What's so special about where you live?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was thinking about this earlier- what things would I suggest someone coming to my area for a few days should see or do?  What are the experiences someone should have when they come here that would stand out?

For the Halifax area, we have the usual things:

- Citadel Hill: a large fort in the middle of the city that provides historical information and great views.  It's also funny because every day at noon they fire a cannon and you can always tell who is new to the city (or visiting) because they always jump!

- Peggy's Cove: personally I never really saw too much exciting about it, but a lot of people think it's great- it's a rock shoreline with a lighthouse.  It's not a big lighthouse, but it does have a post office in it so you can send people post cards to let them know you were there.  For some reason, people love it, so I figure it's something everynne should do.

- Halifax Waterfront: like any port city the waterfront is worth going to and seeing.  There are lots of good restaurants and usually a lot of activity with cruise ships, fishing boats, Navy ships, Coast Guard vessels and commercial ships like container ships, RoRo ships and bulk carriers going by- oh, and private vessels from yachts to sailboats to seadoos to pontooon boats and speedboats.  And, if you like, you can rent a boat or seadoo and head out on the water yourself.  Or, take a tour, either a walking tour or on the Harbour Hopper, a repurposed WWII era amphibious troop carrier.

Then there's the food.  While I don't eat seafood, I am told that there is excellent seafood here.  Things like lobster and crab are generally considered to be better when the water is colder, and we are further north than Maine.   

I also recommend a Halifax Donair, which is spiced beef cooked on a spit, sliced and put in a pita with a sweet sauce, cheese, tomato and onions.

We have a few decent malls here if shopping is your thing, and some shopping districts.  Also, if you are into the night life, we have some great bars here, including one establishment that consists of multiple bars all in one building.  It's called The Liquor Dome, or just The Dome for short and it's the largest nightclub east of Montreal.

I'm sure there is more, but that's just off the top of my head.  I'm way more interested in hearing about your areas- so if I was going to visit your place for two or three days, what are the "must see" or "must do" kinds of things you'd recommend?

Def

[Farmer X]

If you're a gearhead, there's something in my city that will be of interest to you.

[AzteCypher]

I live north of Austin so.

• State Capitol building
• Barton Springs Pool
• Jacob's Well
• Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail
• Dinosaur Tracks near Liberty Hill & Leander
• Lots of BBQ places
• SXSW Music Festival

[Chako]

Here you go,

https://saulttourism.com/

[ReamerPunch]

The best thing about where Chako lives, would be his collection of tools. That's the first place I'd like to visit if I went there.
But I don't think he allows visitors.

[Vidar]

 

Over here at the top of Europe tourists tend to come for a few key reasons:

1. Aurora Borealis in winter. And experiencing snow and cold for some.
2. Midnight Sun in summer. We have two months where the sun stays up.
3. North cape. For many the journey seems way more important than the end destination as they walk, cycle and drive with all kinds of contraptions for a very long distance indeed. (And some seem to have an expedition thing going on. I imagine their disappointment when there is easy tarmac all the way... )
4. Fishing (salmon, trout, cod and halibut seems to be the main species).

Once here they might also do some other activities like dog sledding, snowmobiles, various hikes, Sami culture visits, whale safaris, ice hotel, king crab fishing, and very likely many others - I'm bad as a local tourist I guess.

[Chako]

There isn't much to see around here unless you like the outdoors.,

[pfrsantos]

Huh... it's where I live. Next question?

 

 

[aicolainen]

There isn't much to see around here unless you like the outdoors.,

Not much?
That's my primary reason for going anywhere (on my own time)

[aicolainen]

Huh... it's where I live. Next question?

 

 

I'm sorry pfrsantos, that's only my second most important reason to go somewhere. At best.

[Sos24]

The most obvious is the beach but it isn’t really that different compared to others.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is probably the most unique.  A 13 mile bridge with two underwater tunnels so shipping traffic can pass over. 

The area is also known for its several military bases, but it isn’t something the average person would be able to see or enjoy.

https://youtube.com/shorts/bnKEwkIAAbM?si=u-Zbkzd3KA4gdz1N


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[PitCarver]

Not much around here except the lake.

[friendliestdoggo]

I live in Hanoi, Vietnam so there are quite some stuffs for tourists to checkout. The city was founded long ago since the year 1010, so there are some iconic historical and culture sites, such as:
- Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature): founded since 1070, people here called it "the first university of Vietnam". Now it is museum that displays some pens, books, personal artifacts belongs to the students who studied there.
- Hoả Lò prison: built by the French during colonization, used to house Vietnamese political prisoners. Later the Vietnamese use the prison to house captured American soldiers until the war ended.
- Hoàn Kiếm lake: famous for the mythical story about a king borrowed and returned the magic sword back to a turtle deity. In the middle of the lake you can find a small island with the Turtle Tower. Around the lake, you can visit Ngọc Sơn temple, Huc red bridge, temple of king Lê with a bronze statue of the king carrying the magic sword.
- If you want to check out some French architecture then we have St. Joseph's Cathedral, and Hanoi Opera House.
- Other than that there are various museums across the city, including: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Vietnam Military History Museum, Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Hanoi, etc.
About the cuisine, there are lots of things to checkout also Phở noodles is probably the most famous, but we also have lots of other dishes also. Try grilled fish eaten with rice noodles, bún thang, different types of spring rolls,... and maybe try our egg coffee too

[AzteCypher]

Never tried egg coffee but Cafe Sua Da is one of my favorites.

[Farmer X]

Vietnam sounds like an interesting place. I've been near there (Thailand). I just don't know about the egg coffee.

[friendliestdoggo]

Egg coffee is basically you have coffee with condensed milk underneath. The egg yolk is beaten into a creamy foam and poured on top 
Oh and recently I see coffee with salted cream is very trendy too, adding salt to coffee is such a game changer

[Echotech]

I live in Hanoi, Vietnam so there are quite some stuffs for tourists to checkout. The city was founded long ago since the year 1010, so there are some iconic historical and culture sites, such as:
- Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature): founded since 1070, people here called it "the first university of Vietnam". Now it is museum that displays some pens, books, personal artifacts belongs to the students who studied there.
- Hoả Lò prison: built by the French during colonization, used to house Vietnamese political prisoners. Later the Vietnamese use the prison to house captured American soldiers until the war ended.
- Hoàn Kiếm lake: famous for the mythical story about a king borrowed and returned the magic sword back to a turtle deity. In the middle of the lake you can find a small island with the Turtle Tower. Around the lake, you can visit Ngọc Sơn temple, Huc red bridge, temple of king Lê with a bronze statue of the king carrying the magic sword.
- If you want to check out some French architecture then we have St. Joseph's Cathedral, and Hanoi Opera House.
- Other than that there are various museums across the city, including: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Vietnam Military History Museum, Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, Vietnam People's Air Force Museum, Hanoi, etc.
About the cuisine, there are lots of things to checkout also Phở noodles is probably the most famous, but we also have lots of other dishes also. Try grilled fish eaten with rice noodles, bún thang, different types of spring rolls,... and maybe try our egg coffee too

I’ve visited Hanoi and had a great time.. Some lovely architecture, very friendly people and superb food, highly recommended

[Echotech]

I live in Sydney as do a few MTo regulars, Reamer Punch, Huntsman and pietervn, I’m sure there’s more

I’m sure you don’t need to be told about the beaches, like Bondi (cool but a bit commercial, better beaches on the north shore) or the Opera House and Harbour Bridge but we’ve also got huge areas of bush (forest) and parks all within the city limits as well as the Blue Mountains on our doorstep

Sydney like all Australia is very multicultural, 30% of us were born elsewhere which gives the place a very vibrant feel and we’ve some really great food. Aussies are obsessed by coffee and you’ll get some of the best anywhere here

Like anywhere it’s not all roses and we’ve our fair share of social issues and crime, but overall it’s pretty darn good and I feel lucky to live here

[ThisAlarm7]

We moved to SW Idaho from the upper left Pacific NW. The latter is far more beautiful in my opinion than the desert here, so we'll be moving north in our state one day to enjoy the heavy forest but avoid the downsides of neighboring Washington.

SW Idaho is great though to raise a family because it's a very clean, very low crime medium size metro area.  Exceptionally rare graffiti, no huge sprawling homeless camps, and politics and culture much more to our liking. Also far less traffic than our old digs. Gun laws are exponentially better.

While not as scenic, there is a lot of hiking in the foothills and other trail areas. National forest and better landscapes are only an hour or so away. The downtown has a mellow vibe, lots of neat restaurants and shops. The fishing can be excellent even in the city where the river comes through, and even better fishing is only 1-2 hours away.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not much around here except the lake.

There's a lot of lakes... Which one are you talking about?   

Def

[aicolainen]

Trondheim, Norway, Earth

That's the same Norway as @vidar briefly covered in its entirety, but since he took the generalist approach and touched lightly on what the country as a whole has to offer, I'll focus on my area more specifically.

It's a rather old town in Norwegian terms, founded in 997.
Home to Nidarosdomen (Nidaros cathedral), the worlds most northernly medieval cathedral.

Old buildings and the old wooden house settlement of the city (of which it has the longest continuous settlement in Scandinavia), The old dock houses along the river makes up some of this settlement.


Close proximity to sea and mountain. There are definitively other places in Norway with more spectacular transitions from sea to surrounding mountains, but if you also want culture, history and the convenience of a city, Trondheim is a pretty good destination. This picture is from one of the peaks surrounding our city, only about 10km/6.3 miles from the city square


Close to mountainous national parks like Dovrefjell national park, famous for having the last (though re-introduced) remaining herd of wild Musk ox on the European mainland and containing some of the highest mountains in Norway.


As someone working in tech it would be an omission to not also mention that Trondheim is a tech hub with strong presence of tech companies and educational institutions. And part of the Trondheimsfjord is designated the worlds first test site for autonomous ships. Which could be interesting if you're into that stuff.

Autonomous test with Monk island monastery in the background (©Trondheim Port Authority)

[G-Dizzle]

In the Atlanta area, tourists always want to see:
- World of Coke (Cola)
- Georgia Aquarium
- Atlanta Zoo
- Stone Mountain

Having seen all of these things growing up, most of them many times, I have other things that I would recommend as well.

- Sports games. The Atlanta Braves and Falcons both have new stadiums that are top level in fan experience for their respective leagues. If soccer is your thing, there is a lot of hype around Atlanta United and they play in the same stadium as the Falcons. If you want a completely different experience, drive the hour and a half out to Athens for a University of Georgia football game. It will be louder, more energetic, and have more people (inside and outside of the stadium) there for the game than any of the professional teams in the area. The Falcons stadium holds somewhere around 75,000 fans and doesn’t always sell out. The University of Georgia’s stadium holds over 90,000 and seems to always be full. College football is followed more closely and more passionately than professional football here in the Southern US.

- the mountains. The North GA mountains are a beautiful place to drive and explore. Make sure to stop at one of the roadside boiled peanut stands.

-small towns in middle georgia. If you take a couple hour drive out to middle GA, you will feel like you step back in time when you are walking through the old towns. Many still even have a city pharmacy where you can get ice cream/food. They aren’t as vibrant as they used to be, but it’s really cool to see.

- fishing. We are a little spoiled in Georgia I think. Most places have somewhere nearby with access to fish. If you have a friend with a boat, even better. It’s not quite as good as Florida fishing I wouldn’t say, but it’s pretty good.

- the food. There is so much good food here that is not found outside of the south-eastern US (or if it is found it is a poor imitation of the real thing). Includes but not limited to:
Barbecue (different by region, and don’t listen when someone from Kansas City tries to tell you they have barbecue 😂)
Boiled peanuts
Biscuits
Fried chicken (bone-in, and don’t get it from a fast food restaurant)
Fried catfish
Fried okra
Collard greens
Mashed potatoes with or without gravy
Grits
Waffle house (it’s just OK food, but you have to go. It’s about the experience 😂)

[Grant Lamontagne]

What is a grit?

https://youtu.be/pWC0sKCS5oA?si=-OBUBkCRW3m_2n-m

 

I absolutely loved grits when I was in Georgia.  I wish I'd stayed longer and experienced more.

Trondheim is also on my list of places to see.  I have no idea why it has always appealed to me as I knew very little about it, but the name has always stuck in my head as some place I wanted to go.

Def

[G-Dizzle]

Oh and one more thing about barbecue, don’t go to a super-chain restaurant (or even a restaurant that looks remotely like a chain) and think that is what barbecue tastes like. Find the most unassuming, maybe even run down/sketchy looking BBQ shack that you can and chances are that’s the good stuff. Extra points for sawdust floors.

Images (not mine) of one location of my favorite BBQ restaurant.

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[G-Dizzle]

And a photo I took after my last trip there 😂  [ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]  

[Vidar]

That's the same Norway as @vidar briefly covered in its entirety, but since he took the generalist approach and touched lightly on what the country as a whole has to offer, I'll focus on my area more specifically.

I  think I was specific about why short term visitors come up to my area of Norway. (Few visitors come for any other reasons it seems). Trondheim (and most of the country) doesn't have what I listed: Two months of continuous sun 24/7 (or Midnight Sun at all), there is less Aurora Borealis, less fishing/ wilderness opportunities, far less Sami culture, and it is located some 1000km farther away from North Cape..

Trondheim do offer much more of almost anything else though. As a regular Trondheim visitor for the last 40 years I can attest to it being a very nice city indeed! One of the few places I would seriously consider moving to. 

[Vidar]

Smurf it - quoting myself again for some reason. Nobody should do that! 

[Farmer X]

Find the most unassuming, maybe even run down/sketchy looking BBQ shack that you can and chances are that’s the good stuff.

That applies just as well to Mexican restaurants.

[aicolainen]

I  think I was specific about why short term visitors come up to my area of Norway. (Few visitors come for any other reasons it seems). Trondheim (and most of the country) doesn't have what I listed: Two months of continuous sun 24/7 (or Midnight Sun at all), there is less Aurora Borealis, less fishing/ wilderness opportunities, far less Sami culture, and it is located some 1000km farther away from North Cape..

All good, Vidar.
I interpreted the not so specific term "Over here at the top of Europe" to imply Norway as a whole (which is also technically correct) and not just the most northern part. And it still would have made sense, as even though the attractions you list are a quite specific to the northern part - it is still the best Norway has to offer as a whole.

[pfrsantos]

What is a grit?

https://youtu.be/pWC0sKCS5oA?si=-OBUBkCRW3m_2n-m

 

I absolutely loved grits when I was in Georgia.  I wish I'd stayed longer and experienced more.

Trondheim is also on my list of places to see.  I have no idea why it has always appealed to me as I knew very little about it, but the name has always stuck in my head as some place I wanted to go.

Def

LARD!