Maybe more powerful than beautiful, but an image that always sticks with me is standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower and looking up, and being struck by the enormity of the structure and the heavy, strong metal beams. You see the Eiffel Tower represented so much in literature and in media while you are growing up, and then, when you are standing right there under it, it is just breathtaking.
At least it is in my opinion. I’ve been there 3 times, and got the same feeling every time. |
Grand Canyon (literally took my breath away)
Yangshuo, China (those karst hills and rivers) Cappadocia, Turkey (Rose Valley in particular) Charles Bridge, Prague (history and the picturesque setting) |
Wadi rum
Glendalough, Ireland |
The Gulf of Corinth view from Delphi
Aigua Blava in Spain |
Lake Louise in February.
I'm not a cold weather person, but it's just stunning. |
So many to list, but off the top of my head...
* Alaska, in general, but specifically, the road to Valdez * Icefields Parkway/Banff/Jasper * Glacier NP, but specifically the Grinnell Glacier trail * Blue Lakes hike near Telluride * Eastern Sierra area of California * Udipur, India * Maldives - the water, specifically. Just amazing * Sunsets/Sunrises in East Africa * Uganda countryside, in the mountains. Treacherous roads, but omg, it's beautiful |
Grand Canyon
Tetons - we went hiking somewhere and the light at dusk with the deers and water - it was a scene I never want to forget Lake Louise/Banff Usually, when you are around nature, it'll be beautiful. Without people around that is ![]() I loved driving Hwy 1 on CA coast from SF to Big Sur in my 20s with my old roommate. Carmel by the Sea is a beautiful town. |
La Pelosa Beach in Sardinia (jaw dropping)
Watching a meteor shower over Lake Louise at night Seeing the stars at the top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. |
The Adirondacks in summer and fall. I have great memories from my teenage years that not much else has topped. I'm hoping to go to Dolly Sods in peak fall sometime to get a hit of that northern autumn feel again.
Southern Alaska is also beautiful and i want to spend so much more time there. Coastal southern Greenland and Iceland as well. I second Lake Como. And the first time I saw the Caucasus mountains it took my breath away. I guess I'm predictable - give me a big mountain with snow and it goes on my list. |
The Amalfi coast
Bermuda |
Milford Sound in New Zealand |
It makes me happy to see so many national park mentions here. That’s what it’s all about. |
For the PP who mentioned the road to Valdez, do you think it would be worth doing if we could only do half of it? It would be a day trip from Anchorage and my kids will kill me if I make them spend much more than 7 hours in a car. |
This plus Swiss Alps and Lake Como. |
Hawaii
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