17 Trashy, Tacky, And Questionable Tourist Destinations That Some People Have Surprising Reasons For Loving
Recently, Reddit user u/perfumedpornovampire sparked a lively discussion in the r/travel community, seeking fellow kitsch enthusiasts, posting, “Tell me the trashiest, tackiest tourist trap cities worldwide.” Responses flooded in, and without further ado, here are 17 of the tacky travel destinations people love for their kitsch:
1.”Niagara Falls, Canada, is peak kitsch. If you told AI to generate a touristy place, it’s Niagara Falls.”
—u/redditisavirusiknow
“Niagara Falls instantly became a kitsch tourist trap to such an extent that it directly influenced the creation of national parks. Yellowstone in the US and Banff in Canada were created partly to prevent a repeat.”
—u/telvin3d
Biletskiy_evgeniy / Getty Images
2.”Nassau, Bahamas. It’s like a living gift shop.”
3.”Say what you will about Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but Dollywood is loads of fun! And the Smokies are amazing!!”
—u/travellingbozo
“Last week, I visited the trifecta: Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Sevierville, Tennessee.”
—u/alarmed_check4959
“What’s remarkable to me is that Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is the gateway to one of America’s most beautiful national parks. The contrast between the trashiness of the tourist attraction in Pigeon Forge and the majesty of Smoky Mountain National Park is bizarre.”
—u/spider994
Galen Rowell / Getty Images
4.”Atlantic City is awesome if you know where to go. I could think of 15 places easily there where you will have an excellent meal.”
—u/nsjersey
“This is key. If you avoid the overly trashy parts, there are some gems within and down the island. Margate City is incredible.”
—u/chipaholic1
Rudi Von Briel / Getty Images
5.”Roswell, New Mexico! Their alien museum looks so fake, almost like a kid built it for a school project, but it’s so fun. It’s so clear that Roswell’s historic “UFO sighting” was just a weather balloon, but the town ran with it, and now everything there is alien-themed. I love it. I highly recommend the Roswell UFO Spacewalk.”
6.”Vietnam’s highest mountain, Phan Xi Pang in Sa Pa.”
“It’s a gorgeous, amazing hike with a beautiful view, but a resort is plopped right near the top of the summit. You spend 3–4 hours hiking alone, and right when you’re about to reach the top, hundreds of tourists who took cable cars are all up there taking millions of photos.”
—u/corpusbotanica
Hoang Dinh Nam / AFP via Getty Images
7.”Wisconsin Dells. I call that place ‘little kid Vegas.'”
—u/pointlessdisclosure
“I just took my kids two weeks ago, and we had a blast. ‘Little kid Vegas’ is a very apt description. Good, wholesome fun in a beautiful place. Waterpark Capital of the World!”
—u/xxcannonballxx
Aaron Lemay / Getty Images
8.”I love Newport, Oregon, especially that big dock all the Sea Lions fight over. They never fail to crack me up.”
9.”St. Augustine, Florida, is pretty cool, but it has gotten crazy with tourists.”
—u/pj2d2
“I found St Augustine to be a mix of traditional and somber, almost pure kitsch, almost down-to-earth local hangout.”
—u/denstolenjeep
Benedek / Getty Images
10.”Jackson Hole, Wyoming… it’s a pretty badass tourist destination.”
11.”I love New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s one of my favorite cities, and I embrace its tackiness, grittiness, and elegance all at once. That’s what makes it so unique.”
—u/perfumedpornovampire
“NOLA is like a fun dive bar. Sure, it’s dirty, but in a good way, and it has a soul. I love that city.”
—u/kirkegaarr
“NOLA is worth visiting because of its culture. Yes, the French Quarter is touristy AF, but there’s also a lot of history and bomb-ass food there. I loved visiting all the antique shops; they had some wild stuff there. NOLA has the most exciting and alluring vibes, especially at night. It’s spooky, and I have never felt it anywhere else. It’s not a feeling like you are in an unsafe area because of crime, it’s like a feeling of foreboding and dark magic almost. I would 100% go back again.”
—u/merliahthesiren
John Coletti / Getty Images
12.”Costa Maya in Mexico. Go there if you REALLY want to see a living gift shop.”
“There’s some culture left… when you get into a car and drive 100 miles away to go see Mayan ruins.”
—u/cydeweys
Mateus Andre / Getty Images
13.”Get yourself to Blackpool.”
14.”Magaluf, Majorca, Spain.”
15.”Helen, Georgia during Oktoberfest.”
—u/a-very-stable-genius
“OMG, this is an EXPERIENCE. I want to take my German-born friend and watch him trip out.”
—u/gracefuldelicate
“Honestly, it’s fun and silly if you don’t take it too seriously. I’ve been three times and always had fun. Mini golf, rock shops, Christmas store, biker bar, candy samples, terrible German food, the list goes on…”
—u/grill_tastic
Raul Rodriguez / Getty Images
16.”Skegness, UK.”
—u/airportsnacks
Skegness is made for “stag weekends.”
—u/wonkybumface
“I’ve been to loads of seaside towns and seen them degrade over the past 30 years, but I went to ‘Skeg-Vegas’ for the first time last year, and I thought it was good — my dog loved it as well. It reminded me of old seaside holidays.”
—u/aah_holidaymemories
Wirestock / Getty Images
17.”Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico has some very tacky touristy sections downtown… That said, they have some beautiful beaches there, too.”
Did we miss your favorite tacky tourist destination? Let us know what it is in the comments, or submit a response anonymously via this Google form, and your submission may be featured in a future BuzzFeed post.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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