinated me since I was a kid, so I had to see Madame Tussaud's. Beside's nothing balances out a trip more than following up an afternoon at Westminster Abbey than eying a wax Sean Connery.

I have to chime in on Windsor castle. It is my favorite in the UK and one of the tops in all of Europe. I don't see it as a tourist trap- but as a marvelous way to experience the history of England. We saw it before the fire, not long after and the after the restoration. It is even better since the restoriation. They have an exhibit (I think it is still there) about things they discovered as they worked to repair the damage. The gardens are lovley, too (the yellow rose garden has my heart).

I'll second the London Dungeon. It's such a macabre sideshow that lays on the horrific history of London with terrifically bloody waxworks. A bit pricey, but I cannot resist whenever I'm in London. How do they maintain that wonderful damp moldy dungeon funk indoors?

We really enjoyed the medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle, Ireland. We also enjoyed the jogging car trip through the Gap of Dunloe, although it is very hard on the tail bone. Wookey Hole may be a tourist trap but the cave itself is beautiful --or it was twenty years ago when we were there.

My vote goes to Belgo Centraal in London. Very touristy, but the food is always good, they serve Belgian beer and the early bird price can't be beat.