Mhmmm...

The church of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona, on a saturday afternoon, at the exact moment they turn on the lights just before a wedding...

Sunset on the Pont Sant Angelo in Rome

Other than those, I can only think of places that were magical because of what happened...

Once we were just going into St. Peter's, trying to grasp the size of the place, when a little old lady, a nun, walked in. She was carrying a tiny little suitcase, and it was clear that she had just arrived after a long journey. She walked in, looked at the ceiling, and dropped to her knees, her hands on her face, crying uncontrollably. It was one of the most touching moments of my life.

Another was in Florence, at sunset on the Ponte Vecchio. We were there, looking at the river, when a girl stopped there and started playing beautifully on a harp. It was amazing how everyone just stopped talking and just stood there, enjoying the view with a beautiful soundtrack.

And yet another was in Piazza Navona. We were sitting at Tre Scalini, having a tartufo (of course), when a guy who was there at the cafe with a couple of friends started to play a guitar. A lot of people stopped and everyone started singing with the guy. He wasn't doing it for money, just for the heck of it. It was a lot of fun.

Wow -this thread was started 5 yrs ago. I had to top this thread :)

Classic threads such as this deserved to come again. My magic place is still the vine covered terrace of the Albergo Panorama on Lago Maggiore (in Gerra). All I have to do is call to mind the blue-violet dusk or the shimmery(shimmery?) mornings, and the stress flows right out of me. Thank you, h2 and Eva, for this reminder. J. (and did I mention the blue-green water, and the breeze stirring the grapevines overhead, and the terracotta roofs, and the quiet?)

The hotel/restaurant Les Hospitaliers in the Drôme region of France. It's part of a medieval village that was once home to the Knights of Malta, lovingly restores by M. et Mme. Yvon Morin, the owners. Dining outside on the terrace on a summer's night is unbelievable--nothing but a few lights across the valley to tell you that you're not alone in a beautiful dream.

The Manifold Valley in Peak District in England was like paradise when I was a child.

The Lake District in England.

Taormina, Sicily

Waterfall Beach,Albany, West Australia

All of New Zealand-super magic

Northern New South Wales and Manjimup,West Australia where I live now near Beautiful forests.

Great thread for travel ideas and reminiscing!

Mine are

Port Said looking out to the Mediterranean at night

Early morning in rural Austria near Salzburg, walking barefoot through fields and down country lanes

Burg Eltz in winter

All of Florence

The changing view over the Rhine River from my Omi's window. I watched the trees grow, the skyline of the town across the river change, and the sun rise and set many times over the course of 20 years and that view will always hold magic for me.

While all are great, I would suggest "next to your Lover"!
Best in Alsace, France, or San Miguel de Allende, MX, IMHO

With my husband on our honeymoon in the Cinque Terre... though Venice was almost as romantic!!

From a non-romantic viewpoint, being in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1998 before all the violence really flared up in Israel. It was my high school graduation present (a few months belated) and was it ever memorable!

What wonderful places - I realize I haven't travelled NEARLY enough!

My three so far...

Tingtagel - King Arthur's castle on the coast of Cornwall. Absolutely awesome.

Paris - all of it.

Rye, England - the quintessential English village. Stunningly pretty.

Venezia....Like others have said, it's magical. I have gone 3x and am going back

This thread should be condensed and published and maybe the Fodorites will have a hit "1000 places to visit before you die" book. :)

My magical places/moments

San Francisco - I live here and love here. I love the city, the fog, the people, the food, the diversity, the nuts and fruits :)) all of it.

Monterey, California - 17 mile drive - my first view of Monterey years ago.. my stunned amazement of its beauty

Machu Pichu, Peru - The view of Machu Pichu from the Sun Gate in Machu Pichu, Peru. Sitting on the rocks in Machu Pichu while the fog envelopes you just for a moment and then move away... one of the most indelible moments in my memory, drinking chica (corn beer) in the Aguas Calientes

Kerala, the South of India - The magical Backwaters, the tea estates in Kerala shrouded amongst misty hills, watching elephans in the wild, eating shrimp in spicy coconut gravy, walking into a spice garden and standing in awe of Kerala - the place Columbus came looking for when he got lost - the place that gave the world black pepper and cinnamon and cardamom...

Rome, Italy - sigh.. Loved every part of Rome

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy - Eating berry gelato.. yummy

Siena, Italy - another indelible moment - watching Andreas Bocceli singing in the Il Campo in Siena - a free concert we happened to walk into.. and watching it amidst medieval buildings bathed in red glows from lamps

Barcelona, Spain - The Las Ramblas, when the local football club plays any English football team. This can get rowdy and fun.. but boy! was that memorable when the Celtics played Futbol Club of Barcelona

Madrid, Spain - getting drunk on wonderful sangrias .. while tasting this delicious poison from every bar we saw :)

Seville, Spain - when the orange flowers are in full bloom. Standing in the corner and breathing in the freshness, watching flamenco dancers and listening to their beautiful wailing music

Cordoba, Spain - sipping milk shakes and eating Arabic pastries in a tea-shop. Sigh!

Montreal, Canada - getting corn rows while attempting to converse in French with the teenager who is doing my hair, on a beautiful day

I am sure I will have more memories. Reading this post restated to me how beautiful the world is and how little I have seen..
To London and Paris in December... after which I will have some more memories.

Lyon, walking along the quai at sunrise, looking across the Saone to the Cathedral St. Jean.

"L'Infiorate" in Spello, Italy (near Assisi) - the annual festival on Corpus Christi weekend when most streets become a carpet of flower blossoms. I attended this year, June 5 -6. Arrive Saturday so you can witness the actual construction of the carpets, and then tour again on Sunday am before the religious procession causes all to scatter. It takes infinite patience to put these pieces of art together. Many participants work all night on their hands and knees - a memorable tradition to witness.

My magic place is almost always the most recent place I've visited. So for now: sunrise (or sunset) in the Serengeti.

The Roman Forum.

Any warm bar in Paris when it's raining outside.

Assisi mid-week, off-season, when you have the town (almost) to yourself.

Lots and lots of places, actually.

Moonlight on Lake Orta
Sunrise over the desert in Tucson
Sunset over Paris from Sacre Coeur

I have two. The steps of Sacre Couer (sp) overlooking Paris and the Riverwalk in New Orleans watching the freighters make the tight sweep through the city.

What a great long-lasting trail!

1. The middle of the meadow at the floor of Yosemite Valley at night, lying in the grass on your back looking at the kazillion stars reflecting their light off the face of Half Dome.

2. Your first glimpse of Venice.

3. The deck bar (w/ margarita, of course) on Stearn's Wharf at sunset, looking back on the town of Santa Barbara in the rose pink light.

4. Outside at any rive gauche cafe in Paris at dawn (perhaps the street is wet from last night's drizzle...)& that first swallow of cafe au lait.

5. Standing in front of whatever is your most treasured painting in the Uffizi - seeing it for the first time 'in real life' and weeping.

Oh my gosh - there are 62 others!!!!!

What a great thread!!

1. The village of Oia in Santorini Greece.
2. Terrace bars of "Little Italy" Mykonos Greece.
3. On your private sundeck facing the blue sky and clear water in Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh at anytime of the day... It's always enchanting!

ttt

- Chester Beach next to the Wickaninish Inn outside Tofino on Vancouver Island
- Steinbeck's pastures of heaven, the hills behind monterey, california, purple with lupine (this time of year), not a soul in sight, still and silent, views of the ocean to the west, the ridgetops of the ventana wilderness to the south, the landscape a silent meditation

Paris Saint Sulpice... either sitting on a bench or at Café de la Mairie, drinking a Kronenbourg and looking at the fountain.

Sandy

How about sitting on the rocks at Vernazza harbour near sunset, drinking an ice cold beer. Another favorite spot is below an overgrown Japanese cemetary in Hana, Maui overlooking an unbelievable ocean view.

Great question and one which brought back many wonderful memories of past travels ...

Venice during Christmas week. Shops closed, cool and misty, magical just to wander through all the different neighborhoods getting lost.

The first glimpse of the turquoise/aqua/cobalt waters of the sea from the Caldera in Santorini.

The golden stones of Jerusalem, especially in the late afternoon sun.

Winding roads along the coast on the Big Island of Hawaii and, within a half hour, going from the tropics to cool mountain temperatures.

A glass of wine on the rooftop terrace of a restaurant near the central square of Prague, looking down on all the fairy tale baroque buildings and tiny people below.

The National Portrait Gallery and Hampton Court in/near London. If you're a history fanatic, they're heaven. Scratch that, though. I'll take any or all of London.

I have had the opportunity to travel a lot, but my three favorite magic places/moments are/were still in my beloved Brazil:

1. Seeing Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado ("Sugar Loaf"): breathtaking!

2. Walking through the dunes of Canoa Quebrada Beach near Fortaleza, Ceará (Northeast Brazil);

3. Crossing Rio Negro ("Black River"), the major affluent of the Amazon River, in Manaus.

Great to see this topic has been going on for five years. These are the magical places for me and my wife:

1. CHILLON CASTLE, VEYTAUX, SWITZERLAND
while we're riding a ferry along Lake Geneva and coming somewhere from Laussane/Vevey ----- with the snow-capped alps of Dents du Midi on the background of medieval Chillon Castle. All these mirrored by the sparkling purplish waters of Lake Geneva.

This is the most magical for us, ever in this planet !

2. Sistine Chapel, Rome with strong summer sunlight reflecting through the windows of Michaelangelo's frescoes, teasing us to start meditating.

3. Graet Barrier Reef, Australia with all its colours underwater.

4. Radcliffe Square, Oxford University, England --- with its truly medieval setting and cobbled-stone alleyway in the midst of hurried students and academics.

5. Taal Volcano, Philippines ----- amazing. Described as a volcano within a lake within a volcano within a lake, with its purple hues and calming setting. Incredible !

6. Gruyeres, Switzerland is just jaw-dropping while in a train all the way up with chalets along the way and the sound of cow bells ringing and a very distinct cradle-shaped Molesons alps.

7. Sacre Couer Basilica, Paris, in a cable car, downhill ride with pine trees on both sides while the white- glistening cityscape contrasts those rows of evergreen pines trees.

8. Triniti De Monti, Rome with a view of the Basilica of St Peter's Dome along with many other domes and typical Italian red-terracota roofs.

9. Windsor, England also very medieval.

10. Iguazu Falls, Argentina, massive!

ttt......to keep it going

The first or second night in London we just ventured out and took the tube, got off at Tower Hill and watched the lights light up at the Tower. Then we walked down to the Tower Bridge and it was beautiful. We walked across and looked a the view and just happened to catch some fire works that were going off. It was very lovely.

1. Crested Butte, Colorado...after a good snow.
2. Paris...where I first truly fell in love at the ripe age of 42.
3. My own backyard in Arkansas at dusk...listening to the crickets.

ttt

ttt

The small resort of Palm Paradise Cabanas in Southern Sri Lanka near Matara. It was unaffected by the tsunami, and interestingly is/was a personal favourite of Tony Wheeler, foudner of Lonely Planet Guides

These places come to mind as magical

1) Canyon de Chelly, New Mexico
2) Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia - the coastline is breathtaking
3) Lyme Regis,England - the cobbled walks, the Cobb, the local people and fish&chips

Definitely the Hill of Tara in Ireland. I stood on the hill, 10am on an August morning, air chilly with the morning dew, looking out at the patchwork quilt that is central Ireland. I could feel the power of the land well up inside of me.

Here are mine (in no particular order):
1. Standing in a tiny church in Eppstein, Germany - the one where all of my ancestors were baptized, married, and buried.
2. Dancing with my 9 month old daughter in St. Mark's Square one beautiful May evening 12 years ago.
3. Sitting in a pub with my husband (now deceased) in front of a roaring fire in a small village in Donegal (Ireland) and the rain "lashing" outside.
4. My first glimpse of "David" as well as my first glimpse of the Grand Canal.
5. The reception room at an orphanage in Nanning, China, where my second daughter was first placed in my arms (8 years ago).

(1) Standing on top of Beinn Mor Coigeach in north west Scotland, watching the fog evaporate before my eyes, leaving a view of hill, sea and islands as far as the eye could see, with two vapour trails across the blue sky forming the biggest St Andrews Cross ever seen by mortal Scot.

(2) Walking along the very top of the harbour wall in St Andrews, right the the very end, in early spring when the Angus hills to the north are still snowbound. Staring at the sea for as long as I want, then, if it's really calm, walking back along the top of the wall. I know there's a rational explanation why the walk back always seems more scary than the walk out, but I'm not clever enough to know what it is. Nine times out of te I wimp out and climb down the ladder to walk back along the main footway.

1. Anywhere in Venice (sigh)
2. Sitting outside of Edinburgh Castle watching the Military Tattoo
3. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen
4. Almost anyplace on a cruise ship!

Crossing Pont Alma while watching the Eiffel Tower light show with my daughter!

Wonderful Views etc:
1)Bossico - Village high above Lago D'iseo - the "small " lake between Lake Como and Lake Garda in Italy
2) View from the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa
3)View from Fiesole over Florence.

"Magic places"
1) Stonehenge in the fog.
2) St Mark's square , Venice, at 6am - before any other tourists appear.

1. Sitting at an outside cafe in Coyoacan, Mexico on Day of the Dead.

2. Sitting horseback on the top of a hill looking towards the Grand Tetons,Wyoming not a sound.

3. The night view from my parent's balcony overlooking the Inner Harbour in Victoria, Vancouver Island BC with the lights twinkling.