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.

Manhattan - I almost cried as our taxi (yellow, obviously!) from JFK emerged from the other end of the tunnel and I could see the NY skyline ahead of me. All my years of watching American romcoms came to life!

Glencoe - like being in another world.

Milford and Doubtful Sounds - New Zealand. Just unreal.

Great Barrier Reef.

Ones I haven't visited but would love to - Taj Mahal, The Alhambra, Auschwitz and the Salt Mines.

Came here to say Florence. I think about it all the time. David is breathtaking but my personal highlight was Boticelli's The Birth of Venus and Spring in the Uffizi. They just glow in a way that I can't even describe. We went really early in the morning, when it's less crowded.

Tintern Abbey is just beautiful, for one in the UK. It's so vast, and because its a ruin, the silhouette of the building against the sky is majestic.

We went to Japan and spent a night near Mount Fuji; it had been cloudy the day before and we couldn't see it, but I woke early and looked out the window and it was just there in the morning sunlight. Breathtaking.

This was a lovely thread! So much I want to see now.

Rome was out of this world but I went at the wrong time of year for me and was way too hot to fully enjoy it.
Glencoe in Scotland is astonishing and literally a must-see.
Edinburgh is the best city on earth.
I loved seeing the Mona Lisa. The buzz around it and entering the room where it's displayed was electric.
Chatsworth House is an incredible stately home.

Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan were incredible places to visit. In fact all of Jordan was amazing and because of the Israel/Gaza situation there were very few tourists. The people were so pleased to see us and we were upgraded nearly everywhere we went because of so few tourists. I felt sorry for the Jordanians being stuck in the middle of the conflict.

The Pantheon in Rome. Absolutely perfect piece of architecture. You used to be able to walk in and out for free but they've now started charging a fiver for entrance. Well worth it, but the real beauty of the building is sitting in the piazza outside and watching how it changes with the light.

Pembroke Castle!

Thank you. I used to live in Cairo but never made it to Luxor or Aswan!!

Grand Canyon and the Colosseum

Oh gosh yes I forgot about Matera - stunning 😍

As a side note, is anyone else googling all of the places they've not heard of / been to and adding them to a bucket list?? Or just me?! 😂

Agree, the salt mines in Krakow were more amazing than I imagined. We’d like to go back one day with the DCs. I think they would love it.

I loved Top Of The Rock, NYC. We went up late afternoon in the winter, it was really clear and the sun was starting to set, not many people up there, the city lights twinkling, the colours of the sky, the views, I felt in awe tbh. Most things in NY had me starstruck though. I loved Brooklyn Bridge too and the views from Dumbo at night were magic.

Many places in Vancouver. The Capilano suspension bridge and Grouse mountain - wow!

That's such a shame - I loved Luxor - though it was nearly 30 years ago I visited!

Not a far flung exotic location but for me I was blown away by The Royal Society in London. Went there through work and whilst I am not scientifically minded at all, I was blown away by the interior and the history of it, knowing that some of the UK's greatest minds were in those rooms and what they achieved.

The Forbidden City in Beijing is absolutely breathtaking in its sheer size and history.
I also loved the walled city of Pingyao in China.

The Daereungwon Tomb Complex in Gyeongju, South Korea. Absolutely stunning, trees reminded me of Sycamore Gap. Green, clean, beautiful and quiet.

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.

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

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

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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