24 February 2023 , 16:11
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A Greek island famous for its gigantic ancient statues has been named the best, but most overlooked, place for a city break.
Rhodes - which refers to both the Greek island and its capital city - receives just 2.41 million visitors a year, yet has name recognition that far outstrips that number.
It is most famous for the magnificent Colossus of Rhodes statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, which was erected in the city 2,300 years ago.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to celebrate the successful defence of Rhodes city against an attack by Demetrius Poliorcetes, and stood towering over the port from a height matching the Statue of Liberty.
While the sun god sadly fell into the water during an earthquake, visitors to the Greek island have not left it feeling too disappointed.
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An impressive 38% of the attractions in Rhodes have been rated five star, including its famous medieval city, one of the best-preserved in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hippocrates Square in the historic Old Town of Rhodes, Greece (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Based on the high proportion of excellent things to do, the island was ranked number one in Bounce Travel's list of the best underrated places to visit.
Another of the key points of attraction for Rhodes is its spectacular coastline - in fact, we've previously rounded up some of the best beaches in Rhodes that you'll want to add to the wishlist.
The Greek island has long been a hit with Brits for holidays, and thanks to its popularity there are deals to be found.
For example Loveholidays offers packages from £149pp, while easyJet has flights from £20.99 each way based on a London Gatwick departure.
In second place in the rankings is the Moroccan city of Marrakech, which receives just over three million visitors a year, with 55% of its attractions being deemed worthy of five stars.
Marrakech's ancient medieval central quarter draws people from across the world, as well as being well known for being luxurious with its famous palaces, five star hotels and restaurants and luxury spas.
Marrakech is an enthralling city (Getty Images)The Mirror recently visited the city to produce a guide of what to do and things to look out for, including Marrakech's famous cat population.
Tied with Marrakesh, with slightly fewer visitors but also similarly fewer highly rated attractions is Porto, in Portugal.
Visitors to Portugal often flock to the capital Lisbon, but the impressive bridges, candy-coloured houses, and of course the local port wine make Porto well worth a visit.
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Of the 1,310 things to do that are listed on Tripadvisor, 473 of them are rated five stars.
On the flip side of things, the most overrated place to visit was Paris, France.
Famously the Capital of Love is such a marmite place that the disappointment it tends to instil in Japanese visitors is a recognised syndrome.
Porto is quite beautiful on a summer's evening (Getty Images)Paris receives more than 19 million tourists a year, but just 19% of its attractions are rated as being of five-star quality by visitors.
Common criticisms levelled at Paris related to the high prices, crowds, and concerns over cleanliness.
New York also comes in for a bashing in the study, which found 23% of its 5,596 things to do are five star.
Continuing the theme of large cities doing poorly, London was ranked as third worst, with a quarter of its 8,366 things to do receiving the highest rating.
To view the rest of the destinations included in the rankings, visit Bounce's website.