To ask what tourist sites you’ve visited that met or exceeded expectations?

I’m definitely going to see this when the British museum steal it display it

Macchu Piccu in Peru. It was many years ago that I went and trekked the Inca trail to get there but it was awe inspiring to see it rise out of the cloud forest

More recently I would agree Venice. I had low expectations but in fact it is magical. We arrived by train as the sun was setting and catching a vaporretto to the hotel was just gorgeous.

Oh gosh yes Matera is absolutely wonderful. If you’ve not been go go go while it’s still not absolutely thronged. I think all of Southern Italy and Puglia is rapidly rising in popularity. Make sure you stay overnight because it’s absolutely worth seeing at night, dawn and dusk.

The Salt Mines near Krakow. They were unlike anything else I have encountered or am aware of, and it was well organised when I went this summer.

The Picasso Museum in Paris. I'm not normally a fan of Picasso. I don't like Paris. But even I have occassionally considered doing a day trip to Paris (I am in London) in order to see the Picasso Museum again with minimal contact with Parisiennes. It is an oasis unlike anything else I have experienced.

I can't wait to take my son to Park Güell in Barcelona and I am trying to plan a trip for next year. It would be good to see where they have got up to with Sagrada Família since I last went 20 years ago too.

Forgot about the crown jewels in Tehran. In fact most of Iran. Amazing place, or could be.

Malham Cove and the limestone pavements. 911 memorial pools and museum. The Colosseum. Most of the Cornish coast. Mont Saint Michel. The Menin Gate. The Silver Sands of Mallaig. The Edge NY.

Cappadocia. It was a bucket list trip for me and didn't disappoint. Watching the hot air balloons go up at dawn was absolutely breathtaking - like being in the Microsoft screensaver!!

Venice definitely - we stayed across the lagoon in Lido which was lovely and visited Murano and Burano - been twice and would love to go back again
Not a tourist attraction but Auschwitz moved me far more than I imagined - we got up very early and did a private visit before any of the tours arrived which allowed us to wander freely and take it all in quietly
Salt mines are unbelievable!
If anyone is interested in WW1 history the Thiepval memorial on the Somme is worth a visit - it’s the main memorial for those who have no grave

I've been to the Pyramids and Sphinx three times - always blown away by their mahoosiveness. Also love the way they're surrounded by very busy city.

Everyone goes on about how Santorini's overcrowded and I'm sure it is in high summer. We went in April, the weather was a bit dodgy but it meant we could do stunning long walks across the island without overheating and eat in any restaurant we chose without booking and faff. And some days it was really hot and we stayed by the pool, looking out at the caldera all day. I loved it, it was gorgeous.

Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, completely awesome.

Everything in Iceland - so beautiful and other-worldly

1. Vatican
2. Great Barrier Reef
3. Nürnberg
4. Prado in Madrid
5. Melbourne zoo
6. Ningaloo reef in Western Australia
7. Hong Kong harbour views at night
8. Krakow
9. Sphinx
10. Kiyomizudera in Kyoto

I'm adding to my list from the posts here and will have to remortgage to do everything I want to do! Just shows you that experiences rather than "things" bring lots of joy.

My favourites for the jaw drops are -

The unexpected and stunning view of the Grand Canal when exiting Santa Lucia train station in Venice. OMG.

The Winter Solstice at Newgrange in Ireland. (Got tickets in a lottery).

The Hypostyle Hall, Karnak, Luxor (I saw it in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile and swore I'd see it and I did, totally lived up to expectations).

Mont St. Michel. Seeing it in the distance peeking above the clouds was just, well.... something else. Went in late Autumn so quiet enough there.

The military cemeteries in Normandy. Words fail me.

The Mezquita in Cordoba, and the Alhambra, again in late Autumn, so easy to get a good look.

The Isle of Iona. So spiritual, even to me a total non believer.

The Forbidden City Beijing. Much better than the Great Wall.

Off the top of my head... The Grand Canyon has to be up there. People are always "oh, it's just a big hole in the ground", but honestly, the sheer scope of it is incredible, and it just comes at you out of nowhere. It's hard to believe it's real.
My other one is Pompeii. It's been on my bucket list since I was a morbid little kid, who saw some of the plaster cast bodies in a book. We got there really early when it wasn't too busy, it was a lovely sunny day, and it was just incredible. I just walked around it the whole time thinking, "I can't believe I'm finally here."

Venice. Oh my god I couldn't believe it, no photograph or film comes even close to the reality.

Alhambra, Taj Mahal, Hampton court, Ancient Messene in the Peloponnese so quiet and in the most beautiful setting.

Not a site exactly but the museum at Hiroshima. Truly affecting.

We are so wonderfully blessed in the UK to have so many places to visit, both man made and natural. I love Dartmoor esp with all its Myths and legends. All the stone circles we have linking us to our past. We have places like Stratford if we want to visit places linked to perhaps the most famous writer in history, castles showing off our past, castles like Tintagel showcasing our myths and history ineverywhere we go there’s churches and cathedrals, almost universally stunning, showing our past on a societal. Individual and spiritual level. Museums showing off out development as a society, gallaroes showing off our art. Some of the best countryside and coastlines in the world. Places showing our culture as leaders in the arts, technology and innovation, We are just spoiled for choice.

Then just a short journey away, we have the stunning sites of European cities like Barcelona, Copenhagen, Florence, Rome, Budapest etc places and sites that reflect the journey we have made through the centuries. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such beauty and wonders

Cologne cathedral.

When you exit from the underground escalator at main train station it is right in front of you and the scale of it is just WOW. My usually silent teenage DS was even impressed.

The Great Barrier Reef from the air - the photos that I thought had been badly touched up, weren’t. It’s breathtaking.

Muang Ngoy and Nong Khiaw in Laos and the river trip to get there was incredible. The boatman and the 2 of us were the only people on the river for miles. It was beautifully serene and the mist made it other worldly.

Iguazu Falls. Not just the falls themselves but the walk through rain forest on the Argentinian side to get to the Devil’s Throat part. Seeing a caiman (small crocodile) asleep at the side of the path, exotic butterflies, cormorant swimming under water. The Devil’s Throat was incredible. We got soaked through and bone dry again within minutes.

Petra in Jordan as well. So much more than just The Treasury.

My DD is obsessed with finding a lost Fabergé egg (😂). I hope it's possible to visit the Russian collection again some day. What was it like?

Me too - wasn't sure what to expect, but it is seriously impressive. I was also surprised on how quiet it was.

The Death Mask of Tutenkamon in Cairo
The Sistene Chapel in Rome
The Faberge Egg Collection in Moscow

It was absolutely beautiful and the people were so lovely. And because it was so long ago, it was 'core memory' type travel rather than taking lots of photos on your phone that you don't really remember taking. Words really cannot do it justice.

DH speaks Arabic, so we were able to do it without a guide and really immerse ourselves. We don't travel really these days (work/dogs) but we have colleagues who work either in or on Iraq/Yemen/Iran and none of them have been able to do what we were able to do because of conflict and/or security, so we were incredibly lucky.