43 Tourist Attractions that We Actually Loved!

Have you ever left a tourist attraction feeling, well, “meh” about your visit? There were a handful of places that left us scratching our heads, wondering why they was so popular. Expectations play a huge role in how much we enjoy an experience. Sometimes a tourist attraction just doesn’t live up to how we imagined it would in our heads. But on the flip side, sometimes underrated sights surprised us and became a new favorite!

Below are 41 of our favorite tourist attractions throughout Europe and Asia (and one in Africa too!)…

1. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM (LONDON) - “Hope” (the blue whale skeleton), the dinosaur wing, a room full of gems… our kids adore this museum so much that we visited twice. (More on our trips to London here.)

2. STONEHENGE (UK) - Walking amongst these structures in the early morning sunrise light is just magical. It was the first of many “how lucky are we” moments during our travels. Stonehenge might have not even made this list if we had visited during the normal hours. Our Stone Circle Access tour made the experience memorable. (Read about it in our Stonehenge at Sunrise post).

3. LAKE BLED (SLOVENIA) - A storybook-worthy church on an island in the middle of a lake. I can’t believe that this setting was the backdrop of our summer photos. We enjoyed camping at the lake and all of the nearby activities like running the trail around the lake, hiking, climbing up the church’s bell tower, and a trip to the town’s indoor pools and saunas. (Our Slovenia camping post covers some of the fun.)

4. LJUBLJANA CASTLE (SLOVENIA) - We visited many castles during our travels and this one is at the top! The kid’s loved completing the dragon challenge and following the audio tour. They learned so much! We enjoyed all of the exhibits and even ate at the restaurant twice. Both the hike and the funicular to the top are fun too! (Find out more about our visit in our Ljubljana Travel Guide.)

5. MUSÉE D’ORSAY (PARIS) - Paris has some fantastic museums. Sans kids, I could visit both the major museums and also the countless, smaller museums all day. But as a mom, I knew that my kids would enjoy Musée D’Orsay most. So many statues and art that they recognize, all within a beautiful, preserved train station building. (Our entire Destination Guide : Paris post is here.)

6. EIFFEL TOWER (PARIS) - Liv was not going to leave Paris without a trip to the Eiffel Tour. I love anytime the kids can take in a city from above. They loved pointing out places that we visited throughout the day as much as they loved getting a new, pressed penny for their collection!

7. CAROUSELS IN PARIS - Second to the Eiffel Tour was a ride on the carousel. The one they rode near the Eiffel Tower was more modern but the setting cannot be beat. But there are still hand-crank carousels in the city. Now I’m contemplating if we can plan a return visit while they’re still young enough to enjoy a ride on one!

8. MONT-ST.-MICHEL (NORMANDY) - This tidal island and its dominating church on top was a sight that I hoped to visit within my life. I’ve dreamt (and still do) to complete the pilgrimage by crossing the sand at low tide. But even a day trip to the island (by bridge) was a cherished moment. We wandered through the town, squeezed through narrow alleyways, visited the abbey, and Trent even ran around the island’s perimeter!

9. FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA (KYOTO) - While we visited many castles in Europe (and Asia too), we visited many temples in Asia. Our kids’ favorite in Japan was “the temple with all those red gates”. They loved walking through the gates and counting fox statues.

10. KINKAKU-JI (KYOTO) - I took a solo trip to the Golden Pavilion, well “solo” without my family but I was surrounded by other tourists! Even with a huge crowd, this temple was just as I hope it would look. The beautiful gold leaf building was stunning and I could wander the gardens there all day.

11. TODAI-JI (JAPAN) - This temple in Nara was one of our favorite surprises. I had booked time in Nara to visit the former capital of Japan and see, of course, the deer. This temple shelters the Giant Buddha, the largest bronze statue of Buddha Vairocana in the world. The kids also loved watching me squeeze through “Buddha’s nostril”, a hole in a pillar which is said to be the size of Buddha’s nostril. If you can pass through it, you will achieve enlightenment.

12. MEIJI JINGU (TOKYO) - Ok, one more temple! Remember Japan was the start of our time in Asia, visiting temples was a new experience and still special. Plus, the temples in Japan really are beautiful. The kids loved writing wishes onto tablets and receiving amulets. We also walked the gardens in the park near the temple for an hour. As a kid in love with Monet’s Japanese garden paintings, this was a dream for me.

13. TOKYO DISNEYSEA (JAPAN) - The best perk of being the main travel planner for our family? I get to drag them to wherever I want to go! The kids sure did luck out to have a mom who loves Disney as much (or more) as they do. We spent two days at Disneysea and they were wonderful!

14. OSAKA CASTLE (OSAKA) - We visited Osaka Castle immediately after receiving disappointing news about not obtaining visas for a future leg of travel. Even with sullen attitudes, we enjoyed our visit! The castle is full of historical objects and we learned so much about Japan’s history.

15. THE DEER IN NARA (JAPAN) - Nara Park is home to over 1,000 deer. They are sacred and considered messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion. Spending time around the deer feeding them cookies is fun, but watch out, they bite!

16. CAT CAFE (JAPAN) - When the kids heard about the concept of a Cat Cafe, they were hooked! We had to go. We visited Cat Cafe Mocha on Takeshita Street. I think we laughed the whole time at the kids enjoyment, at the cats, and at ourselves.

17. ANGKOR WAT (CAMBODIA) - Why yes, I did list three temples in the Angkor Wat complex separately. They each deserve their own spot! Angkor Wat is the main temple in the Angkor Wat complex that consists of 72 main temples (and several hundreds more scattered further out). You can wander the temple for hours, taking in the carvings, receiving a blessing from a monk, watching monkeys scamper around the perimeter. (We loved Siem Reap and all of our favorite spots are in Destination Guide : Siem Reap.)

18. BAYON TEMPLE (CAMBODIA) - The “faces temple” was my favorite overall! These towers with faces carved into them stand 13 feet tall. There about 50 towers with faces on all 4 sides for a total of about 200 faces! Each face is facing a cardinal direction of the compass. These structures were built in the 12th century. My mind was blown!

19. TA PROHM (CAMBODIA) - As known as the “tree temple”, Ta Prohm shows what the temples would look like today if humans did not step in to preserve them. Seeing nature take over and make its way through the structures cracks was magical. We loved wandering this maze of a temple for hours.

20. ELEPHANTS (CHIANG MAI, THAILAND) - I’ve been fascinating with elephants for years and, while I’m naturally skittish around animals, I knew that I have to experience time amongst these beauties. We feed, bathed, and played with five elephants during an afternoon in Chiang Mai. It was everything that I had hoped for.

21. DRAGON BRIDGE (DA NANG, VIETNAM) - Remember how sometimes the best experiences are those that you underestimated? Well, we both didn’t over or underestimate Da Nang. It simply wasn’t on our radar at all. We book a week here knowing next to nothing about Da Nang. And then strangely feel in love with the city. After 19 days in Hoi An, we were excited for the convenience of city life and less-touristy food options. But the best part, the Dragon Bridge! We knew that we could see the Dragon Bridge from our apartment. We did not know that the dragon breaths fire at 9 PM on Friday & Saturday night! We watched it from our apartment on Friday and then say it in person on Saturday. It was so impressive!

22. SUN WORLD (DA NANG, VIETNAM) - One afternoon, Trent and I surprised the kids with a trip to Sun World Da Nang. We knew nothing about the amusement park other than it had a huge ferris wheel (10th largest in the world) and would cost us a total of $20 to get in. We were met with an afternoon full of rollercoasters with no lines and a free arcade. What a fun surprise!

23. STICKY WATERFALLS (THAILAND) - We heard so many great things about visiting But Tong, the sticky waterfalls outside of Chiang Mai. The experience was definitely worth it. The rocks are so “sticky” that you can climb up them. The kids had a blast and it was totally doable for our 5 year old. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the restaurant near the car park to top off the experience.

24. MUAY THAI FIGHTS - Trent watched Muay Thai fights twice during our time in Chiang Mai. He and T went together during one visit and T still talks about watching “the guys fight and eating popcorn”. If that doesn’t sell it for you, I don’t know what does!

25. WAT PHRA THAT DOI SUTHEP (CHIANG MAI) - Located in the hills above Chiang Mai, this golden temple is beautiful and provides a lookout over the city. We enjoyed our visit and the history that we learned about how the temple was founded.

26. WAT PHRA SINGH WORAMAHAWIHAN (CHIANG MAI) - There are so many temples to visit in Chiang Mai. Sometimes its hard to pick which ones to see. This temple had beautiful gold and copper Buddhas and murals.

27. PHNOM KULEN (CAMBODIA) - This mountain range is located about 2 hours outside of Siem Reap but worth the trip. We enjoyed seeing what life is outside of the city and the temple on the top of the mountain was beautiful. The temple is home to the largest reclining Buddha in Cambodia (25 feet long). But our favorite part, swimming up to a 60 foot waterfall!

28. HOI AN PUPPET SHOW (VIETNAM) - This show was so endearing and entertaining. It was a highlight for our kids in Hoi An.

29. JARDIN MAJORELLE (MARRAKECH) - A botanical garden which was once home to a French artist and then owned by Yves Saint Laurent. The sight is also home to the Berber Museum which we all enjoyed and learned so much about Berber history. (Our entire Destination Guide : Marrakech is here.)

30. PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK (CROATIA) - A friend’s photo of Plitvice Lakes was the first image to draw me to Croatia. Following the boardwalks over the lakes and past so many waterfalls was a dream.

31. POSTOJNA CAVES - Another childhood dream come true. Third grade me was geeking out when I finally got to ride a train 10 minutes into a cave! Each of us was in awe of every stalactite and stalagmite. Nature is so cool!

32. POSTOJNA CASTLE - A castle built into a mountainside? Yes, please! The kids soaked up every fact of this castle through their audio tours.

33. FISHERMAN’S BASTION (BUDAPEST) - Our apartment during our two week stay in Budapest was located at the bottom of the hill from Fisherman’s Bastion. Many nights we would walk up the hill and around the area just for something easy to do. The buildings at the top are so picturesque and the setting offers an amazing view of the “Pest” side of the city. A chimney cake to finish the walk never hurt either! (We loved so much about Budapest, here our Destination Guide : Budapest.)

34. BUDAPEST BATHS (HUNGARY) - You only need to read a handful of posts here to know that we love to find any way to indulge! Massages, saunas and hot tubs are high on the list. The baths in Budapest cover at least two of those. Trent and I took turns spending the majority of the day at Szechenyi and as a family we visited Palatinus twice!

35. DIOCLETIAN’S PALACE (CROATIA) - Easily the most beautiful landmark in Split, the palace (more like a fortress) was built in the 4th century and covers half of the city’s “old town.” We loved touring the cellars, spotting the Egyptian sphinxes and walking through the rotunda. My sister and Trent, both Game of Thrones fans, were having fun spotting filming locations.

36. ACROPOLIS (ATHENS) - T had just finished the Magic Tree House book about Athens and recited so much history about the Acropolis. Visiting Greece reminds you how so much of Western history can be trace back to Athens. (Destination Guide : Athens)

37. TURKISH ICE CREAM STANDS (ISTANBUL) - “Do you want a big scoop?” We still quote our favorite ice cream seller more than a year later. Their tricks made us laugh so hard! Pure, simple enjoyment. Tip: watch the seller before you go. Not all are as amazing as our favorite guy (he was located near the Grand Bazaar). (Destination Guide : Istanbul)

38. TOPKAPI PALACE (ISTANBUL) - A harem from the 15th century? Yes, we want to see that! Topkapi Palace is large and grand and everything that you hope the headquarters of the Ottoman sultans to be. My favorite spot? The elaborate kitchens!

39. HAGIA SOPHIA (ISTANBUL) - What a tale this building could tell. The Hagia Sophia was once the largest Christian Church of the Eastern Roman Empire. (There are still mosaics of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and other Christian figures.) Then the building became a mosque after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire. Then, it became a museum in the 1930s under the presidency of Atatürk. And in 2020 (after we visited), it became a mosque again, officially named the Hagia Sophia Holy Grand Mosque. From the year 360-2021, this building remains a point of controversy.

40. BATU CAVES & TEMPLE (KUALA LUMPER, MALAYSIA) - This sight went on my list after seeing it on season 11 of the Amazing Race. And that was before the stairs were painted rainbow! I wanted to see the 140 foot tall status of a Hindu deity. The rainbow stairs just added to the beauty of this landmark. And the colorful temple within the cave where we received a blessing was so memorable as well.

41. CRUISES - Cruises are just about as “touristy” as you can get. And guess what, we loved it! We really leaned into the beauty of a cruise after six months on the road. Buffet meals, all you can eat fancy dinners, the kid’s club, karaoke? Sign us up!

42. COOKING CLASSES (VIETNAM) - Cooking classes are another very “touristy” activity but we’ve always loved them. I love learning about food and we were spoiled by our guide. We were on the tour alone (no one else had signed up), she answered all of our questions and even spoon fed T mango at the end of our meal!

43. GARDENS BY THE BAY (SINGAPORE) - 270 acres of botanical gardens, playgrounds, light shows and more. We spent many afternoon here. The Cloud Forest and Flower Dome tickets aren’t cheap but the experience was worth it. We loved learning about so many different types of plants and flowers. (Destination Guide : Singapore)

Have you been to any of these sights? Which is your favorite? Which is the next to see on your list? Also… what is your favorite sight not on this list? Tell me everything!