dfourh

I would really like to strongly praise traveller1959 for that superbly conceived and perfectly written post above. You should write a guidebook, and charge $24.95 for it. It should come in a plastic wrap so punters at the bookstore cannot flip through it in advance. The contents of the guidebook should be what you just wrote above, along with 198 blank pages.

nukesafe

The Ifach just north of the village of Calpe, Spain. It looks much like the rock of Gibraltar, and the view from the top makes the rather strenuous climb well worth it. At one time the family had a time share in the village, and I and the kids climbed it often with a lunch. Good memories ---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural...yal_d'Ifac

tailsock

I enjoyed the Château de Vincennes near Paris. no mention pretty much anywhere in any of the guidebooks about a huge royal castle that served as a hunting lodge for King Louis. Very easy to reach... on the metro just take M1 to the end

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_de_Vincennes

LSky

"Buy why would you want Mexican food in Germany? You should be eating German food! You so crazy sparkchaser.", you might say. My answer: Fair enough and I would normally agree but live here and after 6-9 months you'll want to satisfy your Mexican craving.''

I think eating Mexican food almost anywhere but Mexico and along the border is a huge mistake. My friend and I tried Mexican food in Spain once. Just because we figured it's like the "mother" of Mexican food. Oh, those poor Spaniards have no idea what they are missing.


Back to the OQ, getting off the beaten track is good but as in life, do something that you're interested in doing.

quokka

Get good detailed guidebooks instead of the "See Europe in 14 days" type. A specialized guidebook that describes region xy in 300 or more pages will have a lot of those "unknown" places which uninformed tourists overlook, while to locals they count among the most important places in the are

Someone above mentioned the Ruhr district - I agree that this area is absolutely worthwhile. Essen is the most interesting city there and Essen alone can easily keep you busy for several days in a row. Then there are all the other cities and towns. To cover "everything" you'd need weeks, if not months.

mr_go

I'd like to join the chorus singing the praises of getting off the beaten track and escaping the guidebook lock-step.

Any guide book will do when it comes to the northern Italian lake country, especially lakes Como, Maggiore and Garda. The better guide books might make a mention of Lake Orta, and you might even get a short paragraph on the lovely Orta San Giulio. But rare is the book that tells you about the remarkable Sacromonte poised above the village, with dozens of temples populated with life-size terra cotta figures depicting the life and times of St. Francis.

Everyone knows about the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. Some know of Uig, the port town on the western coast. But not many know about the enchanting Fairy Glen, just outside of town. (Unless they read our trip report, maybe.)

Sometimes, the book gets it right, too. Lonely Planet took us to some pretty out-there spots on the Istrian peninsula in Croatia recently...and out to rustic Cres island, as well. Overall, that book gets a nice thumbs-up from us, even if it was maddeningly wrong about some obvious stuff in Zagreb.

BigAleinstein

Two caveats. There are certain sights on the beaten path that are worth it. SOME should not be discounted simply because they are popular.

And there are certain sights that are worth repeat visits.

Every trip to Barcelona I visit Sagrada Familia to see what progress has been made without my assistance. It stills holds a great fasconation for me. And I also like to go and see La Sardana, though I no longer dance with them.

We live in NYC and still look forward to going to the Met Museum and MoMA because I always see new things or have a different perspective.