What is the TACKIEST tourist attraction or destination you ever saw? (bridge, vacation)
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What is the TACKIEST tourist attraction and/or vacation destination you ever had the misfortune to experience?
This may include over-rated and over-hyped places. Or places that have become run down dives. Or places that are just plain silly.
I want to hear your opinions and experiences!
I'll start:
South Of The Border, off I-95 in South Carolina (that's right, it's just south of the "border" with North Carolina. A former gas station and rest stop that became a kitschy Mexican-themed gas station and rest area with restaurants, trailer campground, gift shop, and motel. See the giant Sombrero Tower! Select from your choice of 50 different South Of The Border coffee mugs! Beware of tired grouchy kids and foul smelling rest rooms!
If lots of people do or see one specific thing in a popular city or location I do my best to avoid it unless I feel like I absolutely need to experience it. For example, I practically went right by Agra on a trip to India without stopping for for the Taj Mahal.
Las Ramblas in Barcelona in either June or July 2012 made me so mad. So much kitsch and shiny theatrics just to keep the tourists' Euros pumping. Those guys who blow air in to those things that sound like a choked duck are the worst of the worst.
The only other thing I can think of is Marienplatz in Munich just this August. Nothing too tacky, it was just too crowded.
South of the Border is a good one but the signs are colorful along the highway :-) My entry is Natural Bridge in Virginia. It's not that the bridge is not pretty. It's the museum, gift shop/ amusement area on the property. 3D 'stuff' including 3D Jesus. At least that's how it was in the 80's when I was there. A friend and I were there for a conference and when we walked out of the building, we were speechless.
Las Vegas, tacky tacky tacky and nasty nasty nasty.
Possibly tackier: the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Lots of grossly overweight people in skimpy bathing attire, salt water taffy shops, kitschy souvenir stands, Philly cheesesteak sandwich joints, and Chinese foot massage parlors!
Las Vegas, tacky tacky tacky and nasty nasty nasty.
Feel bad I spent more than a day there, will never go back
I can't say I agree. IMO, Las Vegas is like a carnival that never ends. I'm from a small northern town in Canada and have been there 5 times. Loved it! Loved the lights, the atmosphere, the shows and the sounds... oh and sitting on the sidewalk or in a casino entrance and people-watching.
I can't say I liked many of the one armed bandits I sat at though
The only tacky thing I saw in Vegas are the people handing out those little flyers for hookers to every man that walks past, even when my husband is walking beside me holding my hand.
My daughter and I (both living in the Bay Area) decided to drive here one day to check it out. It's about the size of a small shack and really silly and wimpy. The statue outside is pretty cool, though...
This is so obviously a scam, that when we went there on a tour (again with my daughter for a friend's birthday who wanted to see it - as adults), some people in our tour actually got angry at the poor tour guide. It's pretty funny, really, the fake optical illusions, etc., but it's really pricey. So, it does make people mad. Though, why they'd think it was real, is beyond me...
The tackiest tourist destination I saw was the section in the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles with the pilgrims settlers..
I loved the other parts of the museum, but wished they had included the history of Native Americans, African Americans, and added a section for the early Asian immigrants like those who built the railroads and Japanese Nisei.
I wish it was more in depth and more broad.. I felt like despite being the museum of tolerance, I would've loved to have seen more diversity.. kinda disappointed in that regard. Especially with the tacky seaside music with seagulls in the background and hoaky pilgrim dolls.. suffocating and uninteresting. Kinda lame.
The Holocaust story was compelling, and the walk of tolerance portions of the museum were interesting.
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