Best history/nerdy places to travel

[lsimpson33]

What are your favorite historical/nerdy places to travel? Especially outside the US and Western Europe?

I find most travel guides focus on things like food, wine, old churches, museums, and luxury experiences. And that’s fun for a day, but I get bored easily with those types of things.

I like a healthy dose of history (but typically not museums) and some local culture mixed in.

Some favorite trips this far(I’d like to expand beyond West Europe):
- Greece: Athens Greek ruins, Oracle of Delphi, Olympia original Olympic stadium.
- Rome: Coliseum, Roman Forum, Jewish quarter
- Germany: Munich and Nuremberg WWII sites, Berlin Wall, German Christmas Markets

[Nemo2]

Bulgaria, Romania, (we haven't yet given up hope of visiting, among other places, Lviv, Ukraine), Jerusalem old city, Hungary, Poland....and and and.....

"food, wine, old churches, museums, and luxury experiences"......we have no interest in, except perhaps a quick look around old churches/cathedrals for their historical value.

[lsimpson33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Bulgaria, Romania, (we haven't yet given up hope of visiting, among other places, Lviv, Ukraine), Jerusalem old city, Hungary, Poland....and and and..... "food, wine, old churches, museums, and luxury experiences"......we have no interest in, except perhaps a quick look around old churches/cathedrals for their historical value.

Thanks! What do you go in particular to see?

I’m glad I’m not the only one who isn’t enamored with the more sensory stuff.

[Gumby]

Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, Peru.
Funchal, Madeira
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsimpson33 What do you go in particular to see?

How much space do I have to respond?

Initially we (try to) go somewhere because we haven't been there before.

We enjoy, but are not limited to, thriving back alleys in old cities, castles, old trains, places such as Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa, (actually we've wandered around a number of cemeteries, in various places, for the historic interest)....in general places where one can wonder who else set foot there 'eons' ago. Like that.

[lsimpson33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, Peru. Funchal, Madeira Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Thank you. What did you especially like in Madeira and Nova Scotia?

[COcheesehead]

Not outside the US, but often overlooked is the four corners region or the Colorado Plateau, in the US. Loaded with some of the best ancient Native American sites.

Southwest- south central France along the Dordogne for ancient man sites, Cro-Magnon man, cave paintings, castles, loaded with history.

[DrRoy]

Great Britain. Sites from neolithic, to Roman, to Medieval, and great museums.

[audreyh1]

Pretty much go to Western Europe for history. Have trekked to many Roman sites outside of Italy which is a fave. Followed in the footsteps of Van Gogh. Had a lovely anthropology experience seeing early man sites especially cave paintings.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsimpson33 Thank you. What did you especially like in Madeira and Nova Scotia?

Madeira is an island located off the coast of Morocco, but settled by the Portuguese in about 1420. It is about 15 miles wide and thirty miles long, and 5000 feet high in the center, which gives dramatic landscapes and great sea views. The weather is about 70 deg. F year round. Colder at elevation and warmer down at sea level. Much of the island is covered by the laurasilva forest.

The old town of Funchal, at which Columbus called at the beginning of his third voyage, has many interesting old buildings and sites, with innumerable cafes and little shops. We stayed at Reid's Palace Hotel, an elegant old English style grand hotel perched on a cliff over the harbor.

One of the most enjoyable things we did there was to walk the levadas. A levada is a small canal dug into the side of the mountains to direct water from the rainier north side of the island to the sunnier south side. There are many of them and they were dug by hand in the 15th century. They follow the contour of the land and have a pitch of no more than about 1%, so the water flows gently to the south. Along each levada is a footpath so that workers can go up and down the levada and clear any blockages. Those footpaths make great, easy walking trails through the laurasilva forest. You have fantastic views out over the mountains to the sea, as well as an intimate view of many houses that lie close to the levada (we have always enjoyed walking the back alleys of places and seeing how people really live). Some of the more popular levadas have English tea houses where you can stop and enjoy a cuppa and a sandwich. https://blog.madeira.best/best-5-lev...madeira-island

We also enjoyed a toboggan ride from Monte down the hill to the center of Funchal. The toboggans are made of wood and wicker, and are mounted on two large wooden skis. Two men, dressed all in white, with straw hats, guide the toboggan down the streets. It goes pretty fast. https://matadornetwork.com/read/tobo...eira-portugal/

Finally, if you have no problem with heights, it is exhilarating to drive some of the old roads, especially the old north road, where you go under a waterfall and the cliff drops straight down to the ocean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Ge8HIRCFw

All of Nova Scotia is beautiful, but especially the Cape Breton Island part. The Cabot Trail is a spectacular drive along the northern coast, with ocean views the entire way. https://www.cbisland.com/tourist-att...s/cabot-trail/

Some of the interesting things we found were

The Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck. Parks Canada - Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site - Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site

The Glenora Whiskey distillery. Whiskies — Glenora Distillery

A boat tour to see the Puffins. Puffin Boat Tours Cape Breton Nova Scotia - Puffin Boat Tours Cape Breton Nova Scotia

A coal mine under the Atlantic Ocean in Glace Bay. Miners Museum – Glace Bay Nova Scotia Canada

The historic Fortress of Louisbourg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg

They still celebrate their Gaelic heritage in Nova Scotia and there are many related sites and activities. https://www.novascotia.com/trip-idea...gaelic-culture

If you're willing to drive a little off the beaten path on a clear day, you can go to one the little fishing villages perched precariously over the Atlantic up on the north shore and see the mountains of Newfoundland in the distance. You can also see where Guillermo Marconi set up his first trans-Atlantic wireless transmission station. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcon...ites_of_Canada

[Mr._Graybeard]

Merida, Mexico, is an interesting city. Originally the Mayan city of T'ho, the Spaniards conquered it in the 16th century and built a cathedral (second-oldest in North America, I believe) with stones torn from a Mayan temple. Bas relief carvings on buildings on the zocalo show Spaniards standing on the heads of natives. The center of the city is typically colonial, with cobblestone streets and walled-off courtyards.

However, the turn of the 20th century was a wealthy time for the city, with great income from sisal plantations. The moneyed class built a broad avenue inspired by the Champs Elysees and lined it with white mansions, some of which are museums today.

The local cuisine is classic Yucatecan, and noted for its quality.

From the city's central location you can take excursions to numerous lesser-visited Mayan sites like Uxmal; the great Mayan city of Chichen-Itza is less than a couple hours away by car. On the gulf side, the beach town of Celestun is worth a visit for its natural beauty, although the water isn't as crystalline as Cancun's, it's a great place for birding.

The downtown is lively in the evening, but the revelers are mostly locals, not tourists. It's also one of the safest cities in Mexico. https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/mexico/merida/

One downside: it is hot. Buy a Panama hat to keep the sun off. Every local kiosk sells them.

[brett]

We spent three days in Merida this past Feb. Enjoyed it very much.

We are looking to include Bulgaria in our next Greece trip. Just saw a travel show about it and spent some time researching. Looks like an easy add on.

Turkey is one of our favourites as well.

[stepford]

Croatia is just littered with history. Every city seems to have an old town (Stari Grad) with structures often stretching back to Roman times. Major Roman ruins particularly in Split and Pula. Dubrovnik is lovely (at least it was before GoT fans overran it) with both its medieval history on display and the modern (rather grim) history of the 90s war in a museum on the hill overlooking the city. Fascinating cold war history in Tito's tunnels on the island of Vis. The list goes on and on.

[Nemo2]

In Funchal you can also visit The Principality of Pontinha.

[Nemo2]

I've mentioned this before/elsewhere, but try Kami and the rest of the world.....I know 'they' (Kami and perhaps three other women who travel independently) are on Facebook; DW found Kami (who is Polish) when we were in Bulgaria, and everyone in the group/followers included are very helpful and willing to share tips/experiences.

The group focuses primarily on Eastern Europe but their parameters are flexible......they and their followers are mainly, but not exclusively, 'younger'....we are on the outer edge.......close to the right side of the Bell Curve.

[clobber]

You listed some great places! If you want to expand beyond, try Jordan, Israel, Egypt, and Turkey. From a history perspective they are hard to beat.

Jordan - Petra, Dead Sea, Jerash, Madaba Map
Israel - Where to even begin? Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Makhtesh Ramon

[OldShooter]

Turkey. Amazing place and nothing like Western Europe. If you're religious, they say that something like 60+% of the places mentioned in the Bible are in Turkey. Ephesis, for example, is amazing as are the tiny church caves. Cappadocia's rock formations and cave living are another unique experience. Bodrum, on the Med coast, is where we took our "mid-trip break." Kind of touristy but a lot of fun and great seafood of course.

Istanbul is, well ..., Istanbul, Constantinople, and Byzantium. Also the center of the Ottoman empire and the location of Hagia Sophia.

Our original (2010) trip plan was Greece and Turkey, but as we learned more and more about Turkey we ditched the Greek idea and concentrated on Turkey. We didn't regret it.

Don't worry about the Kurds and the excitement with Syria and Iraq. That's all far to the East.

[Nemo2]

Going further afield it looks as if they're rebuilding the tunnel souks of Aleppo, Syria:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqDKkW1J2PM

I was there in 1963.....it was like 1,001 Arabian Nights......unfortunately reconstruction is necessarily modernized.

https://www.google.com/search?q=tunn...AlxyVMPpe12IM:

I'm amazed that the citadel is still standing.

[brett]

We have vistited Istanbul three times yet we always find something interesting to see that we missed on previous trips.

Some of our favourite times in Turkey have been renting a car for a few weeks and driving along the coast to Antalya. Or spending time in the Kayseri and Capadoccia areas.

[Starsky]

The coast of Croatia is quite interesting and beautiful, especially the city of Split - literally built in and around Diocletian's Palace - the last Roman Emperor. Nice people, great food, cheap! Medjugorje is an interesting side trip into Bosnia, if you're into miracles.

Asia is amazing! Start with Tokyo if you want your mind blown. Talk about old and new!

Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc. All good. Sydney, Australia is gorgeous and fun. The Aussies love vacationing in New Caledonia.