Boring US destination: Chesapeake, Virginia
To begin, there aren’t many nightlife and music venues in Chesapeake. There are equally few arts amenities and only a fair amount of active life options to make matters worse. So, this isn’t an exciting spot to plan a vacation.
That is unless you’re into birdwatching, swamps, or taking naps. If so, be sure to pack a good pair of binoculars for bird peeping on your adventures!
And another thing: this city is home to a huge part of the Great Dismal Swamp. Yes, that’s what it’s called, and we think it might be fitting.
Boring US destination: Plano, Texas
Plano is a relatively pleasant and calm location to live, but calm hardly equals an exciting travel destination. The nightlife of this city was ranked 93rd in the US and 97th regarding most music venues per person here.
Things could be better regarding art centers and fine dining options as well. And even though this city is indeed located in an affluent state with excellent schools, it lacks a lot of entertainment most look for when planning their vacation.
Final note from Must See Places: Even though most of the cities on our list are wealthy cities in big states, they aren’t exactly outstanding options if you’re looking for entertainment.
This just goes to show that a city can be developed socioeconomically, but that doesn’t mean it’s an exciting place to visit too.
What are YOUR thoughts. Do you agree with the cities mentioned in our list? Please let us know in the comments section below.
And if you ARE planning your next trip, Must See Places has ALWAYS got you covered! For example, check out the 9 Incredible Shoulder Season Travel Destinations in the US for Your Bucket List!
20 thoughts on “Top 12 Most Boring US Destinations People Say You Shouldn’t Visit”
I’ve lived in Henderson, NV for most of my life and don’t quite know why it’s on this list. My son, his wife and I went for a walk last night in an extremely interesting park/trail in a wash with abundant desert vegetation and amenities such as sports courts, amphitheaters, dog parks etc. Henderson has many urban parks for all sorts of activities including mountain biking and climbing. And, truthfully, you can’t separate it from Las Vegas for entertainment. Of which, Las Vegas calls itself the adult entertainment capital of the World. This fact is arguable, of course, but can be justified.
Dismal Swamp/Chesapeake VA is the ABSOLUTE BEST! You just need to do it by boat. We’ve done it 4 times, and loved every minute! Stop at the Welcome Center and the State Park buildings for cool info. Amazing to find this next to Norfolk VA.
It’s had that name for at least 50 years. I grew up in Kokomo 50 miles due north of Indy and moved to Denver Colorado only to return a few years ago. Culture shock is putting it mildly and not a lot has changed in the 45 or so years I was gone. Being bored isn’t even the worst part, it’s the crappy weather no matter what time of year. It’s humid and hot all summer with 2 weeks of autumn that is nice and then gray and ugly til spring for 6 windy weeks then it rains
We do have a lot of fairs and festivals and car shows though, might be the DIY/craft capital of the nation.lol
I’m surprised not to see Plymouth Rock in Plymouth MA. Soooooo underwhelmed to the point of laughable.
Been to Anchorage and thought it was a very funky place, with its own vibe. Like a Greenwhich Village in the arctic. Beautiful up there, they have outdoor markets, freshest salmon on earth – you can catch ’em with a net. Bring it in to decent restaurant and have them cook it up. This is the best place imaginable for this. About 20 years or more I went there and although I would never buy one (remember this is 20 or more years), there were animal furs of all sorts that were very, very expensive. I had to touch some of them, as they were hanging in shops or stores all over the place. It was the agony and the ecstasy combined. Also, you can take a boat and try to sail the fjords.
I have been to about half the locations on the list and agree they were boring.
Seems that judging whether a place is boring or not depends on the number of music venues and restaurants. There is so much more to life than just those two things.
I agree, Ft Wayne is boring x 10. In addition the downtown area at night has quite a few people of questionable character panhandling.
Cheyenne, WY? I’ve spent lots of time there. Nice people, great food, and tons of stuff to do.
Went to the World’s Greatest or Biggest Rodeo in Cheyenne the first time I was in the west with my family many years ago. Now approximately 40 years later, I still remember specific details from that event. I was shocked that city was first on this list. I’ve driven through Wyoming many times since, and I always look forward to the drive. The state as a whole is much more interesting than Nebraska, the state I drive through to get to Wyoming.
Fort Wayne, Indiana was the most racist of the cities you have listed.
There is an African American population there, but according to the elderly white lady who was the docent for a tour of the city, “They stay on their side, but we occasionally enjoy their night life and restaurants. I went to Fort Wayne for a convention and took my then partner along because he lived there in the past and had some friends he wanted to visit while I was attending my convention. A good friend of his offered to take us to dinner one evening to the Fort Wayne Country Club and he would pick us up at our hotel that evening. When his car pulled up to the front of the hotel, he did a “double take” when he saw that I wasn’t caucasian. ”
“Ah, there’s a change of plan” he told us as we were driven to some local steak house. After arriving to that destination, he excused himself to make a phone call after we were seated to our table.
(Obviously, he went to cancel the reservation at the Country Club) I thought this was curious but offensive and so did my partner. These things gave me a very negative reaction to the city of Fort Wayne, a city I would never visit again.
Aurora is a suburb of Denver which has anything you could want. Plano is a suburb of Dallas which has anything you could want. I don’t want to vacation right next to a music venue, stadium, theme park or expensive restaurant. Close by is much better.
Pretty much seen all those places in my Travels and must agree whole heartedly
In my travels I have been to almost everyone of these towns. Yep. They are calmer than the big cities like Philly but that is their charm. You live/ visit these places to get away from what you are always doing and do something different without the threat of excessive crime or extreme prices.
Go for the quiet and enjoy the change.
Disagree totally on Indianapolis. Loved the downtown. Good food. Awesome collection of military monuments museums in one place. Victorian buildings section nearby. Have younger cousins there who love it.
As for Cheyenne, we enjoyed our visit there enroute to Colorado. Stayed in historic hotel. Elements of old fashioned Western town with new elements added.
I have lived in Stockton since 1955. And they are right. Not only is it the most boring city to live in, but my opinion it is the arm pit of the valley. I have tried several times to get out of here, but things happened to make it impossible to leave. I guess the only way I am going to get out of here is die.
actually now choosing to vacation in the suburbia of Dallas/ fort worth for the forementioned reasons listed for Plano Texas during the week of Christmas …kid you not…. instead of staying amongst noisy bickering relatives in the immediate Dallas area, Im gonna stay in the quiet and subdued Plano area and take the metro DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) train to and from .
Hey James! Thank you so much for your comment. We always love hearing from our readers!
The cities on the list that I have visited (Indianapolis, Stockton, Anchorage, Mesa, Plano) indeed are just like described in the article. It probably takes a local & insider of the region to find interesting points in those cities, but they are not for a casual tourist or occasional visitor.
I am reminded of the Mac Davis song, “Happiness Is Lubbock, Texas in my rear view mirror.” 😂
It sure produced some great musicians however; besides the late Davis and Buddy Holly Lubbock gave us Lloyd Maines & The Maine Brothers Band, Lloyd’s daughter Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, the fantastic Joe Ely who along with Butch Hancock & Jimmy Dale Gilmore made up The Flatlanders and late, great Bobby Keys who was the sax player for the Stones and Keith Richards’ partner in crime back in his wilder days. It might be telling that the those still with us are in Austin now.