*Heathrow terminal 5

I would have to put here - the biggest avoid at all costs, none wow factor must be the new Heathrow terminal 5 - they have announced a cancellation of 54 planes tomorrow following their problems in the past days! Some people waited 3 hrs to get their bags yesterday...and now this.

I would also add
Glacier Bay Alaska to my 'wow' list

Bob- when we were in Capri, we kept saying, "bet this place was really something in the 1960's"...by '03 it had the air of beautiful starlet past her prime.

WOW's
-----
(in no particular order)
- Kumbalgarh fort (Rajasthan)
- Jaisalmer fort, Patwa Haveli, Salim Singh ki Haveli (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan)
- Jain Temples, Rajasthan (esp. Ranakpur)
- Luang Prabang
- Temples in Cambodia
- My first time in London
- My first time in San Francisco/Bay Area. SF still wow's me!
- Everytime I visit Hong Kong
- Bangkok

No WOW's
--------
- Las Vegas: I admit I should have known this before I went. But the way people talked about the hotels and the shows and whatnot, I thought at least I'd be amazed, but was not. Just not my type of place.
- Umaid Bhavan Palace: Jodhpur. More than anything, I did not like the hotel service and did not think it was value for my money. Good breakfast buffet though.
- Los Angeles
- Monterrey, California

Great thread -- thanks for starting it Femi.

WOW:

Rio
Thailand
Jerusalem
Paris
India (every place we visited - want to go back and see more)
Istanbul
Alhambra
Provence (Not really wow -- just love being there)
Luang Prabang
Almost every place in California except the desert
South Africa and Cape of Good Hope

Not Wow:

Florence & Tuscany -- loved it many years ago, but was so disappointed when I went back a couple of years ago.

Most place in the US where I travel for business -- but I just keep thinking about those points!

C'mon you guys!

I was WOWed by Alaska!!!!!!!

then.....Ecuador and Galapagos
then.....Peru
then.....Uganda, Africa

Wowed:
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Sydney Opera House
Glenorchy and Kaikoura, New Zealand
Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Venice and Florence, Italy
Pisa (very early in the morning, only)
Mendocino Coast, California
The Algarve, Portugal
Girona and Cardona, Spain
Red Square, Russia
Hong Kong Harbour (especially at night)
Ta Prohm and Bayon, Angkor

Underwhelmed:
Dublin, Ireland
Grand Cayman
Cozumel, Mexico
Nassau, Bahamas
Rome and Naples, Italy
Munich, Germany
Nice, France
Saint Thomas, USVI
All of Florida

Frightened:
DisneyWorld (as an adult trapped at a conference)

Wow

Scuba diving in
Palau
Yap
Fiji
Thailand (both diving and visiting)
Great Barrier Reef
Cozumel
Waterfall rappel in Costa Rica
Thailand
Hong Kong
Viet Nam
Iguazu Falls
Patagonia
Lake Tahoe
Grand Canyon
Chicago
NYC

Wows:

USA -
Sequoia
Bryce
Arches
Rocky Mt. National Park
Grand Canyon
Olympic National Park, esp Hurricane Ridge
San Francisco
Acadia
Alaska
Grand Tetons

Europe -
Norway - coastal voyage
Rome - Forum, Colosseum, Vatican Museum
Bavaria - Romantic Road, castles
Lake District, England
Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Alhambra
Auschwitz - in a moving and sobering way

Asia -
Luang Prabang
Siem Reap
Bangkok
Interacting w/ elephants at Lampang

Africa -
Botswana safari

Non-wows:
London - I love it, but wouldn't call it a wow
Florence - EXCEPT David (he's a wow, as already mentioned)
Seoul
Vienna

Forgot...

Middle East -
Jerash ruins, Amman, Jordan
Floating in the Dead Sea
And hopefully I'll add Egypt to my list after February!

Well just got back from Jordan...I thought the whole country was "Wow"..

Taking an overnight camel desert safari was uncomfortable, but amazing....

Ruins of Petra and Jerash absolutely fantastic..

And floating in the Dead Sea was my favorite!!

In India..Rajasthan was a big wow to me...and most recently Palolem Beach in Goa had the Wow factor!

Angkor Wat

All the construction in Dubai

Santorini

Easter Island

Machu Picchu definately probably the biggest wow!!

Iguazu Falls...amazing

I forgot to add that the ultimate WOW factor was Hina Hina Cove, New Zealand, South Island.

My friends, from New Zealand, have special permission to enter this restricted area and it was beyond beautiful.

We sat, on a hill, overlooking the most beautiful water view, from 5PM-10PM, watching for and counting how many of the rare Yellow-eyed penguins would swim in. We also sat in a tiny, green hut, overlooking the water. The penguins are very shy and scare easily. So, we had to be very quiet for 5 hours.

We recorded the numbers of adult and juvenile penguins that we saw and then the paperwork was sent to some scientific bird society that records this information. I had traveled VERY far to see the yellow-eyed penguins and got very lucky as my friends go to that spot about twice a year and said that sometimes non swim in.

Also on that trip was another WOW factor as the same friends surprised me and chartered a boat, as my Christmas present, and we went out to hopefully see an Albatross . We got lucky and, after about an hour or so, one flew overhead. Happy Travels!

Oh yeah, duh! I forgot Machu Picchu. Definitely one of my biggest wows also. Truly a magical place.

And Lake Titicaca - homestay on Amantani Island. Wow.

One WOW not mentioned, was when we saw the northern lights from Sitka Alaska!

Yes, Pat the Northern lights were definitely a 'Wow!' from my plane seat window a few years ago. I woke up rubbing my eyes in disbelief. Ever since then I've tried to be extra alert, but haven't seen anything remarkable. That is until the flight home from my last trip in the Middle East. Once again, I woke up and looked out. I have never, EVER, seen the skies filled with stars like that. It went on for ever, and it seemed like I could just reach out and touch them. I couldn't help nodding off, and when I struggled awake again the vision was gone. Wow.

Pat,

From the governor of Alaska's point of view you are now qualified as an astronaut!

i was WOWed by:

- the sheer beauty & size of alaska
- all the different colors of the rocks in the US southwest
- looking up from the bottom of the grand canyon while soaking my feet in the river
- yellowstone wildlife & yosemite vistas & spring waterfalls
- the chicago skyline on a clear day at dusk
- machu picchu
- a beautiful morning atop isla del sol on the bolivian side of lake titicaca
- the snaking view of the great wall on a 6 mile hike
- being in paris for the 1st time
- the rawness of torres del paine in chile
- flying over uluru (ayers rock) in australia
- helihiking on franz josef glacier in new zealand
- rafting class IV & V rapids at cataract canyon
- 1st morning view from my B&B in kauai
- the amazing wildlife in the galapagos

Interesting to see everyone's choices. Have to disagree with some of the Non-wowed. Here's my Wowed.

USA:
Grand Canyon
Mount Rushmore - as a teenager
Mount Mckinley - landing on the mountain and going into an igloo built by an expedition team
Muir Woods
Bryce National Park

EUROPE:
Prague, Czeck Republic
Czesky Krumlov, Czeck Republic - was truly wowed when we entered this UNESCO town.
Vienna, Austria
Amsterdam, Holland
Bruggee, Belgium
Paris, France
Bath, England
Mont Saint Michel, France
Parthenon, Athens, Greece
Santorini, Greece
Mykenos, Greece
Monemvasia, Greece
Delphi, Greece
Alhambra, Spain
Gilbraltor
Riga, Latvia
Vilnius, Lithuania
Cappadocia, Turkey
Ephasis, Turkey
Side, Turkey
Beramkale, Turkey
Cirali, Turkey - beautiful flowers

CANADA:
Victoria
Buchard Gardens & in particular the outstanding firework display

Can't believe the sheer uselessness of such lists - go, find out for yourselves! How anyone can say the whole of Greece and all its places, people & possibilities leaves them 'un-wowed' beggars belief. Duh, it depends where you go, dudes.

By the way, get to Cape Town, Namibia, Botswana, South Lungwa (Zambia), but only if y'all got some soul!

And Happy New Year to you, too, Leon.

If you find such lists useless, don't read them.

This was asked as a personal question - what "wows" you? No one was asked whether a destination was worth visiting or not, and no one said about any destination that it was terrible and no one should visit go there.

I found it very interesting to read what my fellow Fodorites were or were not wow'ed by.

I don't find the lists useless at all. It gives me some ideas.
After over 30 years of 1-3 international vacations a year, I'm starting to run out of ideas. Plus, I find it fun to read as I personally know at least 6 of the posters on this thread. So, if there's a place that they were "Wowed" by and it might be of interest to me, I can personally contact them to get more info on the place.

Also, I find it fun to read the list. I don't take it so seriously. Happy Travels!