What's the most fascinating place you've ever been?

[ImaLumberJack]

Just read through the disappointing famous places thread, and it got me thinking of the morning at interesting places. For me, it's either Siem Reap (especially Angkor Wat, but all kinds of other things too) or Rome (which made it onto the disappointing thread a few times ). How about you?

It is so interesting Barbara

Kirby Hall near Corby, beautiful dereliction

We were there earlier today and totally agree. It’s beaten by Witley Court, however.

Kirby hall and Whitley court are lovely.

I forget the name now but those little islands off Merseyside that you can sometimes walk to.

South eastern Wyoming along the highway (I think US 287) from Jackson Hole to Denver. The landscape is bleak and completely alien, with scrubby bushes and windswept grasses, and occasional low, rolling, beige hills on the horizon. There were eagle nests in the telegraph poles and herds of antelope here and there, and incredibly long trains with hundreds of wagons loaded with coal. It's not a destination but a place you drive through and hope you don't get a flat or engine trouble.

Also loved Paris, and the Inagh valley in Connemara.

Mayan ruins at Tikal in Guatemala. But also agree with many others about London. wandering around the back streets of the City on a Sunday is amazing.

Tokyo, actually Japan in general- completely incredible

I expected Death Valley to just be a drive through flat salt plain type landscape. In reality it blew my mind, so many different and weird landscapes, I will never forget it.

Agree with mmgirish re Myanmar. (Burma).
Bagan with it’s thousands of temples at sunset was magical.
And Inle Lake, where villagers live on the water in stilted houses and travel around by boat. And beautiful beautiful Mandalay.

Just yesterday we went to puzzle wood in the forest of Dean and it was absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe somewhere like that exists in England, it felt like we were in a rainforest. It genuinely made me feel a bit emotional to be somewhere so beautiful and I have never felt like that about anywhere. It was the inspiration for Tolkiens middle earth and I could see why. I can't wait to go back again. Here's a few of my amateur photos that really don't do it justice.

New Orleans. The music, the vibe, the crowded streets, the friendly people - just amazing.

It wasn't the most fascinating place but I fell in love with Lisbon when I went there. I loved the trams and it was just such a lovely, fun and historic city. I went before it was spruiked to tourists though.

The amazing place was Arnhem Land and around abouts including Kakadu. It was totally out of this world and amazing.

I loved Athens, Rome, Iceland (totally agree with PP's description, the feel of the place is so different) and a day trip to Pompeii was amazing.

I'm compiling a list based on all these answers. I love travelling.

I really didn't like New Orleans Clawdy. The scammers and feeling unsafe most of the time was not pleasant. Being a Tennessee Williams fan I had always wanted to go there. We stayed in the French quarter and found it very interesting. But the feeling unsafe and constant efforts of people trying to fleece us really spoiled it. (We went in 1990).

Oh right tapas, that's a shame. We went in 2011. Hopefully it's changed a bit!

Adore These threads!

Agree with Rome, Venice on fascinating!

Also Marrakech doesn't really get more fascinating. Totally different way of life, Very medieval in some respects, then all the traders... Very raw and basic. .
On top you have aromas, sights and sounds, colours etc and then the stunning bars, design etc.

I love Athens. Rome, Venice and Florence I could visit every year, in fact most of Italy feels like home.

I loved Philadelphia, it just mesmerised me, and Washington DC.

The DC's favourite place on earth is New York; we went a couple of Christmases ago and while DH and I could take or leave it, the DC take about it often.

The valley of the kings, luxor.

Berlin. Every street is a piece of history and I don't think I will ever tire of it

Agreed.

And Rome and Dublin - both full of history.

Plain of Jars in Laos. Utterly surreal. Also, really hard to get to.

Namibia. An unbelievably beautiful country, safe (other than being charged by elephants etc) and very much unspoiled by tourists and development.

Cambodia. Some bits were grim and lots of tourists but Angkor Wat and the temples really did feel like walking into a magical, alternate reality.

Love this thread btw OP!

I loved Casper in Wyoming USA and also Vashon Island.
Casper is like proper small town America and Vashon is just beautiful.
Japan is amazing. Just so organized and different to anywhere else I've ever been.
I do like the big sites like Angkor Wat and the colosseum but I'm much more interested in exploring towns and seeing how people live today. The day to day things really. I love sitting having a beer/coffee and watching the world go by.

Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba

Valley of the Kings. Inside a 3,000 year old tomb with paint as bright and fresh looking as if it was done last week. Amazing.

Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba

I agree - go early morning just after opening to avoid the crowds and it is surreal.

Hong Kong, amazing place, old, new, food, people, markets, ferries, just everything you could imagine and more in a tiny area.

Yosemite, for the breathtaking scale of everything, amazing.

Grand Canyon, absolutely breathtaking. We spent a few nights in a lodge in the village there, most amazing experience of our lives. Both DC cried when it was time to leave (they were 6 & 9 at the time)

The red rocks of Sedona in Arizona were stunning too, I wish we had longer there but only had a morning to explore.