lazzarello

If you are in LA in the winter, go to the penthouse of the Huntley hotel in Santa Monica. It's often not crowded, there's no dress code and the view is spectacular.


Santa Monica by lazzarello, on Flickr

mbl

Cappadocia in Turkey from a hot air balloon as the sun comes up

conquistador

Lovely Pueblo Blanco in the hills above Marbella. Sat in the Bullring yesterday musing about what it would have been like to watch a bullfight with Ernest Hemingway and Orson Wells who both loved this place.

PhilBrown309

The Bija-Rim Nutmeg Forest on Jeju Island (off the south coast of Korea) was/is a wholly unexpected gem. I include it on my short list of favorite places I've ever visited (48 of the 50 US states and 15 countries on 4 continents so far). It is a unique multi-sensory experience (sight, sound, smell)...simultaneously beautiful, fragrant and tranquil. The ancient trees continually shed their bark, so the forest floor is a thick, sound-absorbing carpet. The only thing similar that I've encountered was at Mount Saint Helens the year after the eruption, where the ashfall created an eerily quiet atmosphere in otherwise wide open space.

Jac747

I have to say almost everything about Burma was awe inspiring but the plain of temples at Bagan was especially mystical and unique.

Also, Krak de Chevaliers in Syria and the souk in Aleppo.

rabble

I put together a list of links to most of the places mentioned, figured i wasn't the only one googling them. I was thinking of making it in to a blog post at some point. Lots of amazing places to go, i've been to about 50 countries, but missed a lot of them.


Colombia Tower Seattle - Better view of seattle than the space needle, no crowds, much cheaper too! http://www.yelp.com/biz/columbia-cen...deck-seattle-2


Hearst's Castle - San Simone, California. Crazy rich guy built an amazing estate on the california coast, his children turned it in to a state park.
http://www.hearstcastle.org/


The waiting room at LA's Union Station. Classic building, when train travel was the height of luxury.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Waiting-Ro.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Los_Angeles)



Cappadocia Turkey and the Underground city of Kaymakli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaymakl...derground_City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia



The Counterfeit Mall in Shenzhen China. 5 stories of counterfeit goods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luohu_Commercial_City


El Djem - Much more complete than the coliseum of Rome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Djem


Deir el-Bahari en Petra, Jordan. It's a hike, but it's an amazing stone monastery in the desert of Jordan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_el-Bahari


Koyoto Steam Train Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umekoji...omotive_Museum


Jökulsárlón, Iceland, Glacial Lagoon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6kuls%C3%A1rl%C3%B3n


Bioluminescent Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieques...uminescent_Bay

Suspended Monorail Train
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Schwebebahn

Meroë, Sudan, Pyramids on the Nile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB

Karnak, Egypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak

Lalibela, Ethiopia, Stone Churches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalibela

Škocjan Caves, Slovenia
One of the largest known underground canyons in the world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0kocjan_Caves

Kotor Bay, Montenegro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Kotor

Souk Market, Sana'a, Yemen,
http://wikitravel.org/en/Sana'a#See

Hội An, Vietnam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%E1%BB%99i_An

El Ateneo Bookstore, Buenos Aries, Argentina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ateneo

Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilulissat_Icefjord

Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Philippines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Hills

Lussier Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lussier_Hot_Springs

Registan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registan

Cinque Terre, Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni, Malta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypogeum_of_Hal-Saflieni

Bako National Park, Borneo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bako_National_Park

Golkonda Fortress, Hydrabad, India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golkonda

Hadrian's Villa, Rome, Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian's_Villa

Dazu Sculpture Caves, China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazu_Rock_Carvings

Salt Mine Cathedral of Zipaquirá, Colombia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Ca...Zipaquir%C3%A1

Tuamotu Archipelago, Polynesia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuamotus

Umm Qais, Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Qais

San Pedro de Atacama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_de_Atacama

Goblin Valley Park, Utah, USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Valley_State_Park

Conwy Castle, Wales, UK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conwy_Castle

Fish River Canyon, Namibia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_River_Canyon

Mount Yasur, Tanna Island, Vanuatu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Yasur

Ubirr, Kakadu National Park, Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubirr

Sedlec Ossuary, Bone Church, Czech Republic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

Salvador Dali Museum, St Petersburg, Florida
http://thedali.org/

Dachau, Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp

Ostia Antica, Rome, Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostia_Antica

Jiuzhaigou National Park, China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiuzhaigou_Valley

Severn Valley Railway, UK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Valley_Railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway, India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Mountain_Railway

Beng Mealea, Cambodia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beng_Mealea

Beqaa Valley, Lebanon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beqaa_Valley

Krka National Park, Croatia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krka_National_Park

Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

Bija-Rim Nutmeg Forest on Jeju Island, Korea
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/225

Krak des Chevaliers, Syria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay
http://www.flickr.com/places/Uruguay/Rocha/Cabo+Polonio

Southern Highway, Chile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carretera_Austral

Late Atitlan, Guatemala
http://www.flickr.com/places/Guatemala/Solola

TMOliver

For those enamored of ships and the sea, four worth visiting....

1. The quarterdeck of USS CONSTITUTION, Boston, on a wet, dark, foggy morning.

2. The full size replica of Phillip's royal galley, Admiralty Museum, Barcelona.

3. USS TEXAS, the last dreadnought, San Jacinto (Houston), Texas.

4. Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.

....And in the same dark mood that arises from visiting places like Dachau, a side trip to the little town of Cassino, Italy, to look up at the abby atop Monte Cassino, then to the nearby military cemetery.

chalcopis

The Marina Sands Resort in Singapore is an architectural marvel with its three towers and boat-shaped Skypark up 57 stories. The city view is breathtaking to begin with, but no more so near dusk with a severe thunderstorm blowing in just as the city lights begin to come on. Best of all, access can be free if requesting access as a bar patron at the Ku Dé Ta desk in Tower 1.

as219

Lots of good ideas in this thread!

Here's another: The Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweeden.

http://vasamuseet.se/en/

It's really one of the most awe inspiring things I've ever seen: A Sweedish war galleon from 1628 which, due to an engineering mistake, sank on its maiden voyage...only to be raised 300+ years later fully-intact. There's nothing else like it it in the world, and no way in words to convey the feeling of standing in the presence of this ship. An absolute must-see for visitors to Stockholm and, in my book, a reason in itself to go visit.

elliot

Cappadocia during a full solar eclipse. The valley is dark and the surrounding mountains are shining bright. Then a diamond ring appears in the sky!

eitheta

Yes. That counts as 'not widely known.' It seems I lived less than 350 meters from there, for three years, and I'd never heard of it til just now. I'd always thought it was just a church or something, and walked right by. Thud.

---Mr Oblivious

Brahmin

The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

travelmad478

Not widely known???

lo2e

While not a specific attraction per se, driving the A470 through the Snowdonia Mountains of Wales was absolutely stunning. Every new view was picturesque!

Bacc

Guanajuato, Mexico Don Quixote Iconographic Museum--no pictures allowed. A private collection donated to the city of objects ranging from a few inches to a stone sculpture of about 12 feet high. Fabric, clay, stone, mosaics, paintings, every craft and media imaginable depicting the characters in Don Quixote as well as Cervantes. It was unexpected and delightful.

Christchurch, New Zealand - their botanic garden -- highlights for me were the elaborate rose gardens including one devoted to roses with special fragrance as well as the conservatory which had the largest and most beautiful display of begonias that I have ever seen. I had to tear myself away. While you're there, stop at the cafe and have an iced coffee (their version is a ice cream soda with whipped cream - also unexpected as a diet drink).

Gore, New Zealand Old Mandeville Airfield, on State Highway 94, near Gore.Private airplane museum and airfield. The first Singapore Airline plane (awaiting restoration), perfectly restored WW1 crafts for the Red Baron, the Moth and many others. We were the only people there. The joy of slowly picturing yourself as the pilot of these beauties for a treat. Too bad it wasn't a day for flights.