TL;DR: Popular tourist destinations are crowded during peak season, except for an exclusive island, which sucks because it doesn't have a lot going on.

No shit, Sherlock. By the end I was just hate-reading / hoping you're just being Debby Downer to get clicks.

The one of those places I've been the most is Venice (only a long day's drive from where I live). You can chose to see it as a super romantic historically significant city of discovery. You can choose to see it as a crumbling Eastern Europe inner city with flooded streets. Or neither or both.

In a 2025 world of 10 bazillion YouTube videos, Reddit posts, etc. you almost have to work at not knowing your tourist destination and what to expect.