While we frequently talk about the best cities to travel to around the world, it’s time to shed light on the flip side of the coin. Let’s take a look at some cities that have a knack for being, well, a bit on the boring side. From the uneventful to the uninspiring, we’ve collected a list of the most boring cities in the world where adrenaline junkies might go to take a nap.
So, why would a city be “boring”? Is it the lack of cultural landmarks, the absence of thrilling attractions, or simply the shortage of a spark that ignites a sense of adventure? Users in this Reddit community provide some answers. They’ve shared a list of the dullest corners of the globe they’ve traveled to (subject to their own experiences).
However, we feel this may be a pretty subjective question. After all, what may be boring to one person might be surprisingly fascinating to another. Sometimes, escaping the hustle and bustle can be just what you need. Remember, boring can also be good as it can give you an opportunity to slow down and appreciate the simpler things in life.
So, let’s take a lighthearted approach as we navigate these seemingly sedated cities and discover why the Reddit community found them boring. Let us know in the comments what you feel about this list of the most boring cities in the world.
#1 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
“I really found Dubai to be incredibly boring. It’s not as big as you’d think and it’s so artificial that it’s soulless. After a week there you really do feel like you’ve exhausted all possibilities. It’s just malls.”
Image source: sammywammy53b
#2 Doha, Qatar
“Being one of these newly built Middle Eastern cities, there’s nothing aside from the government and corporate offices – no cafes, no places to walk around. The “downtown” is a cluster of skyscrapers (all of which are offices) that don’t even have sidewalks, just roads directly to the underground parking. And it doesn’t even have the abundance of activities that other Middle Eastern cities do – there are literally 4 or 5 purpose-built tourist attractions. They’re making a big push to expand tourism and it’s supposedly getting better (a metro line opened the day after I left) but it has a long way to go before it can be considered remotely tourist-friendly.”
Image source: palkiajack
#3 Seattle, Washington, USA
“The coolest thing was the goddamn fish market. Let that sink in. The coolest thing in the entire city of Seattle is a FISH MARKET.”
Image source: reddit.com
#4 Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
“Not really huge… but everyone thinks it’s great because of The Office.”
Image source: Steves0822, amazon.com
#5 Milton Keynes, UK
“Infrastructure and a basic standard of living things are good enough, but it’s one of the most soulless places on earth. No to little feeling of community or culture whatsoever.”
Image source: Lexidoge
#6 Houston, Texas, USA
AffectionatePanic said:
“My god it was completely soulless. Yeah, there’s NASA, but NASA does not a city make.”
TheJesseClark replied:
“Drove through Houston a few years ago. Couldn’t stay but Id never been before and wanted to at least see it on my way to visit family in Austin. A few things stood out to me:
A) the urban sprawl was insane. Like, way too much. I’m talking 30-50 miles of strip malls and gas stations and Walmarts surrounding the city in every direction, with no breaks.
B) Killer skyline.
C) Really empty downtown. Reminded me of a Minecraft city. Super clean and modern looking but there was just nothing happening and almost nobody around. No urban grit or feel at all. But I’m heading back there this month to give it a better shot because I’ve heard too many good things to dismiss it.”
Image source: AffectionatePanic
#7 Helsinki, Finland
“Don’t get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed it. It was clean, the saunas were very nice, the flowers planted everywhere were gorgeous and the people were all friendly. I would even go back to reassess my opinion of it. But it just didn’t feel like there was anything that stuck out about it to me. It seemed more like a nice place to live than a cool place to visit if that makes sense.”
Image source: ViciousVeggieViking
#8 Orlando, Florida, USA
aeh19 said:
“It feels like a big collection of suburbs instead of an actual city. I feel like there’s nothing to do if you’re not into theme parks.”
mistersmiley318 replied:
“You can thank the interstate system and white flight for that (among many other things). Post WWII development of America was building suburbs for middle-class whites to flee the cities for. This was accompanied by bulldozing large sections of lively city districts (often minority neighborhoods) to put highways in for suburbanites to commute in for city jobs. As a result, a lot of American cities nowadays are hollow shells of their former selves surrounded by miles of suburbs. We’re just now starting to see that trend somewhat reverse with transit-oriented development and talk about upzoning single-family suburbs. Not everyone wants to live in a suburb without any character, but many are forced to since city living is so expensive due to the underdevelopment of denser housing.”
Image source: aeh19
#9 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
User №1 said:
“My brother calls it a ‘wide suburb’ and that’s exactly what it is.”
User №2 replied:
“I’ve always felt like it’s just… not a city. I grew up in a small town in Indiana and when I was a kid Indianapolis was “the big city,” and when I visited there I never understood the appeal of cities. And then I got older and traveled more and realized, ohhhhhhh, THIS is what a city is supposed to be like.”
Image source: reddit.com
#10 Detroit, Michigan, USA
Aspynisnotatree said:
“There is literally nothing to do there. I’m a Michigan native, and I gotta say, it’s not even a city really, just a big collection of low-income neighborhoods.”
shooting replied:
“I had a work trip in Ecorse, MI, and flew into Detroit. I’ve got to say Detroit has one of my favorite airports to travel through, and the city itself did have a very impressive skyline as I was driving through. I stopped at Founders Brewing’s taproom and had a pretty good time, despite them coming under controversy last year. Outside of that though, there wasn’t much in Detroit proper and I definitely see why it’s mentioned here.”
Image source: Aspynisnotatree
#11 Dallas, Texas, USA
“People who live in Dallas love Dallas. I get it. Relatively low cost of living, great selection of jobs, “good” weather (too hot for me), and diverse food. People love living there.
My wife spent 10 years in Dallas and kept telling me just how great the place was. I was ready to love it too. Yeah, not so much. It is so spread out, so drab, so boring. Blech. It is like Dallas decided to go corporate, make sure the cost of living stayed low, there were good jobs for people and gave up on tourism. There was nothing compelling or interesting about the city. The best part about Dallas was the food (Mexican, Tex-Mex, BBQ, etc.) but you can get just as good food in Austin.”
Image source: Cascade425
#12 Jacksonville, Florida, USA
“Went there for a conference. There was literally nothing to do but attend talks. The hotel was the only place for breakfast for 700 people. There weren’t even any grocery stores/mini marts!”
Image source: FelisCorvid615
#13 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
“I can see why my aunt hated living there and moved back to Chicago. The nature part is pretty but the city life is boring.”
Image source: dekdekwho
#14 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
BackAlleyKittens said:
“Is a big nothing sandwich and it’s only a few blocks.”
Kevin_Uxbridge replied:
“Great place to go to grad school, there’s basically nothing to do. Great hiking if you like that kinda thing but not much else.”
Image source: BackAlleyKittens
#15 Columbia, South Carolina, USA
User №1 said:
“It’s very hot.”
User №2 replied:
“Yeah, there is ZERO to do. Plenty of restaurants, but No nightlife unless you’re a college student majoring in drinking. Not much to do with children either. 1 kids museum and let’s be honest, how many times can you go to the same kid’s museum before they are bored with it. Definitely regret moving here. “
Image source: reddit.com
#16 Brussels, Belgium
canucker78 said:
“Now don’t get me wrong I like the city, I’m a big fan of their Royal Art Museum, eating moules and fries, the beer scene, etc. But if I had to spend more time there I would be at a loss for things to do.”
sregtbaenen replied:
“Brussels is a tough city for tourists. There’s plenty to see and do, but apart from Grand Place I feel there’s not a clear tourist circuit you have in most other cities. A lot of stuff is also not well known. For example, one of the museums has an Easter Island statue, but they hardly advertise it and keep it in a back room behind a random furniture collection.”
Image source: canucker78
#17 Toledo, Ohio, USA
Schoonicorn replied:
“Mother of god. I’ve been there twice. What do y’all do? I couldn’t even find a bar with a pool table. (Assuming you are from Toledo).”
Image source: Think_Tie8025
#18 Singapore
“Just so artificial, I mean I am not into shopping, the food was great, but after hawkers, there was not much for me..”
Australie replied:
“Agree with this! But Singapore is still worth a stopover for the food and awesome gardens by the bay attraction.”
Image source: Shepherdless
#19 Calgary, Canada
SloopyDoops said:
“I’m sure in the summer it’s a great time, but I’ve only ever been in January, where all there is to do is run from heater to heater.”
GovtSurveillanceBirb replied:
“Yeah, winter sucks but you can’t call Calgary boring.
In the winter you can go skiing and tubing at Winsport (old Olympic infrastructure), skating, the mountains are close, and there are lots of interesting cultural events indoors and outdoors during non-pandemic times. In the summer, the city is beautiful with gigantic parks, many outdoor heritage events, festivals, amusement parks, and The Calgary Stampede (the biggest outdoor show on earth with rodeo, fair, and carnival, parades with free pancakes, and threesomes in the street).”
Image source: SloopyDoops
#20 Canberra, Australia
haebigou said:
“It gets bad reviews all the time but I’ve found it to be quite a lovely place.”
CarolineElise95 replied:
“I live in Canberra at the moment. Yes, there isn’t a whole lot to do here if you’re staying any longer than a weekend, but there’s something about the way it looks in Autumn and Winter that I just love (especially being from Brisbane where ‘winter’ is 15C) plus being a small and spread out city, it’s quiet and much easier to experience nature (I had never seen kangaroos or rabbits in the wild before moving here, now I see them constantly).”
Image source: haebigou
#21 Manila, Philippines
“Not much to do as a tourist. Soul-sucking traffic anywhere. The food was bland and boring. Every mainstream type restaurant had the same menu.”
Image source: AngryVirginian
#22 Keelung, Taiwan
“I went to Taiwan and Keelung is by far the most boring city I visited, in Taiwan, there are a lot of beautiful landscapes everywhere, and very cool monuments in Taipei, Taichung is cool too, but Keelung is very boring compared to the rest of the country.”
Image source: laurent987
#23 Nagoya, Japan
Shinrya replied: “…Given that, pretty much every city in Japan on the surface physically looks the same you need to dig deeper to find what’s interesting and going on. I’ve lived in both Tokyo and Osaka and unquestionably there’s just so much to do, but visiting Nagoya and Hiroshima left me wandering around saying “Is that it?” after experiencing the one thing each respective place is famous for.”
Image source: LightSage
#24 Ottawa, Canada
User №1 said:
“The city that fun forgot.”
porkynbasswithgeorge replied:
“In my freshman year of high school (New Hampshire) we had a choir trip to Montreal. One day they bussed us over to Ottawa for a little more cultural exposure. We went on a Sunday. Apparently, Ottawa is closed on Sunday.”
Image source: reddit.com
#25 Stockholm, Sweden
“Don’t get me wrong it’s not a bad city. There are some pretty buildings, and Gamla Stan (the historical district) is a nice area to walk around, with some cozy streets and little cafes. Everything was very clean and orderly, and the people were pleasant (yet shy), but the city never really felt alive to me.”
Image source: zootedwhisperer
#26 Toronto, Canada
Sectalam said:
“Toronto is also quite dull.”
User №2 replied:
“That’s an unpopular opinion, but I agree. Toronto’s diversity means that there is some great food, but it’s just so new and booming that it lacks much in the way of charm in the built environment. Toronto would probably be a great place to actually live, but it’s never appealed to me much as a visitor.”
Image source: Sectalam
#27 Zagreb, Croatia
elijha replied:
“I found it kinda bizarre and yeah, very boring there. Lots of the city center felt virtually abandoned (like you could walk in the middle of a major road at night and not see a single car or person) and in general it’s a pretty generic central european city without any of the hooks that makes a place like Krakow attractive to tourists. I had a nice enough time, but not somewhere I’d ever need to return to or would recommend anyone else to visit.”
Image source: slip-slop-slap
#28 Almere, Netherlands
“It’s a new city built in the 70s on the world’s largest artificial island. The city is basically one big boring suburb without a good city center, the only positive thing about it is that it is easy to get out of there since it’s well connected in the middle of the country.”
Image source: ianwitten
#29 Bogotá, Colombia
“It generally gets a bad rap for being not worth more than a day or two, but I think it’s absolutely great. It reminds me of a South American version of Chicago. It’s even oriented the same way on a map, with a mountain in place of the lake, and it has the same north = rich, south and west = poor (very basic) demographics.”
Image source: reddit.com
#30 Frankfurt, Germany
“Unbelievably boring. Just a bunch of sterile streets with banks.”
Image source: Sectalam
#31 Milan, Italy
PeachyPesco replied:
“I found it incredibly boring while I was there. Pretty architecture, some cool history… but it seems like people there are mostly obsessed with shopping. The insane amount of pigeons and men throwing seeds on people was disgusting. Please let me know what you like about it, there has to be something I was missing!”
Image source: Bamonk
#32 Mannheim, Germany
“Even the Palace and the Art Museum are gruesomely dull from an architecture standpoint.”
Image source: w4golf
#33 Bratislava, Slovakia
“For a capital city, there just is not a ton there. The castle looks like a Costco and the old town is small and unimpressive.”
Image source: Shepherdless
#34 Vientiane, Laos
“It’s a common spot to do a visa run for expats in South East Asia since it’s cheap and has pretty lenient embassies. But it is well known for being a total and complete snooze-fest. There’s effectively nothing to do, aside from waiting in line for the embassy, observing the brown river, and drinking beer at bad bars. Other parts of Laos are amazing though.”
Image source: applewagon
#35 Omaha, Nebraska, USA
“I went to the College Baseball World Series the last season at Rosenblatt and it was one of the best sporting events I have ever attended. Old Market downtown is fun with some good restaurants, they’ve got a riverfront park and the people are all very friendly.”
Image source: theshow54321
#36 São Paulo, Brazil
“To most people, it’s just pillars of concrete for miles, and where you typically grab a connection to Rio, which is much flashier. But being the biggest city in the Southern Hemisphere has its perks, and Sao Paulo has fantastic food, art, public transportation (something Rio sorely lacks), and just general urban things but with a Brazilian vibe.”
Image source: Gravebriar
#37 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“People seem to stay max 2 days or just pass through when traveling to Siem Reap but I really like it. It has a weird “wild west” feel that I really enjoy.”
Image source: mnotme
#38 Birmingham, UK
TallDude888 said:
“I’m not really sure about on Earth, but Birmingham is pretty bad.”
0-o-o_o-o-0 replied:
“Birmingham (UK) gets a bad rep, but there are a lot of good things there, it’s just that the layout and infrastructure is terrible. There are great museums, and great bars around the canals (away from Broad Street) and there are a lot of events and concerts around the city. It’s just an ugly sprawling mass though, so the good things are spread randomly over a large area that’s hard to navigate if you don’t know it well.”
Image source: TallDude888
#39 Vancouver, Canada
“It was the most boring city I have ever been to. Was there for three months, 10 years ago. Most clubs close at 12 and the ones with extra long opening hours closed at 01:00.”
Image source: Background_Canary605
#40 Madrid, Spain
“Didn’t hate it, but underwhelming for sure. Seeing Guernica was cool though.”
Image source: sadgrad2
#41 Lyon, France
“It was my first time outside the US/Canada and it has a special place in my heart. Right near the Alps and actually, quite a lot to do if you are there for awhile while not very ‘touristy’.”
Image source: LupineChemist
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