By Lauren Haughey
Picking an ideal holiday spot may seem like quite the challenge. With options ranging from idyllic beach resorts in Greece to bustling city escapes in Rome, travellers are spoilt for choice. However, a well-travelled adventurer who has explored more than 30 countries might just have the insights to help you whittle down your list. Tour guide Megan Arz has spent several years living in Europe and has some strong opinions on certain popular cities she would not care to visit again. Brace yourself, her reviews are even pretty scathing on one UK hotspot. WalesOnline has compiled her thoughts here below. Posting to TikTok last year, she began her critique with a ‘semi-obvious’ city that is ‘so easy to punch down’. “That is Frankfurt, my neighbouring city here in Germany,” she said previously, according to the Express . “Frankfurt does lack a lot of character, especially when you compare it to other cities in Germany and smaller towns. It鈥檚 a banking centre and you can feel that. It鈥檚 the centre of the European Central Bank and it just doesn鈥檛 have that kind of warm and cosy feeling about it.” Beyond this, Megan also drew attention to the lack of good local beer and the abundance of bankers – or ‘financial bros’. She continued: “It just leads to the sense of like ‘eh’ – it鈥檚 not that cool.” You may be surprised to hear that a popular Italian destination came next on her list. While she visited the area quite some time ago, she slammed its ‘cheap souvenirs’, claiming it’s more of a ‘day trip place’ than somewhere you’d spend the week. In the 2024 video, Megan went on: “Can’t wait for some super defensive Italians in my comments here, but Italy made the list this time around with Pisa. Now, admittedly, I only went to Pisa once and it was quite a while ago, but I don鈥檛 remember there being anything to do in the town besides see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. “And that whole area around there is so mobbed with like cheap souvenirs and people trying to sell you things and pickpockets, and it just didn鈥檛 have a very nice feeling about it.” Coming in third was Kiruna – perhaps a place you might not know. Located in northern Sweden, Megan described this city as being in ‘the middle of nowhere’ with a sparse population of slightly over 20,000. “You go there to hunt for Northern Lights, and you can visit the original ice hotel here,” she continued. “But honestly, other than that, it鈥檚 a mining town that鈥檚 going through a major transition. “[…] But it鈥檚 an odd place and definitely one of the most forgettable places that I鈥檝e visited, sorry Kiruna!” Perhaps unexpectedly, Prague also appeared on her list, landing in fourth place. Megan attributed her disapproval to overtourism, an abundance of stag dos, and a sensation that everything worth seeing could be accomplished in a single visit. “Prague in the Czech Republic […] it’s a city that has a lot of bachelor [and] bachelorette parties and it鈥檚 suffering a bit from overtourism, which leads to this feeling of just like, ‘What鈥檚 going on here?’,” she said. “I鈥檝e only visited once, and while I would consider going back, I would only consider going back if I had a local perspective and someone who could show me other parts of it […] I was there for five days before, and I kind of felt like I saw what I needed to see.” Patriots, take note. Last but certainly not least, there was a surprising city in the UK. Although Megan enjoyed her time here, she described it more as a ‘launching pad’ to reach other destinations. She revealed: “The last European city that I probably wouldn鈥檛 visit again is Inverness in Scotland. I absolutely love Scotland and while I did have a good time in Inverness, it鈥檚 quite a small city and doesn鈥檛 have that much to offer from a tourist perspective. “It鈥檚 a great jumping-off point for seeing the Highlands or visiting Speyside, but honestly after a couple of days there, I feel like I saw everything I needed to see and probably wouldn鈥檛 come back for a return visit.” However, another TikTok reviewer raved about the city. kalanighosthunter went to visit the Victorian Market there and was bowled over with the food he found. He praised ‘really tasty’ fries with peppers on them that he was filmed tucking into. He also ate some Korean pulled beef dish that he said had ‘so much flavour’ that you could eat the meat on its own and it would still be delicious. People in the comments also raved about other eating spots in the city. Predictably, Megan’s review sparked a flurry of attention on TikTok, with many viewers chiming in with their own opinions about each location. In agreement, one person wrote: “I super agree with you on Pisa! I was staying there for a day and I got soooo bored after seeing the leaning tower and main attractions and even that wasn鈥檛 as impressive tbh.” Another added: “Just got back from Inverness and I agree! It鈥檚 a great place to base yourself to see the Highlands, but the city itself just isn鈥檛 great.” However, others entirely disagreed with Megan’s outlook, with one viewer writing: “I’ve been to Prague dozens of times and would be glad to visit it again. Love that city!” Someone else also said: “So sad to see Prague here, it’s my favourite city I’ve seen in Europe so far.”