1,000 Places to See Before You Die

An Important Note to Readers

Though every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the information contained in this book, it may change at any time for many reasons, including market forces, political and economic conditions, and weather. Readers should be sure to call or email ahead for confirmation of information when making any travel plans. The author, editors, and publisher shall not be responsible for any travel conditions experienced by readers resulting from changes in information provided in this book. If you discover any out-of-date or incorrect information in the book, we would appreciate it if you would let us know via our website, 1000places.com.

Better to see
something once
than to hear about it
a thousand times.

—Asian Proverb

Acknowledgments

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I want to thank the gods of karma who long ago nudged me into the orbit of Peter and Carolan Workman, who have loved and nurtured this book every bit as much as I. If the outreach and response to the original edition have exceeded all our expectations, it is because I stand on the shoulders of these giants. Those who think I've had my hands full these last few years while revising the book—well, they should see my heart. My deepest thanks to the Workmans and the Workman Publishing team. They have become my family and friends.

This collaborative makeover of 1,000 Places was spearheaded by my editrix extraordinaire, Margot Herrera, who by now has a number of these 1,000 tomes under her belt. Yet she approaches each one with a fresh eye and an inexhaustible reservoir of enthusiasm and patience: When I grow up I want to have her unflappable outlook and optimist's soul. Her new right hand, Heather Schwedel, took 5 minutes to settle in and roll up her sleeves—and then became the poster child for steadfast, earnest, and reliable assistance that helped us make this volume better. I am also grateful to editor-in-chief Suzie Bolotin, for championing the book and giving Margot and Heather the support they needed.

The publicity team of Oleg Lyubner and Selina Meere have jumped through hoops to make sure the book is on everyone's lips, while Bob Miller, Savannah Ashour, Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, David Schiller (who wears many invaluable hats), and Marissa Hussey helped oversee the exciting expansion into the realm of apps and the electronic world. Jessica Wiener created marketing partnerships that ensure the excitement will keep on giving.

My gratitude to Kristina Peterson, who made sure the original 1,000 Places was reborn in 25 translations—whether I am in a bookstore in Istanbul or in Rio, I thrill to see my book being enjoyed by travelers around the world. And much appreciation to licensing manager Pat Upton, who made many good things come to pass, as well as to special sales goddess Jenny Mandel and her associate Emily Krasner.

Kudos to Janet Vicario for her beautiful art direction and to talented and indefatigable designers Orlando Adiao (who has a bottomless well of patience and good cheer) and Lidija Tomas. Also to photo editor Anne Kerman and her able staff, who surmounted the Herculean challenge of hand-picking the images needed to make this new-and-improved color version as intoxicating and irresistible as possible.

Production editor Carol White combed through every pass with eagle eyes and total commitment; copy editor Judit Bodnar sharpened the manuscript with fact-checking and clarifying questions, plus made sense of the spellings of curious names in countless languages; and managing editor Peggy Gannon created the all-important schedules (and then made sure we stuck to them).

Thanks to Barbara Peragine for working typesetting miracles, to Doug Wolff for overseeing the printing of the book, and to freelance editor Hilary Sterne, whose involvement in almost every phase was invaluable. My gratitude to Adam Greene, who graciously gave over his restaurant Snack Taverna for a photo shoot.

An especially sincere and heartfelt thank-you to travel veterans and friends Caren Banks, Anitra Brown, Bill McCrae, and Elizabeth Ragagli for embracing the project as if it were their own and being available and supportive from beginning to end. To Alison D'Amato, Giema Tsakuginow, and Charlene Lamberis: Thanks for helping me create a research archive and organize my life. And all my love to Nick Stringas for—among countless other things—keeping me from coming unglued.

The team of road warriors whose expertise I was able to call upon for destinations from Alaska to Zimbabwe comprise a remarkable group of individuals—bright, knowledgeable, cultured, and fun—proving that kindred adventurers always find each other in life: Brett Atkinson (New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and the Czech Republic), Greg Bloom (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine), Rodney Bolt (the Netherlands), Stephen Brewer (Greece and Italy), Mark Chesnut (Brazil and Chile), Paul Clammer (Haiti), Beth Connelly (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Laura Del Rosso (Mexico), Christine Del Sol (Mexico), David Else (the U.K.), Andrew Evans (Antarctica, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and Greenland), Stephen Fallon (London, Paris, Eastern Europe, and Turkey), John Fischer (Hawaii), Andrew Forbes and Colin Hinshelwood (Indonesia), Bob Friel (the Caribbean), Bill Goodwin (South Pacific Islands), Michael Grosberg (the Philippines and Myanmar), Patricia Harris and David Lyons (Portugal and Spain), Lynn Hazelwood (New York City), Jen Johnston (the U.S.A.), Brian Johnstone (Australia and China), David Kaufman (Israel and the Middle East), Michael Kohn (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan), Michael Luongo (Argentina and much of South America), Antony Mason (Belgium), Michael McDermott and Jenny Shannon Harkins (Ireland), Nancy McKeon (Washington, D.C.), Sally McLaren (Kyoto), Leif Pettersen (Romania), Simon Richmond (Japan and Malaysia), Regis St. Louis (Australia, the Baltics, Iceland, Russia, Finland, and Brazil), AnneLise Sorensen (Scandinavia), David Stanley (the South Pacific), Aaron Starmer (for lots of miscellaneous fact-checking and research around the world), Mimi Tompkins (France and way beyond), and Neil Wilson (Georgia, Malta).

And to everyone I've ever met along the way who made a difference.

Introduction

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The World Revisited

As I write this introduction, my nieces are in Iceland. I imagine them enjoying a hot soak in the Blue Lagoon under the midnight sun, driving through a vast, empty countryside of stark, otherworldly beauty—slowing down to let small, bushy-maned horses cross the two-lane road and stopping to order lunch from menus in a language they cannot pronounce. They are sending me e-mails and posting Facebook updates and Instagram photos, and I can feel their excitement and their sense of wonder. They will return home exhilarated, having felt firsthand how travel opens up your whole world while nurturing a newfound appreciation for everything you've left behind. There really is no downside to travel, save a little jet lag and a dented bank account. A small price to pay for a million-dollar experience.

Wanderlust—I like to think of it as wanderlove—has always coursed through my veins. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I never felt an hour spent in the seat of an airplane (or bus, tuk-tuk, car, or bullet train) was an hour wasted. As a toddler I realized that a whole big world awaited every time our family locked the front door and piled into the station wagon for the Jersey shore (yes, that one, but before its reputation was compromised). Playing Risk on the living room floor introduced me to places with names like Madagascar and Siam. It wasn't the game's promise of world domination that enticed me, but the far reaches of a planet so big and exotic and rich with romance that it felt like make-believe to me.

My first true "aha!" moment happened when I was 15 and my parents agreed to let me visit a high school friend who lived with her family in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. I was too naïve at the time to grasp the importance of the beautiful and historically rich "City of Firsts." (As the first colonial outpost in the Americas, Santo Domingo was the site of the first street, the first cathedral, the first fortress.) But there was no escaping the impact of my personal firsts: my first total immersion in a foreign language and culture, my first brush with salsa and merengue (their vibrant sound was everywhere), my first taste of avocados from the backyard tree, my first guitar lesson. My love and fascination for all things Latino was born during that formative and enlightening stay. I didn't return to Santo Domingo until recently: It was like running into your first love, with all the dormant memories rushing back. Like me, the city had grown and changed and was almost unrecognizable. But it reminded me of how I had arrived—a wide-eyed innocent abroad—and left with a jolted curiosity that has been stuck in high gear ever since. As Herman Melville wrote in Moby Dick, I had "an everlasting itch for things remote."

It is rare that I return to a place where I have already been: There are simply too many places I haven't yet seen. When asked what my favorite trip was, I used to think it was the most recent, the one still the most vivid in my memory. But now I realize it is my next one. I always have a next one—or four—lined up before my suitcase is unpacked. I have been my own best customer, embracing the carpe-diem see-it-now spirit of 1,000 Places, and have spent the years since the book's initial release in 2003 gathering more places to fill the pages of this edition. I'm sure I'll upset a lot of people who found the first list overwhelming. Now here I am, with a revision that I consider an entirely new book. There are 200-some brand-new entries, including 28 countries new to this edition. Some of these nations had simply not been on my radar before (Ghana, Nicaragua, South Korea); others were still reeling from the early days of independence from the Soviet Union (Estonia, Ukraine, Slovakia) when I was writing the original book. At that point, they were poorly equipped to welcome tourism, but today they guarantee visits that are a revelation. And then there are the many destinations that space requirements forced me to leave out of the original book in countries already well represented—I half-jokingly said I would save them for a sequel. Well, here they are: the Mani Peninsula in Greece, Chile's lake district, India's Golden Temple of Amritsar, the stuck-in-time Pleasantville Shaker Village in Kentucky, and the Mendoza wine country in Argentina, among others.

Arriving at this revision's final list of places was even more exciting and terrifying than with the original book—I mean, how many more opportunities was I going to have to get my Life List straight? To have carte blanche to compile an eclectic and all-encompassing list of far-flung gems like the man-made wonder of Petra and the overwhelming natural beauty of Patagonia, together with hedonistic beauties such as Brazil's Trancoso and the inimitable Seychelles island of La Digue? Well, that was a challenge for sure, but a whole lot of fun as well. I followed my heart and my gut, aiming for a glorious compilation of places both grand and humble, iconic and unsung. Drawing from a lifetime of wandering, I had nurtured an internal meter along the way that set off an alert when I was approaching something of particular beauty and awe—sometimes heart-stopping in its impact (think of thundering Victoria Falls of Zambia and Zimbabwe or the remarkable Military Tattoo in the shadow of Edinburgh's Castle), other times quietly and timelessly standing apart from the ordinary and waiting for our attention (the desolate and windblown Aran Islands off Ireland's west coast or a sunset sail through the Mekong Delta before it empties into the South China Sea).

But this list is much more than just my visceral response to the planet and its wonders. The amount of research I do before each trip would surprise those who think that when you book your ticket, your work is done. I read everything I can get my hands on, and have never met a guidebook I didn't like: There is always some tidbit or trivia that catches my fancy, and I enjoy the sense of excitement in the author's words when sharing a discovery or secret—I hope you will hear the same in mine.

Before you do the math (how did I add 200-some new entries but still keep my original 1,000 favorites?), I should first explain that rethinking and reorganizing the book allowed me to open up new pages to fill with new adventures. I thoroughly deconstructed and then rewrote the wealth of information from the first 1,000 Places, creating a whole new tantalizing homage to the world's bounty. Instead of featuring single locations as I had in the original, I have now merged two—and sometimes more—destinations into a single, more comprehensive piece, creating an embellished travel experience (in many cases a mini-itinerary). The original entries about gorgeous Shoal Bay Beach and the iconic hotels of Anguilla have become part of one entry that showcases the entire island: It is small enough to drive around in a day, and now you'll know where to stop along the way.

This book is a grab bag of all those wonders, a glorious mix of the unfamiliar and the predictable, a reminder that even in this global age of a homogenizing world, there are still remarkable and wonderful things to behold. In each of these thousand places, I hope I have imbued that same simple sense of wonder—like that of my nieces' Iceland odyssey or my journey to Santo Domingo when I first understood how far I could reach.

Who was it that said "You can't have a narrow mind if you have a fat passport"? I think travel makes you a better person and a more aware global citizen. I know that I cherish it as a privilege and a gift—it lifts me up, lightens me, expands me. Most important, and most simply, travel brings us joy. So, what's holding you back? If you're waiting for a special occasion to make your next trip happen, then consider this: The day you get off the couch and head for the airport, that's the special occasion.

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How This Book Is Organized

For the purposes of this book, I've divided the world into eight regions, which are further subdivided geographically:

• Europe: Great Britain and Ireland, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia

• Africa: North Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa, the Islands of the Indian Ocean

• The Middle East

• Asia: East Asia; West, South, and Central Asia; Southeast Asia

• Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands

• The United States of America and Canada: Subdivided by state or province

• Latin America: Mexico and Central America, South America and Antarctica

• The Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda

Within these divisions, entries are further divided by country (see the table of contents for a quick reference), and within each country they're organized alphabetically by region or town. If you'd like to learn about destinations by type of experience, visit www.1000places.com/indexes, where you'll find 12 thematic indexes, including Gorgeous Beaches and Getaway Islands, Unrivaled Museums, and Sacred Places.

At the end of each entry is practical information that will help you in planning a trip—including telephone numbers, web addresses, and prices of the sites mentioned. But remember: Since travel information is always subject to change, you should confirm by phone or e-mail before you leave home.

How the Listings Are Organized

Here's a run-through of the information you'll see at the end of most of the entries.

Where

The distance of the site from a major city or airport.

Visitor Info

The official website of the region's board of tourism.

Info and/or the Names of the Sites within the entry

The telephone and web address of the entry sites.

A note on phone numbers: All phone numbers in the book are listed with their country codes, so to call any of them from your home country, you simply have to dial your international access code (011 in the U.S. and Canada; 0011 in Australia; 00 in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand; etc.), then the listed number. U.S. and Canadian telephone numbers are listed without the country code; to call these countries from outside their borders, simply add the number "1" at the beginning, after dialing your international access code. In many countries, you must add a 0 before the local number when calling within the borders. (Naturally, you do not need to dial the country code in these instances.)

How

"How" includes information on recommended outfitters or operators who offer tours, treks, cruises, safaris, and other packages or customized travel to or within the destination.

Where to Stay

Hotels and inns listed under this head, though not discussed in the entry text, are good lodging recommendations located near the topic of the entry.

Cost

I've listed prices for all hotels, restaurants, and organized trips discussed in the entry, based on the following parameters:

Hotels: Listed hotel costs are per standard double room, unless noted otherwise. Where available, hotel entries include information for peak and off-peak seasons. Complimentary breakfasts are not mentioned. Remember that many hotels are flexible with their prices—sometimes extremely so—offering various discounts to keep occupancy high throughout the year. Always make sure to check for special promotions on the hotel website and/or ask about them by phone.

Some hotels and resorts (and many safari lodges and camps and eco-lodges) post rates that are per person based on double occupancy and include breakfast and dinner (and sometimes lunch). For these I have noted prices that are per person, inclusive. When more amenities are included, such as guided tours, use of recreational facilities, lectures, classes, etc., it's noted as all-inclusive.

Trips/Treks/Excursions/Cruises: Trip costs are usually given in total, per person, based on double occupancy. They are noted as all-inclusive when accommodations, meals, land or water transportation, amenities, etc., are included. When these are only partially included, it's noted as inclusive. Airfare is not included unless specifically stated.

Restaurants: Meal prices listed are per person and represent the approximate total cost of a three-course a la carte meal without wine. The price of a prix-fixe menu is given when it is the only offering or is particularly recommended. Costs are rarely given for bars, pubs, or cafés.

When

For the most part, "When" indicates seasonal closings. It will not appear if the establishment is open year-round, or if the seasonal closing is brief (less than 6 weeks). For package trips, "When" includes the months that the outfitter offers a particular trip.

In general, it's wise to contact hotels, restaurants, and attractions if traveling during off-season months to confirm that they are open, and also to bear in mind peak season crowds or large local or cultural holidays when hotels at your destination may be full. The Bank Holidays of the World website (www.bank-holidays.com) maintains a worldwide database of public holidays during which you may encounter crowds or closures.

Best Times

For most entries, I've listed the best months to visit, taking into account weather, local festivals, sports and leisure opportunities, peak tourist crowds, and other significant events. When no "Best times" are listed, the reason is the place is "wonderful anytime." For example, it is always a good time to visit the Louvre in Paris!

Travel Safety

This book represents travel opportunities in an ideal, peaceful world. However, that's not the world we live in today. Travelers will generally be perfectly safe visiting most of the destinations discussed, but a few places may pose some risk, either currently or in the future. In fact, between the time this book was originally published and the most recent update, the travel safety statuses of a few destinations changed. You will notice that a few entries in the book—specifically, those in Syria and Yemen—are stamped with a "travel warning" symbol. When you see this symbol, take it as a sign that, at least at the time of publication, it may be better to read about the place than to actually visit it. For up-to-date information on whether it's considered safe to travel somewhere, refer to the U.S. Department of State's website, www.travel.state.gov.

No matter where you're going, before making plans, be sure to do your homework. The Department of State website also includes a general overview of each country, entry requirements for U.S. citizens, and information on health, safety, crime, and other travel issues.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office maintains similar information on its website, www.fco.gov.uk, in the "Travel and living abroad" section.

Travel Documents

In addition to a valid passport, many countries listed in this book require that foreign citizens obtain travel visas in advance of their trip. U.S. citizens can look online at www.travel.state.gov, which notes the documentation required for each country and provides a link to the country's embassy. British citizens should go to www.fco.gov.uk.

Great Britain and Ireland

Hallowed Seat of Academia

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Cambridge University

Cambridgeshire, England

The River Cam flows through the heart of the university.

Cambridge is one of Europe's oldest centers of learning—with its first college founded in 1284—and one of the most prestigious as well. Its 31 colleges have produced alumni as varied as John Milton, Stephen Hawking, Iris Murdoch, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Oliver Cromwell, and it consistently ranks among the world's top universities.

Greatest of all its historic sights is King's College Chapel, called by Henry James "the most beautiful [chapel] in England." Begun in 1441, it remains the country's finest example of the late-Gothic English style known as Perpendicular. Rubens's 17th-century Adoration of the Magi hangs behind the main altar, softly lit by vast 16th-century stained-glass windows beneath an awe-inspiring fan-vaulted ceiling. If you're here on Christmas Eve and join the long line early, you may get to attend the much-loved Festival of Nine Carols and Lessons sung by a student choir, a tradition since 1918.

In spring and summer enjoy a classic view of the chapel from the Backs, the mile-long strip of emerald green lawns along the banks of the lovely River Cam, where "punting"—floating on a wooden, flat-bottomed boat slowly maneuvered by a pole—is a pastime not to be missed. Be sure to include a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum, one of Britain's oldest and finest public art museums. Its prize collection centers around 17th-century Dutch art, enriched with masterpieces by everyone from Titian and Michelangelo to the French Impressionists.

Wander down the town's narrow lanes lined with cluttered bookstores, historic inns, and pubs, and quench your thirst at the Eagle, where students have been propping up the bar for centuries. Then retire to the nearby Hotel du Vin, a stylish, modern lodging option in a medieval former university building, today well known for its classic bistro. Or leave the city behind and stay at the Hotel Felix, a large Victorian manse about a mile from the town center, with sleek contemporary rooms and an excellent restaurant.

Where: 55 miles/88 km north of London. Visitor info: www.visitcambridge.org. Fitzwilliam Museum: Tel 44/1223-332900; www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. Hotel du Vin: Tel 44/1223-227-330; www.hotelduvin.com. Cost: from $275; dinner $45. Hotel Felix: Tel 44/1223-277-977; www.hotelfelix.co.uk. Cost: from $340; dinner $50. Best time: May–Sep for nicest weather.

A Walled City and Architectural Feast

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Chester

Cheshire, England

The city of Chester boasts a broad and intriguing cross-section of English history stretching back more than 2,000 years. It was important in Roman times (the remains of the country's largest amphitheater are here), then again in the Middle Ages, and once more during an 18th-century revival that inspired author James Boswell to write in 1779: "It pleases me more than any town I ever saw." Chester still has much to show for its historical heydays. A well-preserved fortified wall, constructed during the Roman period and rebuilt over the following centuries, surrounds much of the city. Its ramparts are topped by a 2-mile footpath, providing a lovely vantage point on the pinkish red sandstone tower and spires of the medieval cathedral and passing the 19th-century Eastgate, where Chester's famous wrought-iron clock tower proudly stands.