[epolanski]

> Not to sound snotty but for some reason the more popular a place is the less inclined I am to visit it.

You're not snotty, it's hard to enjoy very crowded places. Florence is probably the place I've enjoyed visiting less on this planet for this reason. It's too small for the number of people.

Also, you really don't get to see any real city, it's a theme park, same for Venice. Locals are hard to come by/see.

I feel lucky as an Italian/European to be able to visit the less known places with ease, having the time and being in proximity is great.

But often I read tourists on reddit asking for those tours of Rome/Florence/Venice over 7/8 days and I struggle to imagine how they can really enjoy such a tour de force in very overcrowded places..

[benchly]

I'm of a like mind when it comes to travel; I specifically target the lesser-known spaces so I do not have to fight the types of crowds a hotspot like The Louvre would attract. The previous commenter was probably worried about sounding snotty because doing this gives the impression that we think the hotspots are sort of dumbed down and over-hyped in order to have mass appeal, especially to American tourists, which is admittedly true at least part of the time. Even with all the amazing works in the Louvre, the crowd would still prevent me from enjoying it, milling about like guided cattle the way people do when cruise ships make port.

Other similar travelers we have talked to have given me the (possibly false) impression that there is also an underlying current of preservation in how we travel. Let the masses go to the Louvre or see what Venice wants them to see, etc...it keeps the other areas pure in a way that augments the experience for the savvy traveler that is trying to gain a better understanding of the place itself as opposed to just sightseeing. Tourism tends to cheapen the experience overall, leaving one with a few photographs of expensive memories and a t-shirt. I just don't find that appealing.

Perhaps now I sound snotty, but that is how I feel.

[BrandoElFollito]

Well, the Louvre is truly unique so it is definitely worth the trip, plus possibly Orsay and 2-3 lesser museums.