What is the one spot on earth that took your breath away?

[ImInStealthMode]

Part inspired by a thread I just read about Switzerland and happy memories of beautiful scenes there.

What is the single most beautiful scene / spot / vista / landscape you've ever seen? Anywhere in the world. Pictures encouraged!

Mine (funnily enough) is not Switzerland but Bavaria. Lake Konigsee. So incredibly picturesque that it doesn't seem real.

(The Matterhorn reflected in a lake up the mountain from Zermatt is a very close second though)

Conwy, North Wales. Specifically the view from Conwy Castle's battlements looking out towards the boats bobbing on the sparkling water in the estuary.

And a view out to sea from a little village along the coast from Portmadog. North Wales again!

Hawaii... just the blue warm clear sea.
I swam out just a few meters from the shore and my hand passed over something the size of an old fashioned dustbin lid.... it was a turtle. It popped it's (rugby ball sized !) head up, looked at me and just kept swimming. Unbothered by me!
Hawaii was so beautiful,and protective of the creatures and , while the Grand Canyon was amazing... it's Hawaii I'd go back to in a heartbeat!

Halong Bay in Vietnam. I could cruise around those island forever.

I have travelled widely and there is only one place that literally made me gasp and that was the Grand Canyon. Extraordinary and somehow very spiritual. I felt the same vibe at Masada in Israel though it is not at all the visual wonder that is the GC.

Definitely Venice!

Also,
Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco
Taktshang Goemba, Bhutan
Anakena, Easter Island

Cromer

Perhentian islands, Malaysia. Until that moment I thought that white sands and tropical turquoise sea/sky photos must be digitally enhanced in tourism photos.

On route to my friend’s house the view of the Mournes is stunning (Co. Down, NI) every time in any weather (bar fog obscuring of course)

And Clare, I didn’t remember much from childhood but visited again as adult. The simple country magnificence was both a surprise and a delight.

The other place that felt otherworldly was a little known spot called the Mokohinau Islands off New Zealand. As we approached, a whale rose up in front of us 🐋

The water is crystal clear and filled with so many varieties of sea creatures. Fantastic snorkelling. Dreamy location.

Assyant Scotland. Unbelievable. Like CGI.

Looking along Lake Como from Menaggio towards Bellagio, though all of Lake Como is stunningly beautiful.

The caldera view in Santorini

The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

Lausanne, Switzerland. Parts of Germany also.

The view of the Torres del Paine mountain range across Lake Pehoé in Chilean Patagonia.

Moraine Lake
Larch Valley/Valley of the Ten Peaks
Maligne Lake
All in Alberta, Canada.

Isla Bartolomé in the Galápagos Islands.

Many years ago I arrived in Venice by train - walked out of an ordinary train station and there was Venice - I gasped.

The coasts of West Cork and Kerry are stunning to me every time I see them.

And yes, definitely also this! Especially in the wet season when the sky is reflected in the water on the salt flats. It's mind blowing.

Beaches of Pembrokshire and the Seychelles

The Alps in winter from many different ski resorts, particularly Mont Blanc and Matterhorn views

Flying over the Maldives in a sea plane

Colosseum in Rome. Every time I visit it takes my breath away. The vastness of it looming up as you exit the underground. The fact that it's thousands of years old and was built by men and no machinery.

Wengen- Switzerland- the depth of the Lauterbrunnen Valley with the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger in the distance are just breathtaking.

Israel. The top of Mesada, looking down at the Dead Sea. I'm not religious but it felt very surreal being that immersed in the Israel landscape.

Somewhere deep in the Sahara desert, at night, looking up at the stars. They looked so near, so sharp, like diamonds on velvet.

Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, Australia.
Never seen sand so white or sea so blue.

Varanasi, India, at dawn.
Life and death and calm and chaos altogether.

Sailing between Finland and Sweden. I can't remember the specific places now as I was only 14, but woke early after a night crossing and the went up on deck and it was simply stunning.

The sight of Mdina in Malta.

The Taj Mahal
The Grand Canyon
Niagara Falls
I will never, ever tire of walking from the train platform into the main concourse at Grand Central. My heart skips a beat every time