Trading taste for tat: The world's 10 tackiest streets

Las Vegas Boulevard

Where? Las Vegas, USA

Also known as The Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard is where most of Vegas' gigantic casino resorts line up. As a spectacle, it is awesome. A rollercoaster runs through New York, New York. The fountains dance outside the Bellagio. A replica Eiffel Tower soars above Paris. It looks incredible, but the experience of attempting to walk down The Strip is somewhat tawdry. Hundreds of people handing out leaflets for strip clubs don't exactly help.

The Shambles

Where? York, England

Over the years, this medieval street has gained a reputation for being the prettiest in England. Cobbled streets and crooked old buildings make for great photos. Unfortunately, it has bought into its own myth, and the old-fashioned jewellers are starting to get crowded out by shops selling scarcely-disguised Harry Potter knock-offs. How many wizard outfitting stores does one street need, exactly?

Bourbon Street

Where? New Orleans, USA

The historic heart of New Orleans' French Quarter is heaving with bars. Unfortunately, most of them are the sort of bars frequented by people who use 'party' as a verb. Bourbon Street is loud, gaudy, lit with neon and very often a bit fighty. Now, this can make for a great night out if you're up for it, but there's a nagging feeling that it all leans too far into enforced fun.

La Rambla

Where? Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona's famed pedestrian street shot to fame with its flower stalls, pavement mosaics and the Boqueria market. But the undeniable charms brought crowds, and the sort of ahem, entrepreneurs, who are drawn towards crowds. Bad souvenir shops, hordes of human statues and notoriously prolific pickpockets are all part of the Rambla experience. It's also pretty seedy at the southern end, which becomes a red light district at night.

Temple Street

Where? Hong Kong

There may have been a time in the dim, distant past when stalls at the Temple Street Night Market sold items that were either high quality or of use to local people. That is certainly not the case now, however. The Temple Street Night Market is shamelessly pitched at the sort of tourist that is suckered into buying any old junk on holiday. It's also the place to go if you've felt like you've had too much personal space in Hong Kong so far, and want to feel hemmed in like a battery chicken.

Karlova

Where? Prague, Czech Republic

Connecting the famed Charles Bridge to Prague's Old Town, Karlova is actually rather beautiful. There are a series of churches along it, complemented by several other handsome old buildings. Good luck actually taking them in, though, as Karlova is absolutely heaving with tourists. Waiting like bears on a salmon run for said tourists are cheap souvenir merchants and junk food purveyors.

Stradun

Where? Dubrovnik, Croatia

Falling into much the same trap as Karlova is Stradun. It's undeniably fabulous, with gleaming polished stone underfoot and climbing the walls of the churches and hotels that line the route. Stradun is made for processions and promenading, and it is at least wide enough not to feel like you're being kettled. But the sheer weight of tourist numbers makes Stradun hard to love.

Hosier Lane

Where? Melbourne

Australia's contribution to the tacky street collection has a lot to commend it. Hosier Lane is the laneway that first drew international attention to Melbourne's street art scene. And there's still some good street art there. The problem is that there's plenty of half-hearted stuff and mindless tagging, too. The location has become a prize to claim, rather than a good spot to express. The rest of the world has heard about Hosier Lane's reputation too, so it fills with phone camera-wielding tourists who could see much better art in some of the other Melbourne laneways.

Disclosure: David Whitley has been a guest of the respective tourist boards in Edinburgh, Las Vegas, Prague, York and Melbourne.

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