The other week, I had a journal from Istanbul. I said I had been wowed by the Topkapi Palace. And maybe a little less wowed by Hagia Sophia, by which the whole world is wowed.

In a separate blogpost, I quoted an old colleague of mine, Christopher Caldwell. He once said, “The least overrated place in America is the Grand Canyon. The most overrated place is Yankee Stadium.”

I then had a question for readers, a question in two parts: What places have you found “least overrated”? And what places have you found “most overrated”? I asked them to answer me via e-mail and other means. I said I would report on their answers “in due course” (to use a Buckley phrase). Well, here I am.

‐Some places wound up in both categories. What I mean is, some readers found a certain sight “least overrated” while others found that same sight “most overrated.” You’ll see, as we go along.

‐Originally, I thought I would list the “least overrated” places and then the “most overrated” places. But I think the pairings are more interesting. Let me illustrate what I mean.

One reader says, “Least overrated: Alta, Utah, on a powder day.” He clearly has skiing on his mind. “Most overrated: Vail, with 10 million of your closest friends.”

Here is another such pairing, from another reader: “Least overrated: Mount Vernon. Warm, approachable, understandable. Most overrated: Monticello. As much as I love Jefferson, his home leaves me cold, especially when compared with Mount Vernon.”

‐Speaking of the Founders, let me quote my colleague Rick Brookhiser, the historian:

Least: the Pyramids. They are in better shape than my apartment building, which was built in 1961.
Most: Las Vegas. I object, not to the vulgarity, but to the cheesiness — cheap materials, bad design. The only partial exception is the artificial waterfall at the Wynn, yet when you order a drink there it comes in a plastic glass.

‐Las Vegas came in for a very hard time in this process. It was on many readers’ “most overrated” list. Disney World also came in for a terrible time. So did Florida generally, I’m sorry to say. The Grand Canyon — which Chris Caldwell had mentioned as “the least overrated place in America” — was universally adored.

The Pyramids, incidentally, were on both lists: “least” and “most.”

‐A reader: “I agree wholeheartedly on the Grand Canyon. I have never seen a picture that fully captures its colors and majesty. But the Pyramids and the Sphinx were a big disappointment, further degraded by the innumerable and inexhaustible touts and hawkers with their trinkets and souvenirs.”

Yes. I have written about my own experience at the Pyramids, many years ago. The touts and hawkers did everything they could to ruin it for me. I was with a native Egyptian and they still wouldn’t leave me alone. I implored them to let me look at the Pyramids.

That said, the Pyramids would still make my “least overrated” list. I was staggered by them. I had no idea. A picture or film can’t tell you about their size and aura.

‐“Least overrated: the Eiffel Tower. Most overrated: Mount Rushmore.”

Rushmore is another of those places that readers put on both lists.

‐“Tied for least overrated: the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall. Tied for most overrated: the Hollywood sign and the Vegas Strip.”

‐“Least overrated: the Iwo Jima Memorial. You can’t stand in its presence and not be moved. The Blarney Stone is really overrated. Our tour guide told us the locals pee on it at night.”

‐“Least overrated: the Sistine Chapel. I’ve been there once, and before I went I figured it would be a sub-five-minute stop (‘More paintings, are you kidding me?’). Hard to believe what you are seeing there. Most overrated: Fisherman’s Wharf. That place is as bad as it gets.”

‐One reader gave me a foreign pairing and a U.S. pairing. Here’s the foreign pairing:

“Least overrated: Rome, generally. Most overrated: Stonehenge. As prehistoric, megalith-type monuments go, it’s fine, but why does it get so much more publicity than any other?”

And here’s his U.S. pairing:

“Least overrated: Blue Ridge Parkway / Skyline Drive. Most overrated: the Outer Banks.”

‐“Least overrated: the U.S. battlefield memorial in Normandy. Most overrated: the Piss Boy in Brussels.”

‐“Least overrated: the food, wine, coffee, and chocolate in France, and the BBQ in Kansas City. Most overrated: Chicago hotdogs and deep-dish, and Cincinnati’s skyline chili.”

‐“Least overrated: Algonquin Provincial Park [in Ontario], where you have to work to get to the best of it. The quiet is astounding. Most overrated: Versailles. How much gilt does it take to say, ‘Wow’?”

‐“Least overrated: the Air Force Museum [at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio]. Most overrated: ‘Astro Disney’ at Cape Canaveral. They’ve totally ruined the place.”

‐This note is from mon confrère Jack Jolis: “Most: the Acropolis. Damn thing isn’t even finished after all this time. Least: the Jardin d’Acclimatation [in Paris], a magic kiddiepark.”

‐“Least overrated: the Pacific coast. Most overrated: Cadillac Ranch [in Amarillo, Texas].”

‐“Least: the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Most: Plymouth Rock.”

The Leaning Tower, incidentally, featured on both lists.

‐“Least: the New York City skyline. Most: the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”

See? Plus, the New York City skyline featured on both lists as well.

‐Here is a note from a musician:

Okay, Jay, here are my picks. I will qualify them by saying that I have never traveled to Asia or the Middle East, so my range is limited.
Least Overrated is the Cologne Cathedral. The architectural detail is truly unbelievable. I spent an entire day gazing at it in 1982.
Most Overrated (please sit down for this): Carnegie Hall. While the acoustics are clear, they are too dry for my taste. Not the best venue, IMHO, for the world’s great orchestras. Symphony Hall in Boston is far superior to my ear. And even better is Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Mass. As a critic, you must hear a concert there if you can.

‐“Least: Westminster Abbey. [Hear, hear.] Most: Wrigley Field [never been there].”

‐“Least: John Muir Woods. [Hear, hear.] You can lose yourself in the redwoods. Most: Oktoberfest in Munich. Meh.”

Muir Woods, I might note, is outside of San Francisco.

‐“Least: Hawaii. Most: Aruba.”

‐You know, this might be the funniest pairing of them all: “Least overrated: the delivery room. Most overrated: every expensive wedding I have ever attended.”

‐One person wrote not so much of a place as of an experience. He says, “Least overrated would be a shuttle launch. I wanted to scream, ‘America, f*** yeah!’ but there was a little old lady next to me.”

‐Now I will have readers talking about “least overrated” places — no “most”s.

One says, “The Taj Mahal. It surely is one fine piece of architecture, all the more amazing because of the swill that surrounds it. The whole experience is unlike any other I’ve ever had.”

‐“Sainte-Chapelle on the Île de la Cité in Paris. The stained-glass windows are spectacular. Save it for a sunny afternoon. Upon entering the chapel from the stone stairway, many fall to their knees in tears at the sight. You may, too.”

Let me say that a lot has to do with a person’s receptivity — and this is true of just about all sights, wouldn’t you say?

‐“Least overrated experience: the Palio in Siena, Italy. It has everything you could possibly want — horses inside the Duomo getting blessed in the morning, men in 16th-century costumes, explosions to announce the race is starting, a crazy bareback race with riders falling all over the place, and, finally, men kissing the winning horse on the mouth and wildly celebrating. The best thing is that although there are plenty of tourists there, it is really for bragging rights among the locals, who take it very seriously.”

I witnessed a Palio while in college. Extraordinary, I agree.

‐A final reader:

Jay,
I was amazed at how much I loved Pompeii. It’s just a bunch of rock walls and streets, with some old murals and a few plaster casts of bodies buried in the ash. But I got a little bit of the feeling of living there.
The scale of the streets, the layout of where the restaurants were, the mini-coliseum, the theater. Stepping across the streets on the elevated stones. Strolling in the forum.
We found this stone bench in the Triangular Forum that would have looked out onto the sea. Though the surface was hard, the curve of the seat was such that it was cozy and comfortable.
Those Romans had a lot of things figured out.

Yes. And so do you, my friends and readers. Thanks so much for “playing,” and see you soon.