As the pure existence of my travel blog already tells you, travelling has been one of my passions for years. Another (travel) year – my most intense – has been history for a few days now.
And so everything is as always at this time of the year: It is unpleasantly cold outside, my body is still weakened by the low-movement Christmas days and in the evening I can hardly fall asleep because I let the past time pass in review and at the same time think about the future. (Poor, melancholic person. I know.)
The advantage of not being able to fall asleep is that I have plenty of time to think. I have used this gain of time to visualize the places I remember most clearly and positively from my travels.
(Okay, maybe I should have thought about the time I gained for more important things like mathematical formulas to explain our existence, but then I probably could have fallen asleep even worse.)
Some travel classics have made it to my list of the «most beautiful places in the world«. Nevertheless, the list I created during my nocturnal brainstorming is my whole personal compilation and therefore highly subjective.
Some of the lesser known places have burned themselves into my memory because of favorable external factors such as the weather. If I had been in Reykjavik with a cloudy sky, for example, my walk along the Icelandic coast would probably not have made it to my list of the most beautiful places in the world.
A disadvantage of this list is that my world is still very small, as I have never been on tour in Africa, Central and South America and Oceania before. That makes this list a snapshot at best. You will hopefully forgive me for not giving the article the title «The most beautiful places in Europe, Asia and North America».
But now to the current status of what for me are the most beautiful places in the world:
1. the coal hill and an abandoned Hutong alley somewhere in Beijing
The first time outside Europe was when I set foot on Chinese soil in August 2015. On the way to Tokyo, Beijing was a welcome stopover with an overnight stay after more than ten hours.
Before the trip I was not sure what to expect from the Chinese capital with its infamous bad air. After this stopover and another stay of several days I can say: Beijing is one of the most interesting and worth seeing cities and always worth a visit.
Large parts of the huge metropolis will never win a beauty prize, there is no question about that. Apart from the nevertheless undoubtedly beautiful top sights like the Forbidden City or the Temple of Heaven, it is above all the small observations that make a trip to Beijing so worthwhile:
I saw police officers with a blue light strapped to their shoulders. I discovered countless cameras that recorded every step the citizens took and honored China’s status as a surveillance state. I saw sections of the population that were overly excited about long-distance guests like me and my girlfriend. I saw a lot of blue skies, modern skyscrapers and impressive palaces and temples.
Jingshan Park established itself as my favourite place in Beijing. From this beautiful park you can see the Forbidden City and large parts of Beijing from a bird’s eye view. But that’s only part of the fun. I reached the park about an hour before it was closed at 10 pm. A small group tried its hand at the typical Chinese metropolitan movement dance in the entrance area.
At dusk the park was almost deserted by Chinese standards. There was a very special, exotic atmosphere when I worked my way up the hill to the main temple – a mood that has burned into my memory until now, as if I had just been to Jingshan Park.
The way back to the hotel could also be remembered. Not far from the Tiananmen Square the way to the hotel led me through one of the Hutongs and thus one of the less and less becoming Old Town quarters. The following photo shows the atmosphere of this Hutong:
The Hutong street photographed on the photo is one of the most beautiful places in the world for me.
2. the Cemitério dos Prazeres in Lisbon
Let’s jump out of the foggy and neon-lit Tokyo into another world… Lisbon, Portugal, western edge of Europe.
At the end of January 2017 I was in Lisbon for a weekend trip. Right after work, I had set off on Fridays and was only back in winter in Lower Saxony early Monday morning. I should have used considerably more weekends for such tours instead of wasting them hungover. But that is another topic…
Only a few hours after my return I was allowed to torture myself by bicycle through the Osnabrück snow rains. But I hardly noticed that, as I was still full of Lisbon’s very own atmosphere. The many beautiful magnificent buildings and often charmingly dilapidated houses, the proximity to the seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean, the hills with the winding streets…
This special Lisbon atmosphere became most clear to me on the Cemitério dos Prazeres. The cloudy January sky laid a white veil over the city, which had such an envelope of white houses. For the «Cemetery of Joys» with its white crypts this was even more true.
The Cemitério dos Prazeres is a very special place! The cemetery paths lead you along mausoleums, which were often equipped with windows, so that coffins are visible.
The photographs of those buried at the graves give them a face and make the transience of life clearer than German cemeteries can. This together makes for an eerily beautiful and admittedly morbid place for me.
If this morbidity rather puts you off, then a visit to the Cemitério dos Prazeres is also worthwhile for another reason. Just the view of the statue of Christ and the Ponte 25 de Abril, which seems to be a crossing of Golden Gate and Bay Bridge from San Francisco, is worth the journey with the famous Tram 28E.
3. the staircases on Rue Foyatier in the Paris district of Montmartre
The world-famous stairs at the Rue Foyatier in Paris’s Montmartre, which lead up to the Sacré-Cœur next to the funicular, were one of my first great travel highlights. In contrast to the seven other places I mentioned, I haven’t visited them for over ten years.
All the more reason for me to mention the staircases on Rue Foyatier as one of the most beautiful places in the world for me to be able to see how lastingly I was fascinated by this particularly attractive urban location. The view from Montmartre over Paris that finally opens up is breathtaking.
So the Montmartre staircases have already had a place in my travel heart for a long time. Only recently, however, the opening scene of Jean-Pierre Melville’s film «Three o’clock at night» (original title: «Bob Le Flambeur») revived my wanderlust towards Montmartre.
A metropolis of millions can hardly be more picturesque, as long as it is possible to avoid the tourist masses with Selfiesticks by a skilful choice of time.
4. Medilla Beach in Tangalle, Sri Lanka
The Medilla Beach in Tangalle, Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful places in the world for me.
If you ask me about the most beautiful beach I’ve been to, I’ll answer without hesitation: «The beach of Tangalle in Sri Lanka.»
To anticipate it right away: This beach in Tangalle, the Medilla Beach to be exact, is not for you because of the rocks in front of it in the sea and the strong surf – at least during the monsoon season – if you value relaxed bathing.
However, you can also splash around here if you go to the breakwaters. But even there you will notice what an incredibly strong pull the Indian Ocean can develop.
Apart from this hint, I can do nothing but advertise this long beach on the south coast of Sri Lanka. The other disadvantages of Sri Lanka like too many tourist rip-offs and offers for tuk tuk rides in ten-second intervals are not an issue here. You won’t notice the hustle and bustle of Tangalle in the accommodations at Medilla Beach.
5. The New York Brooklyn Bridge in the Dark
The skyline of Manhattan, seen from Brooklyn Bridge, should not be missing on any list of the most beautiful places in the world.
Not only the Brooklyn Bridge itself is worth seeing, but also the view from it to the skyline of Manhattan.
New York was from very early on my declared dream destination. The Brooklyn Bridge decorated my room for years in the form of a poster. In dozens of films I had travelled the American metropolis for years.
In 2017 I was finally ready for a trip to New York. And my first New York trip took me across the Brooklyn Bridge in the evening. That was exactly the right choice, because here the size of the city and the reasons for its creation became clear to me.
The fact that from the Brooklyn Bridge, a world-famous sight in itself, one can enjoy the view of the world-famous and iconic New York skyline at the same time secures her a place on my list of the most beautiful places in the world.
6. view from 21st Street to Twin Peaks in San Francisco
San Francisco is rich in spectacular and beautiful views. Already the approach to the city was the most stunning I have ever experienced. The following mobile phone photo should indicate this to you:
Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco landing from the air
This sight alone was worth the far too many hours of flight time
Whatever direction you approach it from, the Golden Gate Bridge is always a magnificent sight. From here the view of San Francisco’s skyline is impressive. A great panoramic view of the Bay Area is provided by the Twin Peaks, which are located in the geographical center of the city.
This view from the Twin Peaks was definitely one of the highlights of my San Francisco trip for me. But as they say in the colorful Instagram world: The way is the destination. This is more than true for my hike to the Twin Peaks.
For these I left Dolores Park, passed one of Mark Zuckerberg‘s estates and approached the «Twin Hills» across 21st Street. About at the height of house number 3830 in the district Dolores Heights I came across the following row of houses of pastel Victorians:
One of the most beautiful places in the world for me is this spot in San Francisco.
This way I will go at least once again…
Isn’t this a path you really want to go down? The spring blossom at the end of March during my first trip to the USA or California gave me an unforgettable day.
7. a walk along the coast of Reykjavik
As you may have noticed, I have a soft spot for stopovers. One of these gave me an almost one-day stay in Reykjavik. Let me say one thing: First spending some time in beautiful San Francisco and only a few hours later walking through Iceland’s capital – this is a very special experience.
Unfortunately, I don’t only think of positive terms about Reykjavik. Those who describe the city as overvalued, boring, provincial, overpriced and poor in sights, I can hardly disagree.
I can also blaspheme about the city that the beams bend. Interestingly enough, this does not change the fact that a certain part of Reykjavik has remained unforgettable to me – in a positive sense.
