US television network CNN viewers have ranked Los Angeles, Paris, Sydney, Jakarta and Cairo among the 10 worst cities in the world to visit. Here are the ten that got the most votes...
10
Belize City, Belize
Crime. Drugs. Dilapidation. Welcoming committees of bored, desperate touts. A vibe that screams avoid-being-out-after-dark-and-wait-for-your-real-itinerary-to-begin. Belize City has it all. Even one of the world’s worst airports.
9
Cairo, Egypt
Not good enough to like, not bad enough to avoid. The city is coping with crippling air pollution, maniacal driving, ridiculous traffic, overpopulation and post-revolution stress.
8
New Delhi, India
These guys aren’t even the hawkers -- they’re the hawkees. Travel scams happen everywhere. The art is how to avoid getting fleeced outside the airport, at the train station, at your hotel and everywhere in between.
7
Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta: great, if frustration is your favorite emotion. This sprawling city is choked with traffic, pollution, poverty and tourist “draws” largely revolving around random street adventures and an epidemic of malls.
6
Lima, Peru
Latin America’s fifth-largest metropolis may be marginally cleaner than Mexico City, somewhat safer than Sao Paulo and way more beach-friendly than La Paz, yet Lima looks washed out and monochrome.
5
Los Angeles, United States
Los Angeles. Or should that be Lots Angry. This centre-less megalopolis sloppily carved into about 90 sub-cities, over 20 ailing freeways, countless area codes and a half-million strip malls with mediocre Thai food. How did a semi-arid desert without a decent water supply get so huge — and so hugely disliked?
4
Timbuktu, Mali
A century ago, the world’s most tenacious travellers may have been awarded a brief thrill upon reaching this legendary trans-Saharan trading centre hiding in the middle of nowhere. But even then, Timbuktu was nearly half-a-millennium past its golden years. It hasn’t gotten any better since.
3
Paris, France
Paris inspires a certain love-hate relationship — they love to hate it with its rude waiter stereotypes, crazy lines at the Louvre and the city’s knack for rekindling long-kicked smoking habits about 10 minutes after landing.
2
Sydney and Melbourne, Australia
Australia’s top two cities would be nowhere near this list if it weren’t for the 177 straight years of utter hatred they’ve reserved for each other. Since the founding of Melbourne in 1835 Sydneysiders and Melburnians have been loathingly distinguishing themselves from each other in ways that would make Toronto and Montreal blush.
1
Tijuana, Mexico
Drug cartel violence. The recession. Recent swine flu outbreaks. A dicey border town with cheesey drinking holes, wand gloomy border crossings. According to a recent Worldfocus report, Tijuana’s annual tourism numbers have plummeted by as much as 90 per cent in less than 10 years, and other research estimates that visitor-related revenue has declined by almost as much over a similar period.
Source CNN
