BootsnAll Travel Community

I'd like to second the vote for Basel, Switzerland. I only spent a few days there, but I could have spent much longer. I would also recommend Honolulu. Many people travel to Hawaii to get away from it all or to spend time at the beach. But, I think that Honolulu is a great small city... with alot of lovely museums, beaches, memorials, restaurants... and you'll be hard-pressed to find nicer local people.

After circling the globe a few times, here are my most pleasant surprises:

Hanoi, Vietnam (maybe the nicest city in SE Asia)
Shimla, India
Amman, Jordan (amazing unchaotic for the M.E.)
Aswan, Egypt (just a nice place to kick back)
Istanbul (loved it so much I ended up living there for a while)
Chattanooga, TN (very small city in the south)
Merida, Mexico
almost any town/city in Holland

Ayacucho in Peru is a lovely town. It's simply beautiful colonial town, full of history and it was home of the second university in Peru after Lima's. Ayacucho was for a while the headquarters of the Peruvian terrorist movement Sendero Luminoso, the obvious reason why it was not a travel destination. But the Sendero is long gone and the city is slowly getting some tourism flow. There's a lot to see in the area of Ayacucho, such as the Wari ruins, pre dating the Incas or the village of Quinua which produces unique pottery and is lovely in itself.

I have a thing for Mikulov, in Czech Republic. It's the capital of the Moravia state and contrary to the Czech beer tradition, that area produces good wine. You can rent a bike and cycle around the surrounding villages and wineyards. You will find tourists, but Austrian ones mainly (few hours from Vienna). It has a few thousand inhabitants only and there's a lot of history over there as well. Mikulov gave shelter to many jews during the Nazi days and there's a huge jewish cemitary, plus, of course a significant jewish quarter. Google it to find more. I was there in 2003, early august, during their culinary festival (which translates in a few stalls in the main plaza and some folk dancing!). Four days of miming and only speaking english with a girl from tourist information and another in one of the pubs. Great time.

Bangkok--it's an obvious one I guess, but we totally dug it and felt at home--the movie theatres are epic.

Also, Saigon was great--the people are friendly and not too pushy, the food is excellant, and there's an awesome water park.

In New Zealand, we really like Dunedin on the South Island--great scenery, cool Uni, friendly folks, penguins, and neat factory tours.

I loved Dangriga in Belize. It's a medium size town by Belize standards but it's sooo full of culture and friendly people. Nice ocean views and there are so many less tourists then Placencia, further south.
Also Hue Vietnam
And I really like San Diego.
And here's a strange one...
I loved Wallace Idaho. Pop. 850
Weird place, lovely people, picturesque town. Not much to do...maybe not a good place to go alone...but if you have an ATV and some warm clothes it's great in the winter.

I fell instantly in love with Memphis, TN...I think it's the fact that there's music EVERYHWERE.

I'll also register a vote for Lugano, Switzerland...gorgeous, kind of quiet, very nice.

The city of Cadiz, south-west Spain.

I don't really know why either. I guess if I knew why it would n't be fit for this topic.

Oh and I agree with Dunedin. Nice town.

I agree about Wroclaw and Torun, though I think two weeks in each is probably a little too long to stay, though both have plenty to see, and sitting in the Rynek in Wroclaw in the summer watching the world go by is great. While still in Poland, I would rate Poznan, very undervisited, and a city full of character as it has both the old (the rynek, etc.) and the young, i.e. the University, and nightlife, which is one of the most lively in Poland, and the Lech brewery for lovers of good continental beers.....
In the Czech Republic, Liberec, though sharing none of the splendour or historicity of some of the older places like Telc or Cesky Krumlov (which are too small for a long stay, and very touristy anyway) is a very pleasant place, with the best swimming-pool in the Czech Rep!
If you're not allergic to cities and their dirt, noise, etc, Bursa in Turkey is under-rated by non-Turks, as is Erdine (originally Adrianoupolis).
Greece? Kastoria, not really a city, more a small town, with all its Byzantine churches, is a nice place to stay for a week, but not just because of the attractions the town itself has to offer, but also the surrounding countryside. It is, however, a small place (pop.about 17,500)and also a fur centre, which would put off plenty on these boards. But if you're interested in Byzantine art,or interested in Macedonian architecture of the 18th and 19th Centuries, it is heaven. And its location on a lake is a fabulous sight.
Indonesia? Bandung, though it doesn't have that much to see, is up in the hills of Java, and close to more than one active volcano, and so cooler and more restful than mad Jakarta, and Jogjakarta has its moments. I wonder if the splendid old building the Hotel Garuda still exists, along with its notorious reputation...
At present, most of the striking cities in Romania are still undervisited; get there before it is too late and the likes of Timisoara, Cluj and Brasov get deluged.

What a cool list.

Okay, I had some major day-dreaming time today, so I took every place suggested on this thread and made a list. Then I looked at it and imagined an epic RTW trip. Start in Eastern Canada, work down through southeastern US. Pop in on Mexico and down to Central America and onto South America. Jump over to Europe. Go west to east. Then down to Greece. Then to the Middle East. Bounce to India. Then Asia. Quick stop down under. Then after all that traveling it would be time for a little R&R so head up to Siberia for some chill time in Ulan Ude by Lake Baikal. Here's the list. (I only deleted two places, Wallace Idaho just didn't pencil in, and Honolulu, though I guess we could stop to refuel there.) Thanks, all.

NORTH AMERICA

(Canada)
Montreal, Quebec
Quebec City, Q
St. Paul de Vence (is that in Quebec?)
Halifax, N.S.

(USA)
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Montgomery, Alabama

(Mexico)
Merida, Yucatan

CENTRAL AMERICA

Dangriga, Belize

SOUTH AMERICA

Vilcabamba, Ecuador
Cajamarca, Peru
Ayacucho, Peru

EUROPE

Cadiz, Spain
The Hague, Netherlands
Leiden, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Brugge, Belgium
Basel, Switzerland
Lugano, Switzerland
Belgrade, Serbia (? How embarrassing)
Torun, Poland
Wrocklaw, Poland
Krakow, Poland
Warsaw, Poland
Poznan, Poland
Ceske Budejovice, Czech Rep
Mikulov, C.R.
Liberec, C.R.
Kosice, Slovakia
Rimisoara, Romania
Club, Romania
Brasov, Romania
Kastoria, Greece

MIDDLE EAST

Tel Aviv, Israel
Amman, Jordan
Answan, Egupt
Istanbul, Turkey
Bursa, Turkey
Erdine, Turkey

INDIA
Shimla

ASIA

Bandung, Indonesia
Bangcock, Thailand
Hanoi, Vietnam
Saigon, Vietnam
Hue, Vietnam
Nara, Japan

NEW ZEALAND/AUSTRALIA
Dunedin, NZ

WAY OUT THERE AND UP THERE

Ulan Ude, Siberia

St. Paul de Vence in Provence, France

Thanks for the day dream, and the summary.

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St. Paul de Vence in Provence, France

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Well, that would make sense wouldn't it?

I thought maybe Quebec because the person who posted it listed Montreal and somewhere else in Quebec.

Barra de Navidad, Mexico
Happening place b/c of yacht traffic.
Quaint village on lagoon & ocean.
Close enough to big cities like Puerta Vallarta & Guadalajara for the city fix.

Farewell Spit & Golden Bay, South Island, NZ
The names say it all. Glorious scenery & sparsely populated, whether by natives or tourists. Also, home of The Gathering, dance & tribal fest over new year's.


Soglio, Switzerland
Quintessential Swiss alps village - hike in summer, & downhill or cross country ski in winter in the Engadine.


North Shore of Maui - pleasant surprise. Obviously so, as I came here for 6 months on my RTW trip & I'm still here over 3 years later. So much of Hawaii is very developed and touristy, but it hasn't happened here - yet.

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Barra de Navidad, Mexico

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Been there and it is good. Don't get me started on Mexican beach towns...

But damn, now you go adding to the list.

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Originally posted by seraphim:
most people seem to rate Krakow over Warsaw, and though I can see why (Krakow is prettier, easier to like instantly), I don't agree. Warsaw is so vibrant, it has so many different areas to explore. Also in Poland, I was surprised to see so few tourists in Torun, seeing as it's so beautiful (or at least the old town is).

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Yes, yes Torun is AWESOME! Loved all the Copernicus things there in his hometown- EXTREMELY CHEAP, too! But, I have to say that I prefered Krakow over Warsaw. Warsaw had much better nitelife, but the city was much dirtier than Krakow, and Krakow is a great base camp to see the great mountain town Zakopane & the really, really cool Wieliczka salt mine (where EVERYTHING in the mine is made from salt: a chapel, statues, theatre, etc.). Poland rocks!

Hurlford, Scotland!

*chuckle*

ahhh chuckling...

Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA. Great brewery, artsy feel but also increasingly yuppafied but still fun.

Istanbul was a terrific surprise for me. It's currently at the top of my personal list of favorite cities. The architecture is amazing, the history epic and the people friendly.

I also like Paris. I've heard some that are very anti-City of Lights, but I like it. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I've only ever been there in winter and haven't noticed a huge tourist overpopulation problem.

Portland, Oregon. I lived there for four years and really enjoyed it. A great small city atmosphere and the city has a mission to keep things weird. There is some excellent urban planning going on there that other cities across America should take note of.

Bled in slovenia - but i guess it is so visited.

then wineglass bay Tasmania.

Zagazig, Egypt is a good place, right next to Tel Basta. If you can find an Arabic-speaking friend to get you there, that helps cause they don't speak English much there, but it's a really cute little town with lots of character. And it's not touristy. And the Bubastis/Tel Basta museum is there; with the remains of the cat goddess! Also, personally I loved Cairo, but you have to be a city person to appreciate it.
In the US, there's the rural MidWest which not a lot of people know about, but there are lots of historical sites of old log cabins, war sites early European settlements, as well as American Indian.

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Originally posted by Libby:
I've heard wonderful things about Montreal and Quebec City.

I recommend Halifax. I always have a good time when I go there.

I did a Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal trip for 8 days. It was a blast. I think the "Old City" district in Montreal is really neat.