Not really, but I couldn’t resist.
I’ve been there many times but my fave place is still the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. My second place finisher is the Trinity Atomic Bomb Test Site in New Mexico. Only once, and I don’t need to go back, but the history of that place made it a special visit.
My wife and I spent 3 weeks there 5 years ago. We are going back in December 2019/January 2020 for 8 weeks. Except for a week or so around Christmas with her cousin, we are renting a camper van and plan on visit both islands top to bottom.
Some years ago my wife talked me into taking a trip to Barter Island, Alaska to see the polar bears. A long trip from Anchorage, the last leg of which was in an airborne cigar. Had trouble landing because of heavy fog, and the “hotel” was a series of metal shipping crates welded together and called the Waldo Arms. The bus taking us out to where the bears could be seen reeked of salt water and whale blubber. But seeing the bears up close made it all worthwhile, and I would do it again.
Been to all 50 states. Most have something to offer. But I really love Texas!
Almost any city in Europe is great for people watching. The cafes of Paris being my favorite.
Was in Grand Cayman for several weeks last November/December. I could easily live there. Fantastic beach! But expensive as hell.
Belize kind of sucked. Wouldn’t go back.
Wasn’t too impressed with Madrid. Hope I like Barcelona better.
I loved northern Italy. Except now I’m reluctant to go back.
First of all, it’s nice to see you on the SDMB andygirl!
I’m not very outdoorsy and much of my traveling has been to cities. Bath, England and Bern, Switzerland are interesting just to walk around in because of their historic architecture. Bath and Bern’s central Altstadt (Old City) are both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
There aren’t major, world-class museums like the Louvre or anything in either city, but they do each have also some interesting smaller museums, like the Fashion Museum and the Jane Austen Centre in Bath and the Einstein Museum and the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern.
Holland, the Netherlands. Good food, good beer, pretty girls (and I don’t mean window shopping), plus most of the locals speak English. I’m true blue American - I speak 2 languages, English and bad English.
Wales. Good beer, mind warping language (but you can get by in English), lovely countryside. Some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met.
Germany. Good beer, good food (I like German food over French food, YMMV), mostly friendly people, lovely countryside, plenty of history, and the Autobahn. For a car guy, there’s no place better this side of the salt flats. Make sure to read up on the rules of the road. They can be real Naz… well, let’s just say they take lane control very serious.
Israel. The joke is ‘what is the difference between (British citizen of some type) and an American? The (British citizen of some type) thinks 200 miles is a long way, and the American thinks 200 years is a long time’. In all of Europe, I’ve been in spaces that were defined for hundreds of years. In Israel, spaces have been defined for thousands of years. There are other places in the world you can experience that, but not many.
In the good ol’ USA - hey, drive a coupla E/W interstates. From the mid-Atlantic to the left coast is about 3000 miles. That’s about the same as Lisbon to Moscow. One language, one currency, no customs, no passports, and, depending on the direction of travel, no checkpoints (California doesn’t allow some agricultural products to come into the state). I-40 for the desolation of the Southwest, I-80 for the farmlands and open skies of Wyoming (the sky is bigger there, don’t ask me how). Better food on I-40. Not that I-80 has bad food, but I-40 is just better. From BBQ to Tex-Mex, they get it right.
You mean the one from Facatativa? That was when, in the 60s? Must have been something.
Yes, in fact, we’ll be spending some time in both the Eje Cafetero and San Andres, starting next week.
Many parts of the Big Island are also non-touristy. It’s a great place for nature-lovers who like hikes and rugged scenery. I adore it!
Malta
Nice or Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
Monaco
Andorra
Gibraltar
Elba
Dubrovnik or Split, Croatia
Boston, Mass.
Savannah, Georgia
Liverpool, UK. Yes, even if you’re not a Beatles fan or don’t like football. It is a wonderful city, with a walkable city centre, great architecture, museums, pubs, food, and all for a fraction of the price you’d spend in London. Want a cathedral? They’ve got two and they’re very different. The Anglican cathedral was designed by a Roman Catholic and the Roman Catholic cathedral was designed by an Anglican. Heck, if you’re male, you can relieve yourself in a marble toilet at the Philharmonic pub! Do the gents toilets in the Philharmonic live up to the hype? - Liverpool Echo
Here’s a video showing the city.
Liverpool Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia - YouTube
Somewhere in New Zealand. Not Auckland, the South Island. Pretty much all of it.
Travel domestically for work: work has a few major offices around the country; I like the (rare, damn it) trips to Brisbane best. Our offices there are on South Bank, which is a whole restaurant/lifestyle strip: green lawns, the esplanade along the river, museums and galleries, the West End is only a few minutes’ walk. When I’ve had time, I’ve used the river ferry to get halfway out to the airport instead of train or taxi it’s a nice way to begin or end the visit.
Travel domestically for fun: I’d love to go back to Darwin for a bit, and explore some more of the national parks up there. Also far north Qld - we often head up there for a week or two in mid-winter (we live in Victoria where winter is a thing, but it doesn’t exist in FNQ).
Internationally for fun: aside from visiting family in the US, we usually do some Amtrak travel - we both enjoy the laziness of train travel. Road trips too - Blue Ridge Parkway was fun, and I’d love to go back that way again some time. And Florida - my husband used to live there before he moved here, and there are parts of it I really liked visiting.
Wilmington, NC. I can’t really pinpoint why but I really took a shine to it and I only spent 2 days there.
I wrote a super long post that got eaten so everyone should just go to Laos.
Not if my stuff’ll get eaten!
My criterion is a place I have been to which I have an itch to go back to.
Copenhagen
Stockholm - was only there for a few hours but loved it.
Berlin
The Hermitage in St. Petersburg Russia.
Oxford
London
Vancouver Island and Vancouver itself
and finally, though I’m from there, New York. My daughter is moving to Connecticut and I’m looking forward to hopping on the train to go back into the city.
I just spent a week in Hong Kong. I loved it, but I’m not sure I have an itch to go back yet.
Take a week long rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. Its a trip of a lifetime. If you think the canyon is impressive looking down, wait til you see it looking up! It should be plenty warm enough if you time the trip correctly.
Ocracoke Island. (I’m hesitant to even mention it for fear of ruining it.) Small village atmosphere. No chain restaurants, no chain stores, no movie theaters, etc. Good places to eat, not too expensive for lodgings, everything within walking distance, laid-back, nice beaches (if you have a 4WD and they are letting you drive on the beaches at the time), great for paddling, nice sharks (oops…skip that if you don’t like sharks)…
I would like to see Prague again, despite the horrors of getting there (I hate and fear traveling via mechanized object, it makes me blind sick with stress). But most likely, I won’t. I would like to go back to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, where I lived briefly as a teenager. That I will probably do, because now I live on the same side of the continent.
Maybe I’ll walk there.
You beat me to this. I took the weeklong trip starting from Bright Angel Trail and helicoptered back out near the Bar-10. It is impossible to describe the inside of the canyon to those who’ve only viewed it from the rim. I gave up trying.
Been to some of Europe, not my cup of tea. Ditto the Caribbean, just an endless stream of people reaching for my wallet.
I have a few favorites, and have returned many, many times to these.
