America's Most Overrated Places

Writers nationwide tell you what to avoid—and what to do instead

From MSN City Guides

There’s a place in every town that must be seen because it’s famous, because it’s a tourist attraction, because it’s been there forever. Often these places are the very same that top the locals’ lists of pet peeves—and are places they’d suggest you avoid.

MSN City Guides already polled writers on the best thing about the places we call home; now we’re asking writers across the country to tell us the most overrated thing about their stomping grounds and what they’d suggest doing instead. Again, nothing was sacred—not the billboards of Times Square, not the history of the Liberty Bell, not even the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip were spared scrutiny.

Don’t see the most awful thing about your turf? Look through our list and let us know where you wouldn’t take your worst enemy—and where you’d go or what you’d do instead—on our message boards.

Anaheim: Downtown Anaheim
Just a mile and a half from Disneyland, downtown Anaheim should have thrived these past 50 years just from people getting lost and ending up there on the way to and from the park. If only 3 percent of the park’s estimated 14 million yearly visitors somehow stumbled into the central city, more than a thousand people a day would pass the businesses at Broadway and Harbor. And what are those? Two tall bank towers, the public library and a Carl’s Jr. restaurant that looks like it was built during the Kennedy administration and hasn't been remodeled since. The nearby Center Street Promenade offers a few more options—including a small jewelry store and a couple of cafes—but you couldn't spend an afternoon there.

So when you've had enough of the Magic Kingdom, forget about downtown and instead head five miles southeast to the Circle at the center of Orange, where Chapman and Glassell avenues meet in a roundabout. The Old Towne Directory of Shops lists more than 100, nearly all of them independent local businesses. Restaurants range from Watson Drug Store and its vintage diner hominess to the “outrageous dining and cocktails” of the Citrus City Grille. And if you want to bring something home that doesn't have a Disney logo, the antique and collectible shops offer countless temptations.
—Farron D. Brougher

Atlanta: Buckhead
Known as the place to go for a night on the town in Atlanta, Buckhead’s roughly 100 bars, restaurants and clubs packed near the intersection of Peachtree Road and East Paces Ferry offer something for everyone, from jazz bars and dance clubs to a martini bar and an Irish pub. But the good comes with the bad—throngs of partygoers wander from club to club until the wee hours of the morning, and things occasionally get out of hand.

To get away from the madness, head to one of the hangouts tucked off the main strip—like East Andrews, which features live music upstairs and turns into a late-night dance club Fridays and Saturdays. Or Churchill’s British Pub, a perfect spot to spend the evening playing pool or darts. For a more low-key night out, try something a bit off the beaten path, like Cocktails in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden or Martinis and IMAX at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
—Jennifer Maciejewski

Austin: Sixth Street nightlife
With its rolling hills and multiple colleges, Austin is considered a typical college town. But Austin is also called the Live Music Capital of the World. Guidebooks often tout Sixth Street as the place to go, with its bars, restaurants and live music, but many find it a little too slick. Instead, they wander over to the Warehouse District on Fourth Street, where it’s a little less rowdy and the cuisine and music are just as great.

As for restaurants and music, Threadgill’s used to receive top billing, known as the home to singers like Janis Joplin, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Outlaw Country movement of the ’70s. Today a good alternative is Stubbs Barbeque, where you’ll find good Texas food and live top talent.
—Vikk Simmons