PLACES... OVERRATED

Travel is a magical way to discover the sweet spots at the center of your soul. My many journeys help me leave behind life’s stresses and immerse myself in new cultures and the wonderful experiences that such adventures bring.

My journey to Nepal, for instance, and the blinding snows of the Himalayas taught me the essence of survival. I felt the same magic again in the Galapagos, where I swam with black fin sharks, and once more during a magnificent journey across the Sacred Valley to the famed Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience travel at both ends of the spectrum, from luxury to its polar opposite. And I’ve found great places -- and their polar opposites. In my TV show “Amazing Adventures of a Nobody,” I travel on $5 a day so I must rely on the kindness of strangers. In my 31 years, I’ve traveled to more than 200 cities in 45 countries and have found a unique flavor in each. Most of the time. But there have been disappointments. For me, the clunkers had one thing in common: the quality of human connections I experienced. Using this as a measure of a place, I realized that some of the most beautiful and famous destinations were -- gasp! -- overrated.

With this in mind, I have compiled my list of some of the places that probably won’t become part of my soul. Feel free to disagree; indeed, I expect many of you will. Or add your own places that you think are overrated. You can respond at latimes.com/overrated. And be sure to see what Los Angeles Times readers told us were their least favorite spots, on Page 4 and at latimes.com/overrated.

Here, then, are the Logothetis No Love Lost Destinations.

5. Athens

I thought long and hard about Athens, primarily because my heritage is Greek and my father will probably disown me when he reads this. But I will take the risk to spare you the torment.

Greece is a country of majestic beauty, its thousands of miles of coastline a wonder to behold, its islands oases of raw beauty and tranquillity.

Not so the capital city, population 3.9 million in the Athens prefecture. It’s crowded and filled with smog (although that has improved slightly in recent years) and crazy taxi drivers.

Athens, of course, has the famed Acropolis, but its charms are blunted by the frenetic pace and emotion that seem part of everyday life here -- at least, the numerous times I’ve visited.

For instance, on a cab ride from central Athens to the suburbs, my driver went ballistic when I suggested an alternate route. He started screaming at me, swerved across two lanes of traffic and kicked me out of his cab -- but not before demanding payment. This may have been extreme, but it wasn’t an isolated demonstration of Athenians’ interpersonal skills either.

During the hot summer months, the locals head to the islands to cool off (physically and emotionally). So take a tip from the Athenians: Avoid the city altogether. And if you must go there, see the Acropolis and then get out of town.

Sorry, Dad.

4. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Until a few decades ago, Dubai was a dot in the desert. Today, its skyscrapers shimmer as the sun sets on what is now a thriving metropolis. Dubai is an amazing, almost miraculous feat of human creativity and perseverance.

Still, for all its achievements, Dubai lacks a soul. Part of that stems from the clash of its local culture and the capitalist spirit that drives it. It is, apparently, much easier to create a metropolis in the desert than to combine thousands of years of Middle Eastern culture with capitalism in one dazzling manifestation and have it ring true.

On a March visit to Dubai, I spent most of my time interacting with ex-pats, which is not the way I like to travel. But on this trip, the most interaction I managed was with my taxi driver Ranjit, and he was Pakistani. There seemed to be an invisible, impenetrable shield between us, and when I tried to break through it, I felt an uneasiness and a sense of mistrust.

I didn’t get that vibe in the Westernized parts of town -- at the astonishing Mall of the Emirates or the myriad high-end hotels -- but when I visited some of the many mosques and historical parts of town, I felt lost and out of place. The flavor of the Middle East, which I hoped to embrace, eluded me. And my spirit never felt challenged.

To awaken myself, I decided to embark on a day trip to Yemen to see if I could delve into its cultural delicacies. I rented a car and left Dubai in the early afternoon but got horribly lost. I eventually found my way to the right highway, but when I stopped for gas I bumped into a local who told me that traveling to Yemen overland at night was unwise.

“Yemen is not like Dubai,” he said. “We understand you Westerners. There, you will not be safe, especially at night.”

My adventure was a nonstarter, so I headed back to the safety of my Western hotel.

Dubai may not have had much to offer my need for culture and connection, but it certainly did have a comfort zone that wasn’t unwelcome. Still, there is a big difference between feeling safe and being mollycoddled with all the comforts of home.

3. Prague, Czech Republic

I was excited when I learned I would be going to Prague this last summer. My brother had only great things to say about it, so I looked forward to my trip, my first to an Eastern European capital.

Prague rests on the banks of the River Vltava (the Moldau, in German) in central Bohemia, and it has been a political, cultural and economic center of the Czech people for more than a millennium.

When I was a child growing up in London, the rumor in the schoolyard was that once you went behind the Iron Curtain, people stopped smiling, and for many years I believed that was true. Communism, I surmised, required a person to keep a straight face at all times.

I was wrong, of course -- it’s one of those childhood misconceptions that somehow takes on a life of its own -- but what I did find was a certain untouchability.

Prague is a stunning city, like a fairy tale, really, when you’re on the outside looking in.

On the inside, tourist masses move along the Charles Bridge like zombies, somehow cutting off access to the locals. So it was a struggle to connect, but once I found them, the locals were, well, they struck me as cold, unhelpful and practically unapproachable.

And I had to wonder if my childhood misperception was somehow prescient.

Maybe my judgment was clouded because the weather was dreary and miserable, although this was the height of summer. I still don’t know for sure. But it seemed to me that the older generation held onto that Iron Curtain mind set. I felt an East versus West vibe. I tried to start conversations only to be shot down with a grunt. One woman even mumbled something about how President Bush was the reason for all wars. I didn’t bother to tell her I am English.

My encounters with my peer group were better. I did manage to strike up several rewarding conversations with people my age, but to this day, I remember Prague as the City that Never Smiles.

2. Moscow

The capital of Russia is a magnificent city, especially the central district that houses the Kremlin and the famed Red Square, the centuries-old center of Moscow and home to the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral.

Legend has it that after the cathedral was completed in 1561, Ivan the Terrible ordered architect Postnik Yakovlev’s eyes blinded so he could never create a structure that would compete with St. Basil’s beauty.

The red granite stars still shine on the Kremlin tops and the eternal fire of the unknown soldier’s tomb reminds all who come here that for nearly a century a Soviet flag soared above the capital.

Today the flag is white, red, and blue, the flag of the new democratic Russia, a big player in the rich oil and natural gas market and modern real estate development.

Moscow is vibrant and cultured, but it has some problems -- problems that landed it on my list of overrated places.

First of all, Moscow is expensive. That’s not my imagination. Mercer’s 2008 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey found Moscow more expensive than any European city for the third consecutive year.

For instance, I paid 175 rubles, about $8, for a Starbucks latte and about $22 for one vodka Red Bull. A standard hotel room? Good luck finding something in the budget category.

The topper? The cab ride from the airport that cost me more than $150. Under other circumstances -- honest ones -- that should have been closer to $40, but I later learned I’d been ripped off.

And that was a big part of the problem with Moscow, from my perspective: Moscow has a bit of larceny in its heart. If you’re a foreigner and you don’t know what you’re doing (and isn’t that most tourists?), be on your guard. You may get taken for a ride, literally. (Based on my experience, I’d suggest that before stepping into a cab, you agree on a price.) Traffic is horrible, by the way, and seemed worse than L.A. and New York City’s rush hours combined.

But if you’re lucky and run into young, educated Muscovites as I did, you’ll have fun. My journey for Season 3 of “Amazing Adventures” took me from Paris to Moscow on 5 euros a day, and I had promised myself that on reaching Red Square, I would light up a cigar to commemorate the completion of my trek. While smoking my cigar I struck up numerous conversations with young Muscovites who showed great enthusiasm and interest in my journey. They seemed passionate, driven and outgoing. There was a real give and take -- not just a take as I had found with others.

1. Paris

Paris is, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular cities in Europe. Its rich tradition and history span the centuries. Great world figures ruled much of Europe from within its charmed boulevards.

And Paris is an architectural masterpiece. Tourists from all corners of the globe come to the city to experience its museums, cathedrals and the famed Eiffel Tower.

But, for me, the genius of Paris does not extend to its residents’ social skills. For some reason, the cultured and sophisticated Parisians seem unable to transcend the vaunted history and beauty of their beloved city. These locals are a proud bunch who suffer no lack of self-esteem.

Most of all, they seem to have an absolute disdain for those who speak English. French waiters seem never to want to speak with me in English, even when it’s clear they speak English as well as I. I know that trying to speak the language is part of the experience, and I do try. But apparently, listening to my French makes a meal far more entertaining.

Not everyone was quite as churlish. On a trip in May, I met a student named Pierre whose generosity and kindness transcended the stereotypes that Parisians have fought so hard to earn. He put me up in his uncle’s house and traveled with me down south to Toulouse. But Pierre, I’m sorry to say, seemed the exception.

So there it is -- my highly subjective list. You may not agree with it -- in fact, I’ll be surprised if you do. You can register your opinion at latimes.com/overrated.

I’m looking forward to the e-mails -- except maybe the one from my father, who, I am sure, is crafting his even now.

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travel@latimes.com

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Londoner Leon Logothetis made his foray into television on the Discovery Channel’s “Destination Future.” From there, he developed the series “Amazing Adventures of a Nobody,” in which he travels on $5 a day. His journeys have taken him around Britain, from New York to Hollywood and Paris to Moscow. Season 3 begins Jan. 25 on Fox Reality.