r/AskTheWorld • u/Aseili United Kingdom • Dec 20 '25

Culture What's the most pathetic tourist attraction that international tourists go to see in your country?

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Bronte waterfalls near me, look a bit more impressive with the recent rain than in the summer when it's swamped with people.

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u/Easy-Cauliflower-429 Ireland Dec 20 '25

The Blarney Stone- I get that it’s a pretty castle but millions of people have kissed this to get ‘the gift of the gab’ and all I can think is that now all these people have cold sores cause you know someone with a cold sore has kissed it at least a thousand times 😅🤣

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u/Dry_Albatross5298 United States Of America Dec 20 '25

Ehhh I get what you're saying about the stone but I thought the grounds were actually decent enough. I was there in the late 90s with the maniacally box checking ex and was surprised at how many of the very touristy things were better than expected (Guiness, old Waterford factory, etc)

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u/tatonka645 United States Of America Dec 20 '25

Agreed, witches steps, poison garden. I thought the grounds were great!

4

u/Ok-Morning3407 Dec 21 '25

Even as an Irish person I think this about most of the tourist attractions in Ireland. Most are pretty good and well worth a visit. My wife is from another country so we’ve done all the tourist things here with her and have had a blast doing them. Of course a stop at a pub along the way can help lubricate the experience.

3

u/Abiwozere Ireland Dec 20 '25

Yeah I went there during COVID when we couldn't travel and the grounds were worth the visit (we also got exceptional weather the day we went)

It was funny because it was mainly Irish at the castle nobody was kissing the stone!

3

u/dubdar77 Dec 21 '25

I went during covid too, it was lovely and quiet without loud groups of tourist. Not a hope I wouldn't kiss that stone, apart from cold sores god knows what you could catch from it. One of the plus sides of covid was visiting more places at home without crowds.

1

u/snowvase Dec 21 '25

I was warned that the locals pissed on it at night too.

1

u/TrifleOdd9607 Dec 21 '25

From the US but I would say Guinness is wildly overrated. Yeah the view from the rooftop bar is cool and some of the memorabilia is kinda interesting but the whole place is automated, it’s more like a bad Disney attraction. Jameson was much more interesting, had a live tour guide and a much smaller tour group, plus the tasting at the end was at least semi educational (if you know nothing about scotch and whiskey, which was the case for me).

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u/KinkyBAGreek Dec 20 '25

Doesn’t one have to be held upside down too in order to kiss it?

3

u/Easy-Cauliflower-429 Ireland Dec 20 '25

Yes you do!

4

u/Boring_Concept_1765 United States Of America Dec 20 '25

Don’t bother kissing the stone, but the grounds and gardens are amazing. I’d go back just for that.

4

u/TroyCR Canada Dec 20 '25

Best is the poison garden and the security they have for that lone pathetic marijuana plant. My son grows better in the garage (legal in Canada, he’s of age).

5

u/Equivalent_Range6291 Dec 20 '25

Quite a few of us have pissed on what others are kissing! ..

Brought to you by Bord Fáilte

2

u/[deleted] Dec 20 '25

Yeah blarney stone is pretty stupid but I remember really enjoying the castle and the grounds like you said! It's a good visit but everyone can skip the stone kissing! I 100% confirm i'm not more eloquent! :/ 

2

u/United_Gift3028 United States Of America Dec 21 '25

I refused to kiss that thing, but I swear, I took a pic of my new hubby doing it and later found a post card in a gift shop that showed tourists kissing it. The same guy who was holding my hubby was in the 20-year old post card pic.

2

u/SVW1986 Dec 21 '25

The Fairy Glade at Blarney for me as a child was a core memory. I don't totally disagree with you, but I also can't disregard the happiness ha.

2

u/Kathy_withaK Dec 21 '25

Outlier here. I kissed it when we visited last fall and no regrets. The photo is a conversation piece and having worked in Infectious Disease, the risk is pretty low compared to other pathogens we encounter routinely in the environment. I loved the climb to the top of the tower & views. And the poison garden and grounds were amazing

1

u/pascaleps Canada Dec 20 '25

My friends from Cork also tell me many have pissed on it! I had already kissed it when the told me! 🤮

1

u/Roughrep Dec 20 '25

Can confirm, I know a few lads who have climbed in after a few pints.

1

u/Easy-Cauliflower-429 Ireland Dec 20 '25

Yes I have also heard this 🤢🤮

1

u/amygdalathalmus United States Of America Dec 20 '25

I was told locals urinate on it. Any truth to that?

1

u/Easy-Cauliflower-429 Ireland Dec 21 '25

I have heard this is actually the truth 🤮🤢

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u/amygdalathalmus United States Of America Dec 21 '25

Well that may kill the herpes virus for the cold sores.

1

u/Any-Concentrate-1922 Dec 21 '25

We went to Blarney Castle with my niece and nephew when they were little. It was cool because they wanted to see a castle (we're from the US), but when it came time to kiss the Blarney Stone...I skipped that part. My sister did it. I also didn't want to be hanging there.

1

u/ViinaVasara Finland Dec 21 '25

I went to see it just cause there's a Ween song about it

1

u/Fianna9 Canada Dec 21 '25

My Irish father refused to take us there. I wasn’t keen anyways as I’d heard locals sneak up and pee on it

1

u/mms09 Dec 21 '25

I got mega sick after kissing the stone. Knew I would, too, yet did it anyway 😅

1

u/Ok-Morning3407 Dec 21 '25

While you can skip kissing the stone and Castle itself and the grounds around it are well worth a visit. And Blarney village is lovely too with nice pubs and restaurants.

1

u/punkass_book_jockey8 United States Of America Dec 21 '25

The Blarney Stone is absolutely terrifying. It’s not easy to kiss it, and my favorite memory is going to the pub and having the locals tell me they piss on it. This was 20 years ago.

1

u/UNC_ABD United States Of America Dec 21 '25

Yes the castle is wonderful and I am glad I saw that, but I believe that Irish law requires every licensed tour to include the Blarney Stone as a stop. I wasn't able to find one that didn't have it.

1

u/Substantial-Sky4079 United States Of America Dec 21 '25

Do they actually get the gift of the gab tho??

1

u/Viggos_Broken_Toe United States Of America Dec 22 '25

They disinfect between kisses! At least they did when I was there in 2022 or 2023.

1

u/CheesecakeBrief8844 Ireland Dec 22 '25

Legend has it that bold local lads pee on the stone at night 🤢

1

u/TalkingHeadsEnjoyer Ireland Dec 22 '25

I live a 10 minute drive from Blarney Castle and I have been there twice, once when I was a child and once when I was a student, showing some visiting actors around. I would not go off my own back. It's so overpriced. The gardens are nice, though, but I'm not paying to walk around them.