MILTON Keynes has been the butt of jokes for years, and not long ago featured in the 50 worst places to live in the UK in a poll.
But it has been quietly remaking itself into a great city break destination for the last couple of decades.
While locals in the poll by website ilivehere slammed their hometown for being "a dismal commuter town" that they "loathe with a fiery passion," outsiders are taking a different view.
The number of quality attractions now available mean it has plenty to offer visitors, who may have been put off by its reputation.
In fact, holiday home site Independent Cottages put it right at the top of their list of underrated UK cities recently.
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One of the best-known attractions is Snozone, which picked up a 2023 TripAdvisor travellers' choice award.
The indoor ski slope is a place where people can learn to ski or snowboard on real snow, without having to trek up a mountain to visit a pricey ski resort.
The slope's website claims to have taught more than three million people how to ski or snowboard so far.
It has thousands of five-star reviews on TripAdvisor, with one writing: "Fantastic experience today! I completed a beginners ski course, amazing value for money, great teaching style and attention for all abilities in the group."
It's far from the only famous attraction in the city however, with the home of the World War II codebreakers, Bletchley Park, another travellers' choice award-winning attraction to visit.
The English country estate is best known for housing British Intelligence teams throughout the war, where they worked tirelessly to decrypt German communications, most famously the Enigma Code.
Their efforts probably shortened the war by at least a couple of years and certainly aided the Allied victory.
Like Snozone, thousands have given it top marks on TripAdvisor, with some describing it as "fascinating" and "worth every penny".
One wrote: "Spent nearly five hours here without realising that time had passed.
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"Thought I knew a fair bit about what happened at Bletchley from reading books but still learned a huge amount on top.
"Overall worth every penny and will definitely be back."
The National Museum of Computing and the Milton Keynes Museum, where the town's famous concrete cows can now be seen, show more of the city's heritage, while Willen Lake and the Centre: MK offer walks and shopping to visitors.
Families can also visit Woburn Abbey, a country estate with landscaped gardens and a deer park, while even more animals can be seen at the nearby Woburn safari park.
The Sun's travel journalist Hope Brotherton is a big fan of Milton Keynes.
She said: "Who doesn't love an underrated city? I've known plenty of people over the years who've skipped past Milton Keynes, but I wouldn't be so hasty.
"The city centre is somewhat of a shopping haven - and a great place to do some Christmas shopping. It's also a great hub for exploring other nearby attractions like Bletchley Park.
"Later this year, I'll be heading back to Milton Keynes for a spot of snowboarding inside Snozone, and I, for one, can't wait."
Other people agree too, with X, formerly Twitter, user Paul Lucas asking for users to tell him their underrated UK cities.
One simply named Tsungi put MK forward as his suggestion, as did another man called Brendan Joseph Madden.
Another X user called Stefen Von Lewisburg also praised the city, writing: "Milton Keynes... is it just me, or is this place underrated?"
Meanwhile, Dean Boddington wrote in 2021: "Tweet I never thought I'd write... We've just booked a mini break in Milton Keynes.
"We were looking for things to do within a 2 hour drive and realised there's so much to do so booked an overnight stay."
A man called Martin replied, saying: "Milton Keynes is underrated, so much to do there. Love the snow dome. We had my sons birthday there."
A night for two in Milton Keynes can be booked from £48.
Meanwhile, this underrated city has three beaches and the cheapest pints in the country.
And this unsung UK destination is home to Gordon Ramsay's favourite curry house.
