240
submitted 6 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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[-] blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk 220 points 6 months ago

Eastern Ukraine isn't an ideal tourist spot at the moment.

[-] Norgur@fedia.io 48 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

But the minefields are a banger scnr

[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 63 points 6 months ago

The internet has broken my brain.

scnr is a new one on me and in an attempt to figure it out, my brain did not land on the now rather obvious "sorry, could not resist" but "skibidi cap no rizz" as some kind of ironic initialism

I'm gonna go and find some grass now

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[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 134 points 6 months ago

As a European from elsewhere in Europe, I'm never going back to Milan. Maybe it's fine if you're into fashion, but if you're not there's not much to look at except a cathedral which resembles every other cathedral, and it's impossible to get a photo of it without also having a friendship bracelet scammer in the frame, actively harassing you.

All tourist locations in Italy and France have people trying to scam you (and some non-scammers just trying to sell you cheap toys), but Milan is the only place I've been to where they're straight up harassing you non-stop. Go to Pisa instead, it's super relaxing there and you can marvel at their past mistakes in structural engineering. A far better deal.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 100 points 6 months ago

Scammers abroad: Troll with randomness. Laugh at inappropriate times. Nod at them while making the eating food gesture. Randomly start pointing down a street like you're trying to give directions but just shrug. Pick a random sports team name and say, "Gooooo EAGLES!" while nodding and dancing. Basically pick some random thing, pretend they said it, and you're going along with it.

If they're pointing to friendship braclets, you say "9 o'clock." even though it's 1:30. If they keep doing it, you just laugh, nod, and clap.

My favourite is pretending I'm deaf and making up signing. When they start gesturing, I repeat the gesture in shock. When they nod, I act disgusted like they're sick in the head.

They will very quickly move on since you're a waste of time. The more awkward you make it, the better, especially if you're drawing looks from others.

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 61 points 6 months ago

I've used very similar techniques on men in bars who don't think no is a complete sentence.

I'm well past the age for shame. I will make a fool of myself if it means some twerp will think twice about harassing a woman who's repeatedly turned them down

I'd never considered doing the same for scammers - great idea! I'm just overly polite and that makes me seem like a target I think.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 47 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I have personally yelled, "Fuck off! No means no you fucking creep!" at the top of my lungs in a crowded bar. It was genuine, but over the top so every other person would turn and see them, ruining their chances of "picking up" at that establishment, forcing them to leave.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. That guy just needed to learn a fucking lesson."

[-] Blizzard@lemmy.zip 16 points 6 months ago

That is hilarious but too much effort. A simple 'Fuck off' should suffice.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

That does work too, but not on the ones that put shit on you and demand payment, usually operating as 2+. Their tactic is intimidation and drama—playing the victim to you—but it can not be beaten if you're playing the role of a happy idiot, providing random or exact opposite behaviour to what they're attempting.

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[-] SuddenDownpour@sh.itjust.works 70 points 6 months ago

Canary Islands. Great place, but the mass tourism is actually killing them, provoking skyrocketing rent and shortages of power and water.

[-] Taalen@lemmy.world 33 points 6 months ago

Indeed. My girlfriend lives there, last time I was over we went to the big demonstration against mass tourism. I felt a bit sick at the airport listening to all the north European pensioners talking about how they rent a place year round for 800€/month just to spend the odd week now and then there. While many locals working in tourism make minimum wage, around 1300€/month I believe.

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[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 58 points 6 months ago

Switzerland. If you've got buckets of money it's fine but donair can easily run you 18 francs and a real meal will cost you 100+. I've visited twice and both times the extreme costs involved have hamstrung my ability to actually enjoy things. The trains and geography are amazing - but the streets full of jewelers and high fashion specifically targeting millionaires or up are an awful example of late stage capitalism.

[-] Raylon@lemmy.world 47 points 6 months ago

Sorry but you're exaggerating, a full meal including drinks in a mid-level establishment will be at max. 50 chf and that's being generous. And with cheaper places you can even stay below 20 chf.

Yes, Switzerland is expensive but there's no need to lie about it. Also the stuff about millionaires and all maybe fits a couple streets in Switzerland that are very touristy but there are plenty of places not at all like this.

[-] _edge@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 6 months ago

Donair? What's that? Fancy Doner Kebab made with Don Perignon and air?

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[-] AchtungDrempels@lemmy.world 43 points 6 months ago

Andorra. Full of motor bozos, duty free shops, terrible cities in the valleys. A tax haven joke country. Nice mountains i guess.

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[-] Yrt@feddit.de 42 points 6 months ago

As others said Switzerland. It's beautiful and all but really expensive. It really took away a big part of fun when I went there. But not only that, I thought the swiss people seemed sometimes kinda "rude"or maybe a better word for it "cold" and a little annoyed if it came to tourists. I get it, it's a small county and a lot of people are visiting each year, but it still wasn't fun for me to be there and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone to go there.

And North France near the German border like Strasbourg. The city and the region is beautiful as well, but the people are often like the cliché everybody knows and that sucks if you're a tourist. But the south of France like Marseille and the Provence is always worth a visit. The people are chill, enjoying life in the typical mediterranean way and are often friendlier (and often speak English at least in the bigger cities/tourist areas).

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[-] ChojinDSL@discuss.tchncs.de 41 points 6 months ago

Not a place in particular, but if you're driving, avoid any border crossings during peak holiday seasons. Specifically when you're crossing from the EU into non-EU countries or crossing from Schengen into non-Schengen area. During peak times you might be waiting at the border for hours.

[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 61 points 6 months ago

Don't drive! You're in Europe... trains go fucking everywhere!

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 36 points 6 months ago

I wouldn’t say at all cost, but Montenegro isn’t fun. Russians have built massive hotel resorts on the beaches there, the locals are unhappy that they’re there so they don’t like tourists. They’ll try to fight you on the beach because you’re not local. Get hassled by the cops because you’re not local, but you’ll be able to buy your way out of your problem if you’re lucky. People don’t want to talk to you, everyone is pretty cold and borderline rude. Go to a bar for a drink and you get a glass nominally washed/rinsed in tubs of soapy water behind the bar that the previous 100 glasses went through and hasn’t been changed out. The landscape is beautiful in a hostile sort of way, but there’s just not much reason to visit. It’s not even particularly inexpensive. The hotels will try to charge you for everything, including a scuff on the wall that you didn’t do, a chip on a planter on the balcony, etc. ridiculous money grabs.

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[-] EllE@lemmy.world 35 points 6 months ago

Common tourist places during tourist season are usually the worst. I took a 10 day trip to Paris one summer and it was a mix of the most popular tourist places (Louvre, Eiffel tower, etc) and some underground shit my sister found.

Every tourist place was jam packed with annoying tourists, costly and had tons of scammers surrounding it. Every less known place was really awesome, aside from one sketchy neighborhood we had to walk through where we were followed for a while.

I'd also say that Northern Europe has generally been much more pleasant to travel through, for me.

[-] Fifrok@discuss.tchncs.de 34 points 6 months ago

Here's what I would avoid when traveling to Poland:

  • Zakopane, it's overpriced and very crowded. If you want to visit the area the town is in your better off staying in smaller villages, unless you have to use public transit.
  • Szczecin --not an 'avoid at all cost' but more of a 'there are better cities to visit'-- this-or-that part of the city is always being remodeled/reconstructed and there's no 'old city' with day and night life focused between two shoping centers and some roundabouts in the city center. If you want to go sight-seeing Kraków, Wrocław or Gdańsk are much better choices.
  • Mazury lake district, beautiful lakes and decent nightlife, shit infrastructure - roads are narrow (two bigger cars can't pass eachother without going offroad) and often lacking sings and other markings
  • Podlaskie Voivodship, even worse infrastructure than Mazury, it's rural, mainly towns and villages with nothing a tourist might want to see. You might think it's a good place to go star-gazing but Bieszczady are a lot better for that (Tho you should probably go to a Dark Sky Site for that, there's one close to Bieszczady, in Slovakia)
  • THE SEASIDE, it's crowded, expensive, the sea is cold and it's fumcking wimdy, go to like Italy, Croatia, Portugal or Spain instead

Also in general avoid capital cities, they are often the worst of major cites in a given country.

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[-] Ashiette@lemmy.world 31 points 6 months ago

Paris, it's the WORST city in all of France.

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 26 points 6 months ago

Yes, please don't come to Paris. It's crowded enough as it is. Also we're all very rude.

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[-] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 27 points 6 months ago

The capital cities. If you want authentic Europe, find the weird local festivals where people chase cheese down a hill or celebrate local culture or something. That's real Europe. Fuck the big cities and their galleries and museums.

https://www.egremontcrabfair.com/

https://airguitarworldchampionships.com/en/home/

https://www.latomatinatours.com/

https://riddu.no/en

https://www.theshed.co.uk/independent

https://cipc.pipeclubs.com/events/british-pipe-smoking-championship-2/

https://www.visitvoss.no/en/smalahovetunet

https://www.sbf.se/sportgrenar/folkrace

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinkensport

https://eukonkanto.fi/en/front-page/

https://www.uphellyaa.org/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3200955/Festival-girls-dress-shire-horses-boys-push-tiny-ploughs.html

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/man-shatters-toes-winning-world-8977482

These are a few things off the top of my head mostly northern and western Europe because it's what I'm familiar with. Also if you want to see something bizarre, go to Finland on free bucket day. But seriously Europe is full of unusual things to do. Or you could go to yet another gallery and pretend to be interested in paintings.

[-] Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world 24 points 6 months ago

Not sure what answers you looking for, if you want to have a carefree vacation just read some reviews of specific countries and regions.

If you are backpacking or planning a multi-country trip I would check the crime rates of the places, there are many websites with the statistics available, like THIS

As a general rule of thumb popular places and big cities will have the highest crime rates, while smaller cities and countryside the lowest.

Also I would avoid solo trips and backpacking in general in the rural parts of less-developed countries, like Romania, etc.

Pretty much thats it. Europe as a whole is probably one of the safest travel destinations in the earth with some planning and common sense.

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[-] souperk@reddthat.com 20 points 6 months ago

Don't come to Greece, over tourism is a huge problem here...

[-] tmpod@lemmy.pt 24 points 6 months ago

I feel you lol. I wish less people came to Portugal, especially Lisbon and Porto. It's a bit ridiculous sometimes. The culture people come looking for is slowly dying or becoming a fake version of itself because legit stuff is being pushed out of historical centers, in favor or tourist attracting alternatives. The issue of overpricing (because all the English, German, French, etc, visiting Portugal earn way better than us here in average) is ludicrous, it's becoming harder to enjoy the places we used to go 15 or 20 years ago.
sigh

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[-] needthosepylons@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago

France is becoming a far right country on two weeks. Do yourself a favor and stay as far as you can.

[-] AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 23 points 6 months ago

So, should I stay on the left side of France?

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[-] MrPommeroy@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago
[-] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 6 months ago

I have read of tourists coming to Vienna and thinking there is anything worth seeing north of the Danube.

Unless you count the UN headquarters, there isn't. All of that is a completely unstructured and boring mix of industrial, commercial and residential zones mostly built after WW2 like you find anywhere in the world.

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[-] Blaze@reddthat.com 17 points 6 months ago

Feel free to cross post to !yurop@lemm.ee , a laid back discussion community for Europeans

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[-] stoy@lemmy.zip 16 points 6 months ago

In Sweden/Stockholm:

Avoid Akalla/Hjulsta/Kista

They are all boring and sees a lot of gang crime.

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this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
240 points (94.1% liked)

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