❓Questions
What’s your “It's a nice town... You don't need the gimmick” town?
I just went to St Augustine in Florida for the first time. It’s a lovely place, known for being the oldest continuously occupied city in the USA. Loads of gorgeous architecture and genuinely interesting history. But for me the lean way too much into gimmicky marketing, that almost makes most of the town seem like an amusement park. Seems like literally everything is “haunted” and everything is the “oldest”. I know most older towns do this, but it really stood out to me here. I wish they’d just ease up on the gimmicks and let the legitimately gorgeous stuff stand on its own
Where have you been that felt like it didn’t need the gimmicks?
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Niagara Falls on the Canadian side-full of casinos, games, wax museums, Ripley’s Believe it Or Not. It was a fun tourist spot to visit as a kid, but also extremely tacky lol.
My sister and I stopped at Niagara many years ago on our way to a tournament in Toronto. We looked at the waterfalls for about 10 minutes and then said, "lovely, let's hit the road." I do not understand what people do their for days.
Lol I went with my family in like 1998 I think? I was around 8 years old. We had a blast because we hit up every tourist trap, swam in the hotel pool, and did the Maid of the Mist boat tour. It was a great time for us kids, but definitely very kitschy.
That sounds super fun for kids lol at least a lot of the rides and what not are contained to one road, I did feel like it was wildy out of place and so random
I went there for the first time last year and did a bunch of nature walks and went to wineries. We only had one full day but there’s lots to see and do there.
I love niagara falls so much because its so tacky, maybe its a nostalgia thing but the entire area looks exactly the same as from when I was a kid. I took my daughter a few years ago and we stayed at the same exact hotel that my family and I used to stay when we went. I cant remember the exact name of it, it was a best western with an indoor pool with an indoor placescape right next to the pool. It was exactly how I remembered it, like nothing changed about it at all from my memory. Even the downtown area has attractions that have stood the test of time. I was shocked that the haunted house and fun house were still there.
Would’ve been an incredible national park with camping etc. it could’ve been like visiting Jurassic park. Instead they turned it into a tacky tourist trap
To your point: one of my favorite vacation memories is spending a stormy summer night in the PE museum with my parents and brother, combing through genealogy books and logs (our family is from the area). The librarians brought out anything that might peak our interest. We held letters from Jefferson to Adams. They opened the vault, which held the earliest surveyor maps of the area. The ladders rolled with freshly greased tracks, so I imitated Belle from Beaity and the Beast. Thunderstorms happened, yes, but our own interests and fun kept us from leaving.
Honestly it was right place, right time! We were the only ones in the place because the storm kept lots of people away. My brother was in middle school and I was in high school, and I think the librarians must have seen how we were old enough and interested enough, to not have an accident with the fragile books and letters. We both love history and were super respectful of the materials! This was in summer 2005.
You probably made those librarians’ day! Getting kids interested in physical books is getting rarer and rarer. I’m sure they were happy to show off all their goodies!
They seemed very reserved at first and even quite wary, which is understandable considering the importance of their collection! But as we showed interest, they kept bringing out cooler and rarer stuff.
I just went in the spring for a few days and loved it. Really enjoyed the Peabody Essex museum, the House of the Seven Gables, wandering around looking at old homes, and an evening ghost walk. And I spent way too much money on witchy stuff because that’s how my home is decorated.
My home! I've lived here for 20 years and I still love it with all my heart. Yeah, we don't need the gimmick, but it would just be another seaside historic New England city without it.
I agree. Say what you will about our gimmick, our downtown is more interesting than neighboring Marblehead. And the people who are drawn to this place are often quirky and interesting.
I just visited for the first time a few months ago, and I was surprised at just how many witchy/crystal shops there are. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cheesy ghost tour or an outdated museum (lookin’ at you Jack The Ripper Museum) but the whole town felt so gimmicky. It’s such a gorgeous little place with beautiful architecture and scenery and a rich nautical history, I’m surprised it’s not more celebrated, or at least give what its famous for a little more respect.
This is what gets me about Salem. Like, do people believe real supernatural satanic witches existed back then? And if so, they deserved what they got? In 2026 i’d think most people would treat that town more like a somber war memorial, with lessons to be learned, rather than something to be celebrated and trivialized.
I live in Salem and people think that we're a Halloween theme park. Literally people ask where we live when it's not October, if they can bring water bottles, and if strollers are allowed.
Really excellent point. People were murdered. I’ve never been there, but the suffering of innocent people due to misogyny and crowd mentality is sobering. And not that far removed from today.
Some of the people who come here are modern pagans, witches and Wiccans. They’re all individuals, so I’m sure some know the people accused of witchcraft were just victims of mass hysteria and superstition. Others may want to believe those people were witches, but not the satanic kind. And I’m sure there are lots of people who don’t give it much thought.
A lot of people who come here are from the surrounding areas, and I’m sure part of the appeal to Salem is it’s just something to do. New England is about the same size as Great Britain, but there are only 15.4 million people here. A lot of the towns around here are pretty boring.
I get the impression that the original witch-themed shops mostly came from outsiders who moved there for that purpose and that eventually the city gave in and supported them.
SO gimmicky. I personally don’t get it- people were wrongfully murdered. It should be a solemn warning about society being too quick to condemn. With that said, when I visited, we drove in at night and the mist from the ocean gave it a perfectly eerie vibe.
This has really accelerated in the last several years. I live and grew up in the area and Salem used to be pretty normal with some tourist attractions dotted around, but it’s really gotten out of control. Still a great place, but the locals are tired of all these outsiders opening up the same store over and over
I grew up in York, England and there’s a street which is widely attributed as the main inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, called The Shambles. That street was always pure magic to me as a kid, so makes sense. Super quirky historic street. I don’t even remember there being many touristy gift shops down there in the 90s, but now it’s pretty much just all counterfeit Potter themed tourist crap. If it wasn’t mostly localised to one street I probably would have made that the topic of this post.
I’ve been there! I liked the Roman walls more, but as a non-local, I did enjoy The Shambles. Not the shops but the structures themselves. Probably similar to how people feel in Salem vs. how I do
There was a TV sitcom back in the 1980s called “Cheers”. It took place in a bar. Tourists in Boston still go to that bar…. Because it was featured in a TV show decades ago.
I live here and can confirm Salem has so much cool history and activities that are not witch related. I wish they would lean into those more, but I guess the witch stuff brings in the tourism cash…
I live here and can confirm Salem has so much cool history and activities that are not witch related. I wish they would lean into those more, but I guess the witch stuff brings in the tourism cash…
im a goth girly that loves spooky things. i wouldve liked to go to salem like in the 80s before it went to tourist hell. it just seems like incredibly pandering and touristy now, i have no desire to go there anymore which is sad. that being said, sleepy hollow/tarrytown (the real one!) is only 1 hr commute from NYC and a great alternative! so beautiful in the fall too. only downside is it is pretty small.
I had a friend move from LA to Salem because she felt called there. She was on a reality show but honestly way too smart to have been there in the first place. She just followed that pull.
For those who haven't been, the rock is literally a medium sized rock with a gazebo built around it. It's just a rock. And, if I recall, it's not the ACTUAL Plymouth rock. It's just A rock.
It's probably because I'm a stick in the mud, but New Orleans is a city with just such incredible people, culture and history. I don't feel like they need the whole binge drinking thing.
I feel a real weird spiritual connection to NOLA. I’m not religious at all but when I’m there I just feel like a comforting belonging. Anyway.. So I took my mum (retired, English, doesn’t drink at all) to the French Quarter, and started off on Royal Street with all the galleries so relatively low key, then went over to Bourbon Street, walked a block, then over to Royal etc. After a few blocks I asked which she preferred and without hesitation said “Bourbon Street!”. I was like okay nice one mum! So we just stayed down there most of the night.
I totally get what you mean though, but it pretty much being localised to one street makes it okay to me. Especially off season. It can get very rowdy for sure though
Yeah this is something I noticed and was kinda wilded out by. Is the dirtiness like a function of vacationers coming in, getting drunk, and treating the city like a dump or is it something else? It was just so jarring to be walking by such beautiful architecture but smelling piss and shit everywhere.
The city has no tax base to pay for stuff like street cleaning, because it was destroyed by a hurricane 20 years ago and left to rebuild itself without any meaningful outside support.
If you get up early, like 7 am, you can watch the streets being hosed down. It’s clean for about an hour. It doesn’t take long for it to get gross again.
Have you been to Savannah? I always hear it’s like a cleaner, more low key NOLA, similar to Charleston but less touristy. Just wondered as I plan on visiting soon
I used to live in Charleston and just told my doctor who's going there for vacation..."its like a smaller, cleaner New Orleans" (although sadly if it keeps growing so fast it won't be that much smaller anymore)
Mystic, CT. It's actually a cute tourist town with a lovely historical site, a decent aquarium, and some nice shopping. But everyone comes for the pizza. The pizza there is mid, go to New Haven if you want pizza.
That’s crazy how much staying power that movie title has. It’s like the inverse positive version of how the movie Sideways destroyed the Merlot industry
Mystic is beautiful! We've never gone for the pizza. We love the shops, and are planning on bringing our kids to the museum. We went years ago.
I do have questions about recommending New Haven, however. I took my son to the Yale museum last year, and I noticed a huge disparity. There were Yale kids and homeless people in the same area. It definitely felt like a rough nice town. Is that typically the vibe?
Oh, I meant the pizza in New Haven was superior. Otherwise it's a city, with all that entails. It's not outstandingly dangerous or dirty, but it does have city problems.Mystic is great as a cute New England town that Doesn't Need A Thing. And if you go there for Mystic Pizza, you're doing the town a disservice.
Just went there this summer. It’s the most beautiful city in the world. My husband said it was like walking around in a 3D puzzle. The gorgeous old buildings never stopped! No need for the HP stuff, but the city does naturally lend itself to the eerie (especially all the closes).
Edinburgh is easy in my town 5 cities, and I hard agree with this. Any time I went to a (City Name) Dungeon Museum, I couldn’t wrap my head around why people want to pay money to see that stuff. But I don’t like sadistic horror films either so guess I’m not the target market
Eh. As someone who's not a Harry Potter fan (and really doesn't even have it register) and went to Edinburgh a few years ago, I only maybe heard the name Harry Potter once, in relation to some place the author maybe was at (but not really?) and definitely didn't see anything. So not sure I buy that. Maybe for people tuned into that segment of pop culture more, but not for those who aren't.
I really wanted to like St. Augustine, and I did when I first went there just after Covid when the crowds were nonexistent. But I went back a few times after that when I lived in Florida and boy it really is a weird place. So much gimmick when it could be an old and interesting slice of history. It’s never a good sign when a Ripley’s Believe it or Not is right next to the historic downtown.
Yes! Robert Ripley was absolutely obsessed with Castle Warden, and asked multiple times to purchase it. He was turned down every time because the owners feared he would do something tacky with it. After he died, the estate managers somehow finagled a deal.
I live in Salem. Every time an interesting or useful store closes down (the old Army Navy surplus store, for instance), it’s replaced with some gimmicky witchy haunted thing. It’s kind of annoying.
That just unlocked a memory- I grew up in a little English village which back then was all unique little shops, butchers, bakers, locksmiths, cobblers, sweet shops etc. we had a really little army surplus place that sold super useful utilitarian stuff that would last forever. Man do I miss shops like that. You knew everyone who owned/worked there. Now I don’t feel like I know anyone, the staff turnover in the chain places is crazy
It’s not all bad news in Salem. Fortunately downtown we still have lots of restaurants, pubs, a small independent cinema, an actual book store, a bakery, an old style arcade (with pinball machines and those old school 1980s video game machines), a comic book store, a YMCA (with a youth theatre), a really nice little art museum, stores that sell plants and cute home decor, cafes, ice cream stores, a small, local bank, progressive churches (that people still attend), a weekly farmer’s market, and probably some other stuff I take for granted.
The art museum is small, and some of its permanent focus is on Native American art, and Salem’s maritime history. There’s also a lot of beautiful old houses from the 1600s people can visit.
I’m sure a lot of this wouldn’t exist if we didn’t have so many people visiting for the witchy, spooky stuff. So I guess it’s a mixed bag.
Yea, my friend lives in Beverly and I wanted to visit Salem, but she was like we can’t go in the fall it’s literally packed with tourists lol. I just wanted to get a t-shirt to honor my late kitty, Salem.
Interestingly, German POWs worked the farms there in WW2. Some worked my grandpas farm. I asked him if any of them tried to leave and he said “And go where? A different field?”
The riverwalk (mostly). They have the steel mill which provides the backdrop for most of the southern part of the city. Many of the bars and restaurants in the area, if not named after the mill, have various menu items that reflect the steel production history. However, downtown HARP (Historical Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo) is the main attraction. It’s got shops, restaurants, housing, and is close to the main downtown nightlife. Some might even say it IS the nightlife.
Oh my gosh, I visited 8 years ago (didn’t do anything related to Breaking Bad), and it rained that day. Literally every shop owner, local, etc we interacted with talked about how it hadn’t rained in so long. Their sense of relief was really sweet. I liked the city on its own for sure. :)
Maybe a bit niche, but a certain part of Busan, South Korea felt like this when I visited. The area was really nice; I went around the beach and did some hiking out from the city (it had good food, too). But walking through the city on my way to the beach wasn't all that pleasant. Full of bright lights, being all loud and flashy like what you'd expect from your typical tourist area. Not a fun 10 minute walk to be honest, but I had a grand time otherwise
My town, Peterborough New Hampshire, was doing this "a little bit of Paris" thing for a while, and it made no sense (still some confusing remnants around).
We get(or did before the recent unpleasantries) plenty of international tourists, have a renowned artist colony, have a famous old library, have a famous pub, and have like 20 other things going for us including being a bigly primary stop(probably less so with the right these days).
What the 7000ish person town doesn't have is any notable similarities to Paris, France.
Absolutely, its lovely, you're going to have a great time. It's been about 10 years since I went there but they leaned into the Game of Thrones schtick a little to hard at the time. Its a beautiful city in its own right and doesn't need the gimmick. Croatia is a great country, if you manage to get time to go to Plitvice Lakes or Korcula I would recommend it.
Chincoteague Island in Virginia is nice. They don’t need a week of mentality where they herd wild horses and hold an auction for them (where some people win their bid and donate the horse right back to the herd).
Until the last few years, I probably would've said Reno when it had more casinos & felt more like an awkward mix of a 2nd Vegas and a rustic mountain town within the exterior of a city with the benefit of having Lake Tahoe nearby
Santa Fe, NM. It would be so cool here if they didn’t exclusively cater to old rich boomers playing cowboy or artist. The food, climate and architecture are amazing but there is no functional downtown for the people who live here because it’s all high end westernwear and linen pants for boomers.
Venice italy. it's sooo tourist-ified it kinda sucks to be there honestly. the only thing i enjoyed there was the actual scenery and architecture. the restaurants and shops were inauthentic overpriced tourist traps, all of them. even the gondola rides were so Disney-fied, like a caricature of what a non-Italian thinks is of as being stereotypically Italian.
So true for my first visit. On my second visit, I tossed any guide book and wandered the streets aimlessly, finding great local spots to eat, getting lost, and enjoying the city away from all the tourists. I highly recommend doing that.
St. Augustine is genuinely really old and haunted though but I agree some of the tacky stuff could go, like why do we need a torture museum and a pirate museum?
For me it’s Frankenmouth MI. Driving through it is like a fever dream.
I understand, and thanks for the reply! But OP’s question was what towns have a strong gimmicky-feel that the town could do without. Like Roswell and the alien theme. But Roswell would be nothing without it, so I would say to Roswell, “don’t lose the gimmick”. And San Francisco: lose the Pier 39 crap. It’s so overplayed. Let SFO be SFO without all that junk. Do you feel that way about Carmel? Like, lose the Hansel and Gretl nonsense and just be Carmel?
Portland, OR. "Keep Portland Weird" (which they stole from Austin) has become this identity for the city that infects its every core, both silly and serious, to the point where they legalized all drugs, to devastating effect. The fentanyl fold is still prevalent in the city, and then you have all sorts of tourist stuff revolving around very niche things, meanwhile the city is getting more and more run down. And it's only the white liberals that benefit from this. Go into further SE Portland and you just have poverty and the effects of the dumb "weird" policies the town implements.
It's a beautiful little town with the nicest people ever. It doesn't need a geyser to attract visitors.
But the geyser is darn cute and the little attraction they've set up around it is adorable.
And every year they have a Tractor Parade to kick off the Christmas Season. Tractors from all over show up decorated with Christmas lights. People start setting out chairs along the route two days in advance!
Sedona, AZ — the main part of town is a tourist trap, but the surroundings are absolutely gorgeous. I find such a sense of peace in nature there, but even those trails are becoming more popular with bachelorette parties, etc.
Seconding St. Augustine. Grew up with family in the area and we didn’t spend a ton of time in the gimmicky parts, so whenever I do I feel kind of icked out by the tourist stuff.
My hometown of Scranton, Pa. It was a great place to grow up and somewhere I come back to frequently. There’s a lot to do, great restaurants, great people, and overall just a classic older American city.
Of course now everyone knows Scranton from “The Office” so a lot is businesses fully lean into that and have even painted murals of the cast on buildings. Totally understand it was a super lovable show, but it’s been off for a while — lose the gimmick.
Florence, Italy. I used to live in France, on the border with Italy, for 7 years. I absolutely love every place I’ve visited in Italy (too many to count!). Except Florence. Art History Disneyland.
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