Sometimes when you just speak another city’s name you will instill fear in a traveler. Throughout the world many cities have bad reputations and are known to be unsafe, poverty stricken and crime ridden. While this is true for quite a few places, others have just gotten a bad rap for their past. The following places have some of the worst reputations, but are in fact great places to go.
Delhi, India
It’s Reputation: Delhi has a reputation for a lot of traffic, pickpockets and unsanitary conditions.
What It’s Really Like: Delhi is a treasure trove of culture and history. The Hindu temple, Swaminarayan Akshardham, consists of gardens and a water show in the evenings. Chandi Chowk is filled with little shops and sellers that are ready to try to give you a bargain. Travelers do need to be aware of pickpockets and scam artists. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Also, not all restaurants practice good hygiene. Stay away from street vendors or establishments that are not clean, in order to avoid getting sick.
Tehran, Iran
It’s Reputation: This city is known to be cramped, heavily polluted and has terrible transportation issues.
What It’s Really Like: Tehran may live up to its reputation, but it does offer a lot for its travelers. Many tend to be very welcoming to tourists and there’s a lot to see. There are many art galleries and museums as well as the beautiful Golestan Palace. Another plus is that English is widely spoken in Tehrani.
Bucharest, Romania
It’s Reputation: Bucharest has a reputation of being dreary with many orphanages and a lot of crime.
What It’s Really Like: While there is a lot of crime in Bucharest, for the most part, if tourists take precautions they aren’t affected by it. If you don’t go off the beaten path and pay attention to your surroundings, then you will be okay. There’s a lot to see in in Bucharest, including some of the world’s largest buildings. There are quite a few monasteries and churches and the city has a funky, lively energy that is particularly inviting to tourists. Popular places to visit include The Parliamentary Palace, Biserica Stavropoleos church and the Museum of the Romanian Peasant.
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
It’s Reputation: This city is known to be depressing and destroyed by war.
What It’s Really Like: Sarajevo is actually quite beautiful. You can see snow-capped mountains and quaint little towns. While the 1990s Balkan war was hard on the city, it has been somewhat restored. There are exquisite cobblestoned streets, 500-year-old caravanserais and art nouveau buildings. The Tunnel Museum is worth a visit as well as Moorish Vijecnica.
As you can see, just because a place has a bad reputation it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy traveling there. Some of the best things about visiting one of the places mentioned above is that they tend to be less crowded with tourists and you can often get decent rates since a lot of them don’t ever have a busy season.
Cities with challenging reputations often reveal extraordinary beauty to prepared travelers. Our advisors’ Bucket List Worthy Destinations guide includes off-the-beaten-path cities worth experiencing firsthand.
