WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT FOR TOURISTS
The closest I have ever been to Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue was courtesy of James Bond. Remember that Rio backdrop for his famous cable car fight with Jaws in the film Moonraker?
But there has been no escaping that city’s most iconic sight these past few weeks as it constantly flashed across our television screens during the Olympics.
I wonder, though, if it is actually as impressive when you see it in the flesh, because the truth of the matter is that not all the world’s so-called iconic sights are always all they are cracked up to be.
So, up close, which sights have done it for me, and which haven’t?
Here is my list of a few personal hits and misses:
THE HITS
The Treasury, Petra: Truly ‘wow’, especially if you time your visit to emerge from the narrow siq that leads you into Petra just as the sun is hitting the façade of the Treasury. This beautiful building, hewn out of the pink sandstone back around 300BC, is every bit as stunning as you imagine it will be.
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco: In a city that is essentially something of a mish-mash of small individual localities all joined together, the Golden Gate Bridge is its defining sight. Built in the 1930s it was, for many years, the longest suspension bridge in the world (1,300 metres). I will certainly never forget its impact – I took a helicopter ride out over the Bay area and the pilot took us on a ‘dive’ under the Golden Gate!
The Eiffel Tower, Paris: A bit of an obvious one, all right, but I will never forget the first time I saw it. I was about eight or nine and we were on holiday, driving through France en route to Italy. Skirting Paris, very late at night, I was asleep in the back-seat when my father woke me. ‘Look over there,’ he said, pointing. And there it was, in the distance, illuminated against the night sky, one of the most renowned sights in the world. I have never forgotten that moment.
The Western Wall, Jerusalem: Especially memorable because it bore no resemblance to what I was expecting. It is vast and, with the glittering dome of the Dome of the Rock visible behind it, quite overwhelming. And, whether you are religious or not, there is no denying that it is a prayerful place.
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul: This is simply take-your-breath-away beautiful. And that’s just the outside. Enter the mosque and the wide open space coupled with its 20,000 blue Iznik ceramic tiles (giving the mosque its name) stop you in your tracks. For me, in a city of truly outstanding sights, this is the one.
THE MISSES
The Trevi Fountain, Rome: I know, I know. Most people are bowled over by it, but it leaves me cold. Beautiful in its own way but when I first went in search of it in 1984 I was expecting to find it in a more impressive setting. Certainly not squashed, as it is, into a small square. On a recent visit to Rome, back in February, I still felt the same.
Sagrada Família, Barcelona: I thought it was ‘grand’. Much preferred Gaudi’s other Barcelona gem – his Parc Güell.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa: Pretty pathetic, really. Not at all imposing and not even on its own as it occupies the same square as the cathedral. My sister summed up the experience so: ‘Is that it? Sure it’s not the height of two daisies!’
Big Ben, London: It’s a clock. End of story.