beautiful historical places

[ZippyDan]

a conversation with a friend turned toward places we'd like to visit. egypt and the pyramids came up, but was ruined by the knowledge that the place has turned into a tourist trap (pizza hut next to the pyramids? no thanks).

what are some beautiful places of history in the world that still feel relatively "untouched" and authentic?

 

[sjwaste]

Not sure if it's as grand as the pyramids, but Valley Forge, PA still retains a lot of revolutionary war character. Mason, NH is the birthplace of the real Uncle Sam and is still a tiny town. Even though the city has obviously grown... a lot, the ruins in and around Rome are kind of cool in the way that they're woven into the city.

I would love to see some of the Greek ruins someday. I'm willing to bet that if you venture out of the major cities and see the real country, there are some really well preserved scenes. I bet that would go for the pyramids too - gotta find a way off the beaten path though.

I'm more into American history these days than the rest of the world, though. I think I started to take it for granted that I drove past the WWII monument, Lincoln, Washington, and White House every day on my way from work to class for 4 years.

 

[IronWing]

In defense of the tourist trap nature of the pyramids, the touristy stuff is so ancient that of itself it is historical. Archeologists have identified pharaohic fakes that themselves are over 2000 years old. Anyway, lots of castles in England maintain a pretty good ambiance.

 

[TheVrolok]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_World

 

[poncherelli2]

The pyramids are still pretty cool and it's not like the pizza hut is in one of the tombs. Its across the street and a decent bit away. I was more disappointed with the garbage and crap vendors around the pyramid sphinx than the pizzahut/kfc.

Off the top of my head, Machu Picchu is beautifully maintained and touristy crap is relegated to the town 45 minutes away.

 

[mizzou]

All of Europe