Thanks to its breathtaking art and architecture, fascinating ancient ruins and legendary cuisine, Rome is touted as an awe-inspiring and even once-in-a-lifetime tourist destination. While for many people the reality really does live to up to the hype, others are less easily impressed.
Despite visiting some of the capital’s most illustrious attractions, these guys did not have a good time. In fact, they had such a terrible time that a strongly worded TripAdvisor review was in order. Obviously, some comments on the site are more legitimate than others (disorganisation, queues and rude staff unfortunately all make frequent appearances) but the following are all genuine one or two-star reviews. Enjoy these funny reviews from holidaymakers who visited Rome’s top sights…and missed the point entirely.
Colosseum
It’s stones. Nothing special. Overrated. Doesn’t light up. Looks better in pics. Could’ve spent the money on hookers.
I strongly recommend you not to buy the tickets to visit inside. Because there’s no point unless you’re a fan of Roman history.
The outside is amazing but inside is really underwhelming and not that’s interesting. Just visit and take a photo from the outside. (Better yet, just Google it from the comfort of your hotel room, yeah?)
Pantheon
Yawn, more church stuff.
Magnificently smelly place. The biggest unreinforced concrete dome the world has ever seen and has an atmosphere that captures every breath exhaled within its walls over nearly two millennia of poor dental hygiene.
It’s big with a hole in the roof.
Since it was built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, we had hoped that might still be true. Nope. It has been hi-jacked by Christian religious art, and almost every square inch of it is covered with the stuff. Nice if you like that sort of thing.
The years have left their mark. Yes, it’s a Roman temple – the only one still intact – but when will they fix that hole in the roof? When it rains, water enters!
Galleria Borghese
Don’t bother unless you’re really into Italian art. It must be of interest to art lovers but for a philistine like me, it was an absolute waste of time. (Surely even a philistine can appreciate Bernini’s mastery of marble?)
I went through the entire two floors in 20 minutes. The gardens are a joke – just barren land with no “gardens”. And, the really special part…the entire place smells like a combination of mold and urine.
The paintings are beautiful but not breathtaking. (Thanks to Caravaggio’s harshest critic for this review).
Trevi Fountain
Nothing special. I didn’t understand why people had spent much more time around this fountain. Just 10 minutes will be enough.
Dull sculpture and water, romantic it isn’t.
It splashes and splashes, it spurtles and flows, it fountains and gurgles and is as romantic as my oldest pair of smelly socks. Let down.
It looks like a vile garden ornament.
The water is not drinkable and you cannot go into the water to collect the coins.
Roman Forum
Just a bunch of old rocks.
Not for me. The best bit was the exit!
Put Disney in charge. You’ve blown it, Italians. Do yourselves (and the world) a favor by turning it over to Disney, or someone who understands storytelling and preservation and crowd-control and presentation.
Meh. It was beautiful but not too excited about it. It’s beside the Colosseum so you might as well visit it on your way.
Looks nothing like Vegas. These are just ruins. You can skip this and the colosseum.
Piazza Navona
Overall, I was sorry I put this on my itinerary. The Four Rivers Fountain is small, uses little water. Figures not interesting.
Ordinary. Nothing special to see there.
Didn’t understand what the fuss was all about. I’ve seen better…
Trastevere
Before we went to Trastevere, everyone advised to visit there. Nothing special. Only streets, cafes and pizza restaurants around there. We stayed less than 1 hour. I think it was enough.
No activity, no charm. Could have been anywhere!
Later, while walking around, another restaurant had a sign “We are against war and tourist menu”. Not a tourist-friendly area so we decided to spend our dollars elsewhere.
A rabbit warren of buildings that you can get lost in, great. (The charm of Trastevere’s side streets is obviously lost on this traveller.)
St Peter’s Basilica
We bought the skip-the-line tickets, the audio guide and set off. By the time we were inside for about 15 minutes, we turned to each other and said, “Would you mind if we left?” The cathedral, however impressive the art may be, felt like death, and we both had the urge to leave as soon as we could. (Can’t argue with the heebie-jeebies, I suppose.)
Nice statue of pieta, but otherwise uninspiring.
So, you go in a line to get through security and that’s all there is – a church with some paintings and stuff. Nothing exciting.
Spanish Steps
Rubbish. They are just steps.
Palazzo Altemps
A pile of stuff with no meaning.
The most boring museum I’ve ever been to. Would not recommend to anyone.
Some reviews have been translated and/or edited for clarity. Have you ever bought into the hype only to be disappointed when you arrived at a popular tourist destination? Share your story in the comments!
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