Where are your favourite places in the world and why?

The Blu Bar at the Shangrila Hotel is a great spot to view the Sydney harbor (bridge and opera house).

No, but we went to a cafe that wasn't crowded (time of year and time of day, I take it) and had a small show of the sexiest dancing I've ever watched (well, at that time). I still remember the cafe name, El Manzano.

Went to the mercado central, Lake Atitlan, watched a mayan wedding procession happening, Chichicastenango (soldiers goose stepping, now a strange memory), Santo Tomas church (Mayan and Catholic) in the Plaza Mayor in Chichi.

Otherwise we just walked around G. City and then left for Mexico, so not very many days there in Guatemala all together. I remember ordering some tongue and black bean dish, lengua al pipian. I'm on the adventurous side at restaurants where there are dishes I'm not used to, although my mother used to cook corned beef tongue long ago. The restaurant was dark to my eyes..

My visit to Guatemala City was our first stop on our trips to Tikal and other places in Guatemala including Lake Atitlan and Antigua (I really enjoyed our visit here), then on to Costa Rica. Our local guide to Tikal was the best! He's an expert in Mayan history, and does lectures at US universities.

Old Montreal -- love the architecture, the narrow streets, restaurants, art galleries.
The French Quarter, New Orleans -- comes with its own sound track.
Grand Central Terminal, NYC -- hustle and bustle in a magnificent building
Acorn Street on Beacon Hill, Boston -- looks just like you'd expect Beacon Hill to look.
The Concord River, Massachusetts -- best viewed from a canoe with a friend
Wakiki, Hawaii -- overpriced and overcrowded, but I still love it.

One of my favorite poems of all time is about Grand Central Terminal:

When I was in the USAF, I took a train from Oakland, CA, to NYC, and we ended up at Grand Central Terminal. That was over 50 years ago, but I still have that mental picture of some of us airmen waiting to be picked up in that huge lobby. It's been reinforced many times from movies. Of the many train stations I've been to, that's the one I still remember - with somewhat fond memories.

There are parts of California that I love very deeply. Where good memories, from the first twenty five years of my life took place. I wish I could rent a car and drive to all those places today. Sure, they will be different, but I would know them anyway.

Also, I lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan, for about a year, in 1968. I love visiting there, every bit as much as California.

Norway <3

Too many to list - these are just a few...

Cradle cirque under Cradle Mountain, Tasmania. I walked the Overland Track a number of times when I was young and my strongest memory is of the autumn fagus leaves (our only deciduous native I think) on the cirque.

Just about anywhere in Kyoto, Japan. You don't need to go to all the temples and shrines to get the wonderful character and sophistication of Kyoto. Osaka is crass and commercial in comparison and Tokyo is just too big.

Shirakawa - go Japan. World heritage village with the most amazing big thatch roofed farm houses...and fireflies. Actually, I'm pretty happy in just about any mountain village in Japan - especially if there's trout sashimi and mountain vegetables on the menu.

Sydney Harbour - lots of memories from my student days of picnics and sailing on the harbour.... 'as the Manly Ferry cuts its way to Circular Quay'. I wish I got back more often.

Central Thailand - Sukothai, Pitsanulok, Mae Sot... I have wonderful memories of this area when I was a young backpacker. The night markets had the most wonderful coconut cake - and 20+ years later I've just got a recipe from a Thai blogger which I'm going to try this week.

Florence and Assisi. I love the colours of Italy and have especially happy memories of both these places...

The view from the Empire State Building - pure city. I didn't expect to be as impressed as I was.

My garden. With a family, a business and a mortgage I don't travel very often very more but when I have a day off I'm very, very content to potter in my garden. I think I'm starting to get old.

Never have visited Tasmania, but all the other places you've mentioned. Having traveled to over 200 countries and 89 unique ones, mine are just too overwhelming to list my favorites. All five continents, the highest and lowest points on earth, the southernmost and northernmost cities of the world, many of which are posted at www.travelpod.com/members/c.i.222.

The reason I'm mentioning my blog is that I have over 500 hits this month - after having had very slow hits for the past 18 months or so. It did achieve over 35,000 this month.

My friend and I are doing a cruise on the Mekong River from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City beginning on April 4th.

Some may very well say see Naples and die, whereas I would earnestly counsel that you see Mosman and Spit.

Home. Waves from red roof muchly left.

Mosman probably has that effect on a lot of people, but I wish I could see forth to a visit.... ( I once got stuck under Spit bridge in a small catamaran. My boyfriend wasn't the sailor he thought he was)

Home. Waves from front of red roof muchly centre.

CI you've been to all those places and not Tasmania !? It's not too late. It's very compact and easy to get around. Let me know when you're on your way...
I envy you doing the Mekong trip. I've only been to Thailand and Malaysia in SE Asia but would love to visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Probably not going to happen now for various reasons - but glad I travelled a bit when I was younger and had the chance.

C'mon up, pearly...

We even encourage Taswegians here - and it's not essential to Spit.

Thanks Margo. I went to uni in Sydney (mid-80's ) - I know the inner west much better than the north shore. I still have friends I'd like to catch up with.

I've seen Sydney Harbor and the bridge mentioned so often...I thought I would post the pictures of two close by bridges to where I live:

The Bayonne Bridge:




And the Hellsgate Bridge:







Kinda similar...right?

The Hellsgate Bridge really doesn't look as sinister and terrifying as I imagined it would. Kind of anticlimactic if you ask me.

nicely subtle, pearly....

Egypt is my favourite place, because Egypt has something more than just the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza to offer but have some other attractions that have led thousands of visitors to visit this pace every year. The length of the trip you might have planned for your trip to this beautiful location would never provide the enough of Egypt.

Although I tend not to specify which my favorite places in the world are, Egypt is one of those destinations that offers its visitors much in terms of human history that can still be visited in their structures and the Cairo museum.
When my nephew asked me to take his mother on a trip after her husband passed away, knowing I traveled a lot, I suggested to my sister the two destinations that I thought would be impressive; China and Egypt for their history and sites. My sister chose Egypt, so we visited Egypt and Jordan (Petra - of coarse).
The Nile River cruise is a must, and many people miss going to Abu Simbel, the amazing temple that was moved 200 meters higher so that the great dam would not flood it. Many also miss the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan where Agatha Christie wrote "Murder on the Nile." I took my sister and two ladies from our travel group to look at the Agatha Christie suite, and when we finished the maid asked if we wanted to see the Winston Churchill suite. I answered, "but of coarse!" A little tip goes a long way.