This was published 6 years ago
Unusual tourist attractions around the world: 13 unexpected attractions
By Brian Johnston
If you imagine you've seen it all, maybe it's time to shake up your travelling life with a hearty dose of the unexpected. OK, you've enjoyed the carnival in Rio, attended the Melbourne Cup and been to the beaches of the Mediterranean. But have you partied in a Swiss city, enjoyed horse racing in the snow, or basked on the sands of downtown Berlin, cocktail in hand as reggae music plays?
And now for something completely different, as the Monty Python catchphrase goes. The world remains an unpredictable place if only you go looking. That doesn't mean you have to be outrageous: no need to skewer your cheeks at a Hindu festival, bog snorkel in England or enter wife-carrying contests in Finland. You can stick to ordinary activities available to even the most timid traveller, yet do them in unusual places for an added twist of surprise and quirkiness. Ignore the Mona Lisa and enjoy outstanding Islamic art at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Hit the ski slopes (or at least slope) in Dubai, or lounge by a tropical lagoon in central Germany, housed in a gargantuan greenhouse that also contains the world's largest indoor rainforest.
If such activities were just gimmicks then they'd be pointless, even if fun. But there are often good reasons to do normal things in apparently abnormal places. Here, then, are 13 experiences that provide tales of the unexpected around the world.
INTERESTING HOLIDAY HOUSES IN ENGLAND
EXPECTED Laura Ashley chintz in thatched cottages.
SURPRISING Modern architecture enthusiast and bestselling philosopher Alain de Botton is one of the forces behind Living Architecture, which provides holiday lets in buildings designed by contemporary architects. Expect houses with glass floors, hillside protrusions and modern interpretations of flint cottages and barns.
WHY HERE? These holiday homes might push you beyond your (mental) comfort zone, since they encourage guests to ponder the meaning of architecture, the role it plays in our wellbeing, and how well-designed spaces are created.
BE ORIGINAL Among the choices is the oddly angled Dune House at £3700 ($6200) a week and the extraordinary Balancing Barn at £3400 a week, both in Suffolk; and the Zen-like Life House in Wales at £1600 a week.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to the UK
FRENCH DINING IN TOKYO
EXPECTED Yakatori bars, sushi trains and raw fish.
SURPRISING The Japanese have long loved French food, and Tokyo has some of the world's best French restaurants. Several are starred by the Michelin guide itself, including straight-up Joel Robuchon Restaurant (robuchon.jp) and fusion Quintessence (quintessence.jp). You'll also find extensive wine lists and knowledgeable sommeliers to provide recommendations.
WHY HERE? French dining isn't just a passing fad in Tokyo, and the quality is outstanding. Some restaurants are traditional, while at others such as Aux Amis (auxamis.com) you'll get interesting Asian influences still largely ignored on the staid plates of France.
BE ORIGINAL Chow down on classical French fare at Chez Matsuo (chez-matsuo.co.jp) and L'Osier (losier.shiseido.co.jp), or tuck in a 10-course meal at tiny Le Mange Tout (le-mange-tout.com).
MORE gotokyo.org.
See also: Tokyo's weirdest attractions that you definitely should do
ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK IN SPAIN
EXPECTED Static museum displays and roped-off ancient sites.
SURPRISING Not all archaeological sites are off limits to the uninitiated. Volunteers with ArchaeoSpain contribute hands-on excavation and laboratory work at an ancient Roman fortress and learn archaeological methods, legalities and protocols. You can also join seminars on Roman ceramics, culture and architecture.
WHY HERE? Instead of admiring museum artefacts, you have the thrill of finding them, and you'll also understand more about the whole process that lets us understand ancient civilisations. Tourists get static versions of history: as an archaeological volunteer, you contribute to it.
BE ORIGINAL Roman Fortress Pulpon Field School runs August 2-22 2017 and costs $US1750 ($2360) including full room and board, training, excursions and medical insurance. There are various other archaeological digs across Spain.
MORE archaeospain.com.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Spain
CELLAR DOORS IN THAILAND
EXPECTED Singha beers, rice paddies and mango plantations.
SURPRISING This tropical nation is making a slow name for itself with three up-and-coming wine regions. One of the best vineyards is Hua Hin Hills, 90 kilometres southwest of Bangkok, whose chic winery has a great bistro and wine bar overlooking jungle-clad mountains cooled by ocean breezes.
WHY HERE? A wine tasting might solve that long-standing conundrum, which wine to match with curry (chenin blanc might be the answer). And nowhere else, perhaps, can you take an elephant ride through vineyards – even if you have to keep an eye on the grape-stealing pachyderms.
BE ORIGINAL The vineyard is 45 minutes from coastal resort Hua Hin. Open daily, vineyard tour and wine tasting with tapas $52.
MORE huahinhills.com.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Thailand
MATHS MUSEUM IN NEW YORK
EXPECTED Museums displaying objects and art rather than devoted to abstract concepts.
SURPRISING The wonder of mathematics and its importance in our everyday lives is showcased at the USA's National Museum of Mathematics, which sets out to explain the structures and patterns that determine everything around us.
WHY HERE? Active participation is invited: you can solve puzzles, play with robots, paint on water, create music, ride square-wheeled trikes and use a 3D printer. The museum splendidly demonstrates how interactivity and inventiveness can overcome the challenges of presenting an intangible science. There's also a big focus on keeping children entertained and engaged.
BE ORIGINAL 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan, open daily except Thanksgiving Day, entry $20. There are regular family-friendly Friday events.
MORE momath.org.
See also: The best of New York on a budget
WINTER HORSERACING IN SWITZERLAND
EXPECTED Skiing and snowboarding.
SURPRISING The highlight of February's social calendar in the posh ski resort of St Moritz is White Turf, when beautiful people congregate in art-hung tents around the town's frozen lake to enjoy horseracing in the snow as they nibble on oysters and caviar. Even more thrilling is skijoring, when skiers are pulled behind galloping horses in a grand show of mad courage.
WHY HERE? Join celebrities and billionaires – well, almost – by bagging a ticket in the grandstands for ordinary folk, and enjoy the unusual sight of snow flicked up by horses hoofs on a racecourse backed by ice-encrusted mountains.
BE ORIGINAL White Turf takes place over three days each February in St Moritz. Entry from $26 (standing) and $52 (seated).
MORE whiteturf.ch.
PERFORMING ARTS IN ORLANDO
EXPECTED Theme parks, shopping malls and beaches.
SURPRISING The Orlando Ballet (orlandoballet.org) offers an eclectic range of performances both classical and contemporary. The city also boasts an opera company and philharmonic orchestra, while the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre (orlandoshakes.org) offers a rotating mix of plays, from a sober Macbeth to an amusing Comedy of Errors.
WHY HERE? The arts scene thrives here, not just in concert and theatre venues but during annual festivals such as the Florida Film Festival (floridafilmfestival.com). And it isn't all classical either; the Dr Philips Centre (drphillipscenter.org) features contemporary performing arts including jazz, rock and dance acts.
BE ORIGINAL If you want the full run-down in what will be showing while you're in Orlando, head to orlando.eventful.com, which covers every imaginable arts event.
MORE orlandoinfo.com.
JAPANESE COMMUNITY IN SAO PAULO
EXPECTED More samba than sushi.
SURPRISING This Brazilian megacity is home to more Japanese (600,000) than any other city outside Japan. Many congregate in the Liberdade district, joined by Indonesians, Koreans and Chinese to make up a distinctive "Asiatown" marked by a giant red torii gate and hosting a big Sunday Asian food and crafts fair.
WHY HERE? Sao Paulo has one of the world's few large Japanese immigrant communities in a refreshing change from Chinatowns. The Museum of Japanese Immigration provides interesting historical and cultural insights into an ethnic group established since the 1910s.
BE ORIGINAL Though misleadingly often referred to as Chinatown, the Japanese community concentrates around Rua Galvao Bueno in Liberdade, on a metro station of the same name.
MORE saopaulo.sp.gov.br.
JAZZ BARS IN COPENHAGEN
EXPECTED Little mermaids and chilly vodka bars.
SURPRISING This cool Scandinavian city resounds with jazz sounds from buskers in city squares, artists in clubs and musical celebrities in concert halls. There's a huge variety of jazz venues, including eclectic Jazzhouse (jazzhouse.dk), cafe and record store Jazzcup (jazzklubben.dk), jazz restaurant The Standard (thestandardcph.dk) and the famous Jazzhus Montmartre (jazzhusmontmartre.dk).
WHY HERE? Copenhagen is a leading European jazz and blues centre, and snug bars across the city will have your toes tapping to jazz and your heart warm with hygge, that particularly Danish brand of cosiness.
BE ORIGINAL If you really want to be surrounded by jazz, hit town in either July for the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (jazzfestival2017.com), or February for the nationwide Vinterjazz Festival (jazz.dk).
MORE visitcopenhagen.com.
SWISS MOUNTAIN TOWN IN CHINA
EXPECTED Rice paddies and temples with upturned eaves.
SURPRISING Sitting beside a little lake in humid southern China is an architecturally faithful, replica Swiss alpine resort complete with chalets, chapel and facsimiles of Interlaken's famous Hotel Victoria Jungfrau and Lucerne's historic wooden bridge. Other nods to Switzerland includes veal sausages, fondue, geraniums, Bernese flags and yodellers.
WHY HERE? Because if you went to the real Swiss Alps, you wouldn't be able to snack on dried seaweed, listen to bagpipers, ride a gondola or visit an adjacent tea plantation and enjoy a kung-fu show that involves dancing teapots.
BE ORIGINAL The resort is 30 kilometres east of Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, with numerous bus connections. Open daily, entry $30.
MORE octeast.com
A CASTLE IN CALIFORNIA
EXPECTED Hollywood mansions, freeways and sprawling suburbs.
SURPRISING Hearst Castle, which embodies every idealised notion of a European castle, since it incorporates a pastiche of numerous architectural styles, as well as sculptures, paintings, French furnishings and a Roman temple looted from the old continent. It's the early 20th-century creation of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. George Bernard Shaw claimed this is the way God would have built his house – if he'd had the money.
WHY HERE? The castle has glamorous associations; Hollywood's rich and famous once stayed for weekends. Plus it beats anything medieval by having a fabulous swimming pool and its own movie theatre.
BE ORIGINAL Hearst Castle is in San Simeon, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Open daily, entry from $32.
MORE hearstcastle.org.
CARNIVAL IN BASEL
EXPECTED Buttoned-up bankers and straight-laced Calvinists.
SURPRISING Carnival might normally be associated with Latinate cities such as Rio or Venice, but the Swiss equivalent Fasnacht is just as lively, and nowhere more so than Basel, where it features two big parades, music concerts and a wonderful show of lanterns. Costumed partygoers roam the city centre and brass bands oompah into the wee hours.
WHY HERE? Drummers, piccolo players, strange-sounding music, multi-coloured costumes and a downtown that erupts in merriment all show that the Swiss can let their collective hair down. Fasnacht has traditions dating back to medieval times, including a masquerade and dance of death that provides a melancholy note to the joyous celebrations.
BE ORIGINAL Fasnacht (fasnachts-comite.ch) is held over three days in the week following Ash Wednesday, or March 6-8, 2017.
MORE basel.com.
See also: Why you should visit Basel - the three-minute guide
BEACHES IN DOWNTOWN BERLIN
EXPECTED Concrete in a city 200 kilometres from the coast.
SURPRISING Golden sands, deckchairs under jaunty parasols, potted palm trees and reggae-playing cocktail bars: welcome to summer on the Spree riverbanks. Berlin has numerous artificial beaches, including Oststrand (oststrand.de), Capital Beach near the train station, one behind Hamburger Bahnhof art museum and another by the floating Badeschiff.
WHY HERE? Urban beaches are a worldwide trend, but Berlin's scene remains one of the best. It isn't just for suntans and swimming but for socialising at many bars such as family-friendly Yaam (yaam.de), techno-pumping Club Der Visionaere (clubdervisionaere.com) or easy-going Strandbar Mitte (monbijou-theater.de), with its samba dance evenings.
BE ORIGINAL Berlin's urban beaches unfold between May and September. Many are free, but you may have to rent deck chairs.
MORE visitberlin.de.
See also: 10 reasons why Berlin is Europe's coolest city
SNOW WAY
Ticked off the Snowies slopes and met the challenge of Europe and North America? Then prepare for some powder-junky one-upmanship and more unusual ski destinations.
GULMARG, INDIA
This is big mountain skiing on steroids – after all, the mountains are the Himalayas – and will literally take your breath away, since the lifts top out at over 4000 metres. Advanced skiers will appreciate the 1500 vertical metres of descent and challenging bowls and chutes. There's no glitz at this Kashmiri resort, but plenty of wild skiing on abundant out-of-bounds terrain best tackled with a guide. See skigulmarg.com.
DIZIN, IRAN
Surrounded by spectacular scenery in the Alborz Mountains north of Teheran, this 1960s purpose-built town is Iran's premier ski destination, a high-altitude resort known for its glorious deep powder snow and extended ski season that often runs into May. It has over abundant runs and a host of lifts; wide, treeless slopes are ideal for beginner and intermediate skiers. It's also a notable grass-skiing destination in summer. See dizinskiresort.com.
OUKAIMEDEN, MOROCCO
This resort just 70 kilometres from Marrakesh doesn't exactly break records, with just seven lifts and a handful of runs. Yet this is Africa's highest ski resort, with a base sitting at 2600 metres in the Atlas Mountains and its high chairlift summiting Jebel Attar at 3258 metres. Bumpy pistes and haphazard grooming provide challenges in this rough-edged destination that also features sledging and snowshoeing. See visitmorocco.com.
YONGPYONG, SOUTH KOREA
Pyeongchang will shortly rocket to international attention when it hosts the Winter Olympics in 2018, but Yongpyong is Korea's largest ski resort and has excellent snow conditions. Sitting pretty in the Baekdudaegan Mountains two hours east of Seoul, it features 16 lifts, a terrain park and 25 kilometres of groomed slopes for both skiers and boarders, with lifts remaining open until midnight for floodlit skiing. See yongpyong.co.kr.
MZAAR, LEBANON
Located in the Bekaa Valley, the Middle East's largest ski resort has 80 kilometres of groomed runs topping out at 2465 metres, with the chance to spot Beirut in the distance. Wide, easy lower slopes cater to beginners, while upper runs suit intermediate and advanced skiers. This may well be the only ski resort to boast ancient ruins: check out the Roman tower and Phoenician temple. See skimzaar.com.
TOTALLY WILD
Five animal attractions likely to raise another eyebrow.
SWIMMING WITH CROCODILES, AUSTRALIA
Nothing surprising about salties in the Northern Territory, but seeing people lowered into the water with them? You can experience the adrenaline rush at Darwin's Crocosaurus Cove, where you're lowered in an acrylic "Cage of Death" into a pool where a 700-kilogram crocodile lurks. See crocosauruscove.com.
BIRD SPOTTING, HONG KONG
The hilly terrain and offshore islands of this bustling city are a lure to migrating bird species – including 35 endangered species – from as far afield as Siberia and Australia, making Mai Po Nature Reserve in particular a popular destination for birdwatchers between September and May. See hkbws.org.hk
LION SAFARI, INDIA
Think Africa is the only place to see lions? Gujarat in western India is home to the smaller Asiatic lion. You can take safaris at Sasan Gir camp in Gir National Park to spot the rare creatures, as well as other almost-African wildlife such as hyenas and leopards. See girnationalpark.in.
FLAMINGO SPOTTING, FRANCE
The Rhine River delta, briny lagoons and coastline of the Camargue region of southern France provides the perfect breeding ground for flamingos between April and June, when they strut through their mating dances before giving birth to chicks in the following months. Out of Africa, literally. See arlestourisme.com.
PARAHAWKING, NEPAL
Paragliding and hawking are two regular if somewhat esoteric activities, but blend the two for something truly unusual. Set off on a tandem paraglide with an instructor over the Pokhara Valley and interact with Egyptian vultures, lured to your arm with buffalo meat as they soar with you on rising thermals. See parahawking.com
Brian Johnston was a guest of many of the above attractions or national tourist offices, and visited others at his own expense.
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