They get no respect.
At least, that's what travel writers think about these destinations. So much the better for the crafty traveller who can find a little slice of heaven away from the throngs.
Disneyland Resort/Walt Disney Studio Park, Paris
Why people ignore it:
A low-profile beach town, Carpinteria is in the shadow of Santa Barbara, its glamorous big sister, just 20km up the coast.
Why you shouldn't:
It's a charming, affordable family destination, where everyone can find something fun to do, less than 160km from Los Angeles.
The best place to start is a picnic table at the end of Linden Avenue, amid the dunes of Carpinteria State Beach. Bring a picnic basket, fire up a grill or buy take-out cheeseburgers and shakes from the Spot, a longtime favourite.
Spend the day at the beach, where you can sunbathe, jog, build sand castles, gawk at sea lions (bring binoculars), collect shells, scan tide pools for sea anemones and starfish, catch rides on gentle surf or just do nothing. Hiking the bluffs is another option.
You can also overnight in a tent or motorhome at the state beach or at one of the handful of reasonably priced (but not always cheap on summer weekends) hotels, such as the Best Western Carpinteria Inn and Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites. State campsites book up months ahead, especially for summer; so reserve early.
For a splurge, try Prufrock's Garden Inn, a B&B in a century-old house not far from the beach.
Info: California State Parks, 805 968 1033 (Channel Coast District), www.parks.ca.gov; City of Carpinteria, www.carpinteria.ca.us. - Jane Engle
Why people ignore it:
EuroDisney, as it was called when it opened in 1992, came in for a lot of criticism, especially in France, where the advent of an American-style theme park was seen as cultural imperialism. For its first 10 years, the park was in financial trouble.
Why you shouldn't:
Now Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studio Park (which opened in 2002) are the biggest tourist attractions in Europe, drawing 15,3 million visitors in 2008 with such rides as Rock 'n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Space Mountain Mission 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean, many more modern than the versions at Disney parks in the US.
There are seven places to stay (including Disney's New York and Cheyenne hotels), the Disney Village shopping and entertainment centre, and an 18-hole golf course.
A couple of days at Disneyland Paris might be a much-appreciated reward for little ones after being dragged through European museums and historical sites. Some Americans like it better than the Disneys in Florida and California because of its relative newness.
The Disney parks are in Marne-la-Vallee just east of Paris, linked to the city by the RER suburban train.
Air France and Eurostar (from London) offer all-inclusive packages, as do the hotels in the park.
Look for low-season rates mid-April to mid-July, mid-September to early December, and mid-January to late March.
Info: www.disneylandparis. co.uk/index.xhtml - Susan Spano
Sacramento, California
Why people ignore it:
Saddled with hot summers, a dysfunctional legislature and, earlier in 2008, a Depression-style tent camp, California's capital hardly seems like a holiday destination.
Why you shouldn't:
History, history, history. Sacramento is the real deal: a living museum of 19th century architecture.
Old Sacramento, an 11.3ha state park along the riverfront, is said to contain the greatest concentration of historic buildings in California.
Not far away, the Capitol, a splendid 19th century edifice replete with elaborate mosaics, has been lovingly restored and can be toured for free.
More than a dozen museums, historic parks and memorials dot the city. They include Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, with a reconstruction of John Sutter's 1839 adobe; the incomparable California State Railroad Museum, housing 20 locomotives dating to the 1860s; the eclectic Crocker Art Museum; the old Governor's Mansion; and the new California Hall of Fame.
Fans of vintage riverboats shouldn't miss the Delta King, a restored 1920s stern-wheeler that has been converted into a hotel, lounge and restaurant.
The King, a twin to the Delta Queen, which recently suspended overnight excursions, is moored along the Sacramento River.
Sacramento is a manageable city, with fewer than 500 000 residents and everything so close you can see plenty in a short time.
Info: Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, (800) 292-2334, www.discovergold.org. - Jane Engle
Kailu, Hawaii
Why people ignore it:
How does a community compete with Waikiki, which is nearly a straight shot from the airport, boasts a host of glitz and glam stores and hotels and some top-drawer restaurants? It can't.
Why they shouldn't:
The drive alone is worth it.
You take Hawaii Highway 61 out of Honolulu, climbing gently upward. Above the tunnels is the lookout, and on a clear day you can see Kaneohe and Kailua bays.
On any day, you can recall the battle that Kamehameha I waged in 1795 as he fought to unify the islands; here, it's said, about 400 of the enemy troops went over the cliffs - the Pali - to their death.
As you descend into Kailua town, you may be underwhelmed. It's the anti-Waikiki. It's so un-glam that you'll be tempted to turn around and go back. Don't. Drive to Kailua Beach Park and park yourself on the beach. Dip a toe or 10 in the ocean; it's bathwater warm and the waves are generally gentle.
Take a mental snapshot of the gently curving bay, the ironwood trees, the ocean lapping at the sand. It is a harmonic convergence of the senses and, as you drift off to sleep, you will know this is how Hawaii was meant to be experienced.
Info: www.kailuachamber.com. - Catharine Hamm
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
Why people ignore it:
Because, in the book of New England conventional wisdom, Cape Cod is where beautiful people go and Cape Ann is where cod fishermen come from.
Why you shouldn't: Because Cape Ann is not only a great stretch of rocky coast and one of America's oldest fishing ports (records date to 1623), it's also a cross-section of humanity, from blue-collar Gloucester to affluent Rockport.
For the historical big picture, check out the Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, and don't miss the sloop that Howard Blackburn, alone and fingerless, sailed from here to Portugal in 1901. (Better yet, go to learn the even more incredible story of how Blackburn lost his fingers in the first place.)
Edward Hopper painted here. Rudyard Kipling set "Captains Courageous" here. TS Eliot spent many summers in the neighbourhood, and from the late 1950s until his death early this year John Updike lived for half a century in Ipswich and Beverly Farms.
My mother spent every summer of her childhood in Cape Ann, creeping around Pigeon Cove and swimming in the flooded granite quarries.
Seventy-five years later, she keeps a framed nautical map of the area on her wall in Pasadena, California.
One more thing:
The most spectacular sunrise of my life so far was witnessed from the Captain's Bounty Motor Inn, 1 Beach Street, Rockport, in the summer of 1999.
Info: www.seecapeann.com, www.rockportusa.com. - Christopher Reynolds
Singapore
Why people ignore it:
This former British trading colony south of the Malaysian peninsula has a repressive reputation based on news reports that it censors movies, executes drug smugglers and even bans chewing gum. And it's not exactly around the corner.
Why you shouldn't:
Well, for one thing, you can chew gum in Singapore if it has a higher purpose, such as teeth whitening.
More importantly, for tourists at least, this international crossroads offers exotic food, lush scenery, diverse cultures, sophisticated shopping, world-class museums, an enthralling zoo and, of course, Raffles, arguably the world's best-known hotel.
A 19th century icon of colonial history, Raffles "stands for all the fables of the exotic East," author-guest W Somerset Maugham wrote.
Generations of presidents and princes have slept at the ornate hotel or slipped into its Long Bar to sip its signature Singapore Sling, a sweet, pink concoction. By day, the Tiffin Room also serves a delightful tea.
But you don't need a king's ransom to enjoy Singapore. Street food in city enclaves such as Little India is cheap and delicious.
Most costs, including transit, are reasonable.
Thanks to the country's mix of Malaysian, Indian, British and Chinese people and cultures, local restaurants are just the ticket to a trip around the world.
Be sure to sample Peranakan dishes, a blend of Chinese and Malaysian cooking.
Another don't-miss: the lushly landscaped Singapore Zoological Gardens and, next door, the Night Safari, where a tram takes you to see prowling tigers, dangling bats and other creatures after dark.
Singapore's people are friendly too.
Just don't do drugs.
Info: Singapore Tourism Board, www.visitsingapore.com. - Jane Engle
Cayucos, California
Why people ignore it:
Even though it's right on the coast, 33km north of San Luis Obispo and 21km south of Cambria, you hardly notice it from Highway 1.
Also, it's little (population about 3 000), and it doesn't have a university or art galleries or a hotel showcase street like Cambria's Moonstone Beach Drive.
Why you shouldn't:
Cayucos still feels like an old-fashioned, kid-friendly beach town, a place where you'd rent bikes, or go all day without shoes.
It has a pier and a broad sandy beach, and about 15 hotels, motels and B&Bs.
It also has a bunch of rental houses because for decades, people from the San Joaquin Valley have come here in summer to escape the three-digit heat.
Cayucos is within easy range of Paso Robles wine tasting, Morro Bay kayaking or Hearst Castle wealth coveting, or maybe the Thursday night farmers' market in SLO.
But you might just want to flop.
Maybe have a casual lunch at Duckie's Chowder House (55 Cayucos Drive, by the pier), or a fancy dinner at Hoppe's Garden Bistro and Wine Shop (78 Ocean Avenue).
Info: www.cayucosbythesea.com. - Christopher Reynolds
East-Central Wisconsin
Why people ignore it:
It is a relatively obscure area in what West Coasters refer to - often derisively - as "the heartland." In the nation's eye, this has always been America's dairy land, or a giant tavern for cheeseheads.
Far from major cities, it's not the sort of place you stumble across while travelling on business. The hip factor? Next to nothing.
Why you shouldn't:
This is a sparkling getaway amid tall trees and seascapes. Here, the air is sweeter and the beer is colder. It's what passes for "God's Country" in this long neck of the woods.
Recreation-wise, the region pulses with options: kayaking, fishing, white water rafting and great hiking. The area has thousands of pristine lakes.
The Door Peninsula, which juts into Lake Michigan like a thumb, should be on any traveller's list.
Once mostly a fishing destination, it now features enough shopping, dining and inn-hopping to keep this area bustling in summer with refugees from Chicago and the Twin Cities.
This particular area is a little Maine and a bit of Tahoe, but with far better fishing.
The highways along the bay, 57 and 42, lead to fish boils, old lighthouses and fields of wild flowers.
At the tip of the peninsula is heavily forested Washington Island.
Stop in Egg Harbour for breakfast, then push north for a ferry ride to the island.
Info: Wisconsin Department of Tourism, 800 432 8747, www.tourism.state.wi.us, or Door County tourist info, www.door county.com. - Chris Erskine
Flint Hills, Kansas
Why people ignore it:
It's Kansas and we get excited about Kansas only during March Madness, if at all.
Why you shouldn't: It's a funny place, Kansas.
A place people think should be driven through on the way to somewhere else, where endless kilometres of wheat fields are punctuated by the occasional house or barn but mostly tamped down by a whole lot of nothing.
But the Flint Hills are different. In spring, they're undulating carpets of green that stretch from northern Kansas to the Oklahoma border.
My favourite drive south-west from Kansas City takes you almost to the heart of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve just west of Strong City. It is but 5 000ha of what once was 60 million hectares of US prairie.
Millions of hectares in numerous states were farmed that probably shouldn't have been, leading to the environmental meltdown of the Dust Bowl years.
But here, the land is pristine, the last stand of tallgrass in North America. You can take short hikes in the preserve and experience some of the delicious desolation.
It is more fun, I think, to drive from Emporia on US 50, then to Kansas 150 and along US 56 and find a safe stopping point.
It is here, on a perfect spring day or a crisp autumn afternoon, that you know you have found the heart and soul of bluestem grass country.
You will hear nothing but the pure strain of a meadowlark's song or the sweep of the wind through the grass. You are alone in the quiet. It's a moment that you may wish could last forever.
Info: www.nps.gov/tapr and www.travelks.com. - Catharine Hamm
Naples, Italy
Why people ignore it:
No city has had a bad press like Naples, known for crime (petty and organised), toxic waste, poverty, unemployment and general dilapidation, not to mention last year's trash crisis when months went by without garbage collection.
Why they shouldn't: You have to be careful, selective and stoical when visiting Naples.
But to give it a pass would be to miss one of Italy's most intense cities, cleaving to the coast under Mount Vesuvius, gazing over one of the world's most beautiful bays.
Sights in the historic centre include the incomparable Museo Archeologico Nazionale, 17th century Palazzo Reale and teeming Spagnoli Quarter, home of the classic Neapolitan fresh mozzarella cheese pizza.
Commuter trains easily reach the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and ferries ply the Bay of Naples between the city and the fabled islands of Capri and Ischia.
And you can expect rates for accommodation and meals somewhat lower than in more popular Italian destinations such as Florence and Venice.
info: www.italiantourism.com/ campania.html. - Susan Spano
The Mississippi River
Why people ignore it:
Maybe because the Midwest and the South can get beastly hot. In summer, even some locals edge toward the coast.
Why you shouldn't: This river, which touches 10 states and covers about 4 000km, might be the single most vital artery in the American character.
Depending on which stretch of the river you choose, this is where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born (Pepin, Wisconsin), where Mark Twain was raised (Hannibal, Missouri) and where Louis Armstrong first picked up a trumpet (New Orleans).
If you visit in early July, you're bound to run into summer and Independence Day fairs, festivals, fireworks and all manner of fried foods. It's America, sweet and savoury.
You could fly to Minneapolis, then drive up to Lake Itasca (headwaters of the Mississippi) or Bemidji (where statues of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, have stood since 1937).
You could dip south to charming little Trempealeau, Wisconsin, or browse the prosperous shops and brick buildings of Galena, Illinois.
Or fly into Memphis, Tennessee, pay respects at Graceland, listen to a tune on Beale Street and flock to the big old Peabody Hotel for the ritual daily procession of ducks through the lobby.
Once you've done that, you could head south through about 650km of slow drawls, droopy trees and antebellum mansions, then pause for food and live music.
You'll be in New Orleans, a good town for that.
Info: www.experiencemississippiriver.com; www.roadsideamerica.com. - Christopher Reynolds - Los Angeles Times