California wine country. We were there in summer (about 18 years ago), and the dry landscapes surprised me. Loved the redwoods & enjoyed San Francisco, but assuming much has changed. I am also not a fan of current Seattle. Wonderful geographic area with beauty nearby, but the city has changed so much, that I think it has lost most of its charm. Crowded, traffic, very expensive, quickly overbuilt and often dirty. Many walkable neighborhoods, but cannot say they are charming.
Very surprised no one mentioned Paris. I personally love the city, but have met many who weren’t thrilled, and really disliked the locals 
Lol, need to try to speak French to get a little glow out of Parisians. Imo, always been like that.
WOW No-one has said Portland, Oregon!
I can see how some would not like the homelessness, the traffic. I live here and do not care for either. But the food, the hiking, the various neighborhoods…1.5 hours to either the mountain or the coast.
I did not love Paris but am glad I have been there twice.
Have wanted to go to Austin --been but 40 years ago. Not so sure now.
Hate NYC and Boston–D lived in both so there too many times.
Love Providence, RI
Love Chicago.
I like Austin a lot. It is suffering from it’s own success and popularity, as many cities have. Last time we were there we stayed out by Luckenback (?) for the first few days. It was spring and all the blue bonnets and Indian paintbrush were blooming. There is a wine country there, some famous country music, and a little German styled town.
In Austin, I simply love the big dog friendly park along the river downtown. You can walk for quite a while through various parks and hiking trails and there is spring fed water to swim or kayak in. We couldn’t enjoy it this time because there was torrential rain. Scary rain that can happen in Spring. We still managed to eat delicious food, visit friends and have a great time!
BTW - the next full solar eclipse will pass right over Austin in about 5 years. It will be in spring so clear skies might be iffy. The B&B we stayed in is already taking reservations, lol.
I’m one that didn’t like Portland, OR. I’ve been there several times and did like the food trucks, but hate the gloominess and homeless street gangs of kids. I don’t mind visiting, but it’s not a favorite.
I’ve enjoyed all the places we’ve traveled. But… we try hard to avoid crowds. And I think we try hard to enjoy whatever charms come our way.
We were in Glacier this June - we knew the Road To The Sun would likely be closed. We really enjoyed both sides (EAST: Many Glacers 2 nights & Rising Sun Motel 2 nights . Then a few hours drive to WEST -2 nights in Hungry Horse). Based on tips on these threads, we did half day Red Bus tour on West side - very fun.
We go to Cape Cod every year and enjoy it… but for us the big draw there is Family.
We have been to San Francisco more than a handful of times; for fun, for business, and for potential employment/househunt. It does not matter what the purpose was and how far we ventured. Sad, overpriced, nothing special, run down city. Even the woods etc closer to the city were not that awesome (compared to what we have in Seattle area). Sadly, Seattle is now trying to outrun SF in the race to the bottom.
I should add that there are places that I did not expect to like… but did.
Continuing on the Glacier story, I knew we’d adore Many Glaciers lodge (a bit like Old Faithful in Yellowstone, but smaller and lakeside). I had low expectations for the old Rising Sun motel. But the room was big, the adjacent campground with ranger talk was great, and the view from the little cafe (4 meals) was a lovely bonus. We had a 2nd boat tour (and ranger hike) there, really enjoyable despite the rough water that day.
I don’t get it. During the thread about the homeless in SF, we were already commited to a trip. Once there, I looked and just didn’t find the problems others encountered. Granted, we didn’t stay at Union Square, but the Hop On went through there and nothing struck me as scary or dirty. Same with some parks that had seeming homeless, sitting, chatting with each other, etc. We’d get coffee at a shop near our hotel daily and ended up speaking with a guy who hung out there, barely making it. But that wasn’t close to alarming. He was freindly and open, that’s all.
Same with comments about Paris or others being dirty, seedy, or old. I’m not unaware, either.
@BunsenBurner if you meant Muir Woods, I agree. We enjoyed Armstrong woods at Russian River much more. What trees do you recommend seeing close to Seattle?
Most Parisians of a certain age speak (at least basic) English nowadays, but it is common courtesy to ask one if s/he speaks English (preferably in French) before launching into a long-winded question. The response may very well be “[Heavy sigh] Yes, of course” or “Not if I can avoid it” but it’s better than the famous Parisian eye roll. After all, they don’t deign to speak to us in French when they visit this country.
I love Paris, but have never enjoyed their food.
When it comes to speaking French, I’ve never had any problem with speaking to them in English. I think they were just so relieved I(Asian) could speak English that they didn’t put up an air with me. Whereas I noticed when my Ex tried to speak English to them they would get that look on their face.
It depends on where you go, in Paris. Sure, at top hotels or on a guided tour of some sort. But last visit, more than ever, at open markets, small shops, even buying passes at the Louvre, I saw the relief, (their shoulders go down, so to say,) when I opened in French. How much trouble is it to greet them in their language?
Lol, I can’t do that everywhere. Hotel folks and others have English as a job requirement. But not all and not everywhere, is it expected. Nor do I just only go where they do know English. They may not, at that bakery or whatever. And Americans and Brits can be mighty insistent in how they approach a langage barrier.
That’s a polite way of putting it 
My husband has been told he has a good French accent, so he studied up before we went to Europe and always started out speaking French. EVERY time, people would say, “That’s OK - we speak English.” On our last day, we were running late to catch a train and hurried into the train station to ask for directions. We figured they would speak English for sure, so DH asked for help in English. The employee rolled his eyes, gave us a HUGE sigh, and launched into a tirade about how Americans don’t even make an effort to speak French! Oh, well.
Sooooo, back to topic…
I have to go downtown. I hate it!
My 14 year old got major bonus points with our waiter for ordering dinner in French last night. He’s only had a year of it but he did a great job. (We are in Colmar, not Paris, and about a third of the tourists here are German).
Anyway, I thought of one place that wasn’t mentioned yet - the Smithsonian museum of natural history. It’s probably great if you can go when it isn’t busy. When we went I just felt like we were shuffling with a giant crowd.
I’m not a fan of Portland, OR. I have been there 3 or 4 times and disliked the rainy and gloomy weather. We did go on a wine tour to the Willamette Valley, which we both enjoyed. Great pinot!
Ce n’est pas possible!