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

[VenerableFreed]

AIBU to ask what tourist sites you’ve visited that have genuinely lived up to expectations and have gone beyond them?

For me, it was seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper in person in Milan. I’m not particularly emotional, particularly about art, but it was genuinely moving to see the real thing. Visitor numbers were restricted, meaning you actually got a good look and there were no distractions. The setting, in a darkened room in an old convent, really helped too. It felt really intimate and special.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar. It was busy but with pilgrims not so many like us just tourists.
For us it is extra memorable, it was the original building before the Indian Army shelled it. Bastards!

Petra
Was there at sunset so it was just pure Arabian nights, magical.

A couple of China ones:

The Great Wall at Mutianyu. Spectacular views and walking and very few other visitors when we went. The other more famous section near Beijing, Badaling, can also be nice, but it’s harder to avoid by crowds (as it’s more convenient to get to).

The Terracotta Warriors: Seeing the 6000 warriors, horses etc in the biggest hall is incredible and awe inspiring.

I love history so am perhaps easy to please! My top ones are Ephesus, the Parthenon (first thing in the morning, before the crowds), the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat, Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, the Terracotta warriors in Xian ... and the best by far was Borobodur (I could go on 😂)

Taj Mahal is one of mine too. I’ve seen a million pictures of course and it did feel a bit like somewhere you just have to tick off your list of sights…but WOW. I was quite overcome. We were there for dawn and while it was still busy you could find quieter spots quite easily.

On a similar theme of “it’s one of the wonders of the world, obviously it’s going to be impressive!” - The Great Wall of China. You think you know what you are going to see but the actual experience of seeing it blew me away. I don’t know exactly how (we went early, it was a miserable rainy day, we might have gone to a slightly less popular spot or a less popular time of year?) but there wasn’t another soul there. I’ve seen so many pictures when it is thronged with tourists and I was so glad to be able to take it all in without being jostled by 100s of others.

Finally - Yosemite National Park was one of the most jaw dropping natural environments I have ever seen.

The drive through glencoe, stunning.

Vermeer’s view of Delft and Girl with a Pearl Earring in the Mauritshuis in Den Haag. Blew me away.

Niagara Falls (I know the town is tacky but the boat ride was great).

Top of the Rock, NY at dusk.

Monastery of the Jeronimós, Lisbon.

Canadian Rockies though busy.

Venice
Bhutan
The landscapes of Iceland (I was a bit underwhelmed by Reykjavik)
Easter Island - so many small, but interesting archaeological sites and a couple of great beaches.

I did a helicopter flight over the Canadian Rockies in April. Absolutely humbling and brought tears to my eyes.

Also the Grand Canyon, couldn't tear my eyes away and driving through the tunnel in Yosemite and seeing the valley for the first time.

The Houses of Parliament. Absolutely gorgeous inside. We booked the audio-guided tour and walked around at our own pace, ended up spending over 2 hours there - it was so informative and fascinating!

The Old City of Sana'a (Yemen) was incredible when DH and I visited about 22 years ago. Babylon (Iraq) was also amazing as was Persepolis (Iran). The Winter Palace (Russia) was beautiful, but not quite as awe-inspiring.

Obviously you can't go to any of them anymore, but it was incredible.

Prague, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Bruges.

Cappadocia.

The Pont du Gard. We did a tour and unexpectedly got to walk through the narrow Roman water channel at the very top, with 2 feet of limescale on each side.

Mont Blanc - just so big and beautiful. Apparently one of the most 'prominent' mountains in the world, including the Himalayas, as it's so much higher than its surroundings.

Would love to visit the American West canyons, national parks, deserts when DC is older and I feel brave enough to spend all the money! Also Corsica, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, NZ, central America...😄

The Lincoln memorial in Washington DC (Washington in general really). I was there on memorial weekend so it was v busy but is massive and built for crowds so it didn't hamper the experience, unusually. It just looked exactly like it was supposed to, if you see what I mean.

I live in London but every time I see the Rosetta stone I am blown away. Just imagining being the person who found it and slowly realising it was the key... to human civilization. Like the best puzzle ever.

This thread is really making my feet itch. September is such a tying-you-down month when you have kids!

Lascaux cave in France (I know it's the replica, but so perfectly done). Awe inspiring, like walking into a cathedral. Have been twice. Also some of the other sites in .france with prehistoric cave paintings.

Ahhhhh I've always wanted to go to Sana'a! It looks like nowhere else 😭

Petra and the Great Wall of china both absolutely blew my mind. The beauty and sheer scale of them is incredible

Also in the vein of places you can no longer go, Leptis Magna in Libya was absolutely incredible. Vast Roman sites and absolutely no one there

Cadiz Cathedral, been to lots of Cathedrals and Im not usually a huge fan but there was just something about it.
Also Picassos Guernica, I have seen it twice and was blown away each time

My recommendations feel a bit tame compared to some of these!

But I have visited Eden Camp and Beamish this year and found both amazing! Busy because it was summer time but it didn't really detract from the experiences because there's so much to see and do at both and I really enjoyed both.

Off to window shop on the internet at some of the amazing places mentioned here!

Sistine Chapel (didn't scream though), Palatine Hill, Machu Picchu (after climbing Huayna Picchu to look down on the ruins) just unreal, Ephesus (went as a moody teen and just loved it)

All of Rome! We went 'off season' so it was relatively quiet and easier to walk around than if it had been in the middle of the summer heat. Everyone was friendly, and we stayed about a 20 minute walk outside of the centre so food and accommodation was pretty cheap.
Also maybe not a super famous one, but Drachs Caves in Majorca were amazing. I don't really like caves or the dark and get a bit claustrophobic so I was a little apprehensive (lol) but actually it was amazing! Again, went off season so it was fairly quiet.

Another vote for the Taj Mahal, we arrived at 6 am.so it was peaceful and we were able to look around properly and take some stunning photos. By the time we left mid morning it was absolutely heaving and people queuing for photos on the famous bench etc.
I also loved Table Mountain and everything else in Cape Town, truly magical.

I really want to go to Beamish but none of my family are bothered!

All the Gaudi buildings in Barcelona
The Alhambra on a beautiful spring day
Vatican and St Peters are jaw-dropping. Sistine Chapel was disappointing.
Krakow Salt Mines - have to be seen to be believed.
The Castello in Ischia (nun's graveyard notwithstanding) - gorgeous views
Greco-Roman theatre in Taormina, Sicily - would love to see a show there.
The bat caves in Austin, Texas.
Old town Havana - Unesco listed. Crumbling but beautiful - would like to go back. Also Club Tropicana.
The Cinque Terre villages (before they got overrun with cruise ship tours)
Herculaneum - amazing how so much is well preserved - I preferred it to Pompeii in this respect.
Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.
Old Town Square in Prague - and the Charles Bridge. Most of Prague in fact - though it's mega busy these days.
Matera is on my bucket list.