Survey: Paris voted Europe's most overrated city, London dirtiest

I demand a recount!

They say tripadvisors users voted,, but it must ahve been a very small amount,, no one on the boards I go on there admits to having voted at all, in fact , I thought I read that it survey base was only 1500 people or something,, not that much.

Paris was voted most overrated,, but then also voted best food and something else,, so how can it be over rated, these surveys are lame.

I didn't think London was that dirty either... so I am a bit confused,, and I don't even really like London that much,, but , its just not filthy.

Ignore surveys reported at Tripadvisor.com

London, the dirtiest? Did they ever lay eyes on Skopje, Bucharest or Bialystok?

I often hear that Brussels is boring, but when I ask further, usually the person did not venture beyond the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis.

I agree with Ron.

Ignore the surveys. I've never been to London, but Paris left me wanting to go back. I dream about the day I go back - hopefully soon.

Paris overrated? The people that voted that way have probably never been there!

"Mushy peas are served with everything "

????

Well London I don't know about dirty....Amsterdam is pretty bad if you ask me.
London food has a bad reputation but if you know where to go there are some great places

and Paris...um...ya....what....it is the best city in the world....

Humph! I do hate seeing litter in London and some parts are grubby, but I'm not sure I'd describe it as the dirtiest city.

I also don't agree about London having the worst food. Yes, British food is never going to be rated as one of the world's finest cuisines, but there are some amazing restaurants in London. Even my Indian relatives praise the standard of the Indian restaurants in London.

I have to say I always find these travel surveys odd. I have lost count of the times I have seen some perfectly nice destination being condemned in one fell swoop.

LOVE Paris. Spent a week there and still didn't see everything. Can't wait to go back.

London, worst food; I can buy that. Mushy peas are served with everything and the fish & chips drip with grease (although I really like steak & kidney pie).

As for dirtiest, I would go with Amsterdam or Naples.

Brussels and Zurich boring, yes.

Is there a poll for the US? I would vote New Orleans both dirtiest and most overrated (but still fun).

Not sure about London being the dirtiest (I'd have to say Amsterdam is the dirtiest too) But I think the rest is spot on.

You didn't finish the survey: Here's the conclusion:

But both popular destinations redeemed themselves in the online poll, with Paris voted as having the best cuisine and best-dressed people, while London was seen as having the best nightlife, best public parks and most free attractions.

Shh.....

Paris is my favorite city. That said, I don't mind if everyone else goes someplace else!

:)

(London does have lots of bad food, but then so does NY, Paris etc... You can find bad food anywhere in the world! London is still a great city.)

I've never quite understood how Amsterdam got this reputation for being a "dirty" city. I've always viewed it as one of the most picturesque cities in the world. For example this intersection is just a five minute walk from Centraal Station:

View Larger Map

"Mushy peas are served with everything "

"????"

My thoughts exactly! I have never been served mushy peas in any restaurant. The only places I have been to that have mushy peas have offered them as an option not a compulsory item!

London is just fine, love it. Manchester and Lancashire, however, were some of the dirtiest places ive seen in the UK, and that includes Whitechapel and the east end.

Brad, you say "mushy peas served with everything" like its a bad thing and it's far from the truth. Chips maybe but not mushy peas. I love London

Everyone has an opinion. I just happen to disagree
totally. I have been to Paris more times they I can
count and I dream almost every day about when I can get back.
The history, the food, the architecture, the fashion, etc etc.
It is my favorite place to visit in the world.
I don't believe the survey frankly!

Happy travels!

I'm with Debi above. All who disagree stay away and leave Paris to moi!

Something for all you Paris fans.

http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/

Jo -- thank you for posting the parisbreakfasts blog address -- this is the best Paris website/blog I've seen -- and I check out a lot of them.

Really makes me anxious for my next trip there to arrive (Sept. 2009!)

Anyone notice the white shoes being worn by some of the fashionable people? There were a few. Hahaha

The dessert photos are lovely, huh?

I must be an odd one- I love the mushy peas and the Gherkin (I think the official name is the Swiss Re)is one of my favorite buildings anywhere. I was surprised to see how much graffiti was all over Paris.

I've been reading Parisbreakfast for awhile. She's fun.

I love London as much as I love Paris. I did not find London to be filthy. Whenever we're in England, we eat a variety of foods but we always try to eat as much "English" food as possible. Blood sausage is a must, and not all fish & chips are greasy. Depends on where you buy from. Steak & Ale/kidney pie, pasties and the like are all at the top of the list for us. Oh, I know that Indian food is considered British. We always add that to the list as well.

Belgium was not boring.. we enjoyed Brussels and Bruges.

My husband's secretary just got back from Rome, Venice and Tuscany. She raved about Tuscany, but found Rome overrated (huh???), and Venice to be boring and dirty. She told him to never waste his time to visit Venice. Next time I visit Italy, I plan on spending a few nights in Venice!! :-)

I love London too, maybe it was just bad luck but we were all laughing everytime we were served at a restaurant. Yes everytime, regardless of what we ordered we got a large helping of very overcooked peas. We were there in May and ate a lot of meals at pubs but some better restaurants too.

Never been to London, but paris is my favorite city.
I personally don't really believe in those surveys.
It all depends who they asked.

Brad, they probably weren't "mushy peas" - which are a specific preparation using dried peas. Overcooked peas are simply overcooked peas (even if they are "mushy").

That will explain peoples incredulity, mushy peas are rarely seen outside of a chippy whereas peas are a common side vegetable. If you really managed to get universally overcooked veg then you must have terrible choice in restaurants.

Brad, I had the same experience as you! They were disgusting! London is most famous for bad peas. (Even if some people are unaware).

My mistake, just overcooked peas. I didn't realize mushy peas were an actual menu item rather than a description of overcooked peas.

I'm easy to please. I just considered them way overcooked (as if they had been sitting in a double boiler for hours, which they probably had been). The people I was with wouldn't eat them.

As I said we ate mostly at pubs and some restaurants, none that would be considered haute cuisine. The pubs were from recommendations of Bobbies or other locals, the restaurants were more of the "we're starving, there's a restaurant" variety (which are seldom good).

You can understand why peoples hackles raised when you used your experience of admittedly low-end restaurants to generalise about food in London?

My wife is American so we visit there regularly. I know from experience that the US has food to match anything in the world; from fancy restaurants down to the more modest end with amazing crab shacks and taco stands.

I also know that these places are the needles in a vast haystack of mediocre chains. Someone could holiday for weeks in the states eating only at neon-lit chains off the "main drag" and come away with the impression that American food consisted entirely of burgers, lurid orange "French Dressing" and anything you can batter and fry (chicken, steak, whole onions, ice-cream...)

Their experience would entirely justify them writing off American cuisine but you and I know that, no matter how accurate, their experience is hardly a fair reflection of American food.

Great post, Peter!

CRAZINESS!!!! London, Paris, Venice...been there and it's all wonderful. Anybody that says otherwise is nuts. They probably got their "mushy peas" at a nice quiet Holiday Inn. UGH.

Crazy!!! Paris is the greatest city in the world with NYC a close second.