Top historical destinations and historic sites

Important historic sites and destinations to explore

The most compelling history destinations are places where the past is still physically present and legible in the landscape, the architecture and the daily life of the people who live there. They are not museums in the pejorative sense but places where understanding what happened adds a layer of meaning to everything you see and changes how a destination feels from the moment you arrive.

The destinations here range from ancient civilisation sites and medieval walled cities to more recent historical landmarks whose significance is still being processed by the world. Some are well known and visited by millions. Others are remarkably under the radar given what they represent. What they share is a depth of historical significance that justifies making the journey specifically to engage with it.

Preparation makes an enormous difference to a history-focused trip. Arriving with some knowledge of what a place represents, what period it belongs to and what the key sites actually mean tends to transform the experience from sightseeing into something more genuinely absorbing. A good local guide, a well-chosen book read before departure or simply time spent researching before arrival pays back significantly once you are there.

Lists by region

Worldwide (294) Africa (15) Asia (92) Europe (170) North America (29) Oceania (2) South America (10)

City in Germany

Wall history, Museum Island and all-night clubs

A wall divided this city for 28 years starting in 1961 during the Cold War. Crowds tore down sections of it in 1989 as East Germany's government collapsed. Visitors can walk along the East Side Gallery, painted with murals on a surviving stretch. Checkpoint Charlie nearby marks a former crossing point between the divided halves.

City in Germany

Roman gates, baths and Moselle wine

Romans founded this German city around 16 BC, making it one of the country's oldest. Emperors later ruled parts of the Roman Empire from here directly. Visitors can walk through the Porta Nigra, a massive Roman city gate. Underground Roman baths nearby still show the scale of ancient engineering.

City in Germany

Charlemagne's cathedral and hot springs

Charlemagne made this German city his capital and was buried here after his death in 814. Its cathedral's octagonal chapel dates back to his original palace complex. Visitors can view his marble throne, used to crown later German kings for centuries. Thirty successive monarchs were crowned inside the same cathedral over 600 years.

Tokugawa shrines, waterfalls and hot springs

Shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty built elaborate shrines here starting in the 1600s. Toshogu Shrine holds the remains of the dynasty's founding ruler. Visitors can view carvings covering nearly every surface of the shrine's gates. Cedar trees lining the approach were planted centuries ago by a local lord.

Japan's most sacred Shinto shrine city

Shinto priests have rebuilt this Japanese shrine complex every 20 years since ancient times. The practice, called Shikinen Sengu, keeps the wooden architecture perpetually renewed. Visitors can walk cypress-lined paths toward the inner shrine dedicated to the sun goddess. Only priests and the imperial family may enter its innermost sanctuary.

Peace memorials, trade history and harbor views

Dutch traders operated from a small artificial island here during Japan's era of isolation. Dejima remained one of the country's only links to the outside world for centuries. Visitors can tour a reconstructed version of the historic trading post. A second atomic bomb struck the city in August 1945, reshaping its later history.

Explore Nagasaki

Giant Buddha, tame deer and ancient temples

Japan established its first permanent capital in this city in 710 AD. Todai-ji temple here houses one of the country's largest bronze Buddha statues. Visitors can walk through parks where deer, considered sacred messengers, roam freely. Ancient wooden buildings nearby rank among the oldest surviving structures on Earth.

City in Germany

Prussian palaces and lakes near Berlin

Prussian king Frederick the Great built Sanssouci Palace here as a summer retreat in 1747. Allied leaders later met in a different palace nearby to negotiate postwar terms in 1945. Visitors can tour Sanssouci's rococo interiors and terraced vineyard gardens. Cecilienhof Palace still displays the room where the Potsdam Conference took place.

Explore Potsdam

City in Germany

Gothic cathedral, Roman ruins and Kölsch

Builders began this German cathedral in 1248, though work paused for centuries. Construction finally finished in 1880, using the original medieval plans. Visitors can climb the south tower for views over the Rhine River. The cathedral survived World War Two bombing that destroyed much of the surrounding city.

Explore Cologne

Peace Park, okonomiyaki and Miyajima ferry

An atomic bomb destroyed most of this Japanese city on August 6, 1945. A single building near the blast's center survived as a skeletal ruin. Visitors can view the Atomic Bomb Dome, preserved exactly as it stood after the explosion. A nearby peace park and museum document the events and their aftermath.

Explore Hiroshima

Temples, geisha districts and kaiseki dining

Japanese emperors ruled from this city for over a thousand years starting in 794. Allied forces removed it from atomic bombing target lists due to its cultural heritage. Visitors can walk through thousands of temples and shrines scattered across the city. Geisha districts here still preserve traditions dating back centuries.

Five boroughs of skyline, food and museums

Dutch colonists founded a settlement called New Amsterdam here in 1624. The English seized control decades later, renaming it after the Duke of York. Visitors can walk lower Manhattan streets that still follow the original colonial layout. Federal Hall nearby marks the spot where George Washington took his first oath.

Explore New York City

City in Germany

Bavarian capital of beer gardens and museums

This Bavarian city was founded by monks around 1158, giving it its name. Marienplatz has served as its central square since the city's earliest days. Visitors can watch the Glockenspiel's figures perform above the town hall. Nearby Nymphenburg Palace once served as summer residence for Bavarian rulers.

Japan's capital of temples, towers and food

This city began as a small fishing village called Edo centuries ago. Shoguns transformed it into Japan's political center starting in 1603. Visitors can walk near the Imperial Palace, built on the site of Edo Castle. The city took its current name after the emperor moved there in 1868.

City in Germany

Baroque Elbe city rebuilt from the ruins

Allied bombing destroyed most of this German city's historic center in February 1945. Its Frauenkirche church stood as rubble for decades before reconstruction began. Visitors can view the rebuilt church, completed using salvaged original stones where possible. Dark stones scattered among lighter new ones mark pieces that survived the bombing.

Explore Dresden

Famed white castle and samurai gardens

Feudal lords completed this Japanese castle's current form in 1609. Its white plastered walls earned the nickname White Heron Castle for their appearance. Visitors can climb wooden floors inside one of Japan's few original, unreconstructed castles. The complex survived wartime bombing that destroyed much of the surrounding city.

City in Germany

Imperial castle, gingerbread and Christmas market

Medieval walls still encircle much of this German city's historic center. Allied judges later held war crimes trials here following the Second World War. Visitors can tour the courtroom where those Nuremberg trials once took place. Rally grounds built for prewar political events remain partially standing nearby.

Explore Nuremberg

Temple in Kyoto

Kyoto's hillside temple with the wooden stage

Monks founded this Kyoto temple in 778 near a sacred waterfall. Its wooden stage was built without using a single nail in construction. Visitors can walk the stage for views over the surrounding hillside forest. Pilgrims still drink from the temple's namesake waterfall for its believed benefits.

Explore Kiyomizu-dera

Great Buddha, Zen temples and surf beaches

Samurai leader Minamoto no Yoritomo made this Japanese city his capital in 1192. A shogunate government ruled the country from here for nearly 150 years. Visitors can view the Great Buddha, a bronze statue cast in 1252. Zen temples built during that era still hold gardens open to the public.

Explore Kamakura

Castle in Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

Ludwig II's unfinished castle above a gorge

King Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned this fairy-tale castle starting in 1869. He died before construction was ever fully completed on the structure. Visitors can tour ornate rooms decorated with scenes from German legend. Walt Disney reportedly drew inspiration from the castle for a famous theme park design.

Explore Neuschwanstein Castle

Region in Germany

Saxon Switzerland

Sandstone towers and Elbe valley hikes

Saxon rulers built Konigstein Fortress atop this German region's sandstone plateau centuries ago. Its walls have never been successfully stormed by an attacking army. Visitors can tour the fortress grounds perched high above the Elbe River valley. Sandstone quarried from these cliffs once supplied buildings across the region.

Explore Saxon Switzerland

Shrine in Kyoto

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Thousands of torii gates up a Kyoto mountain

This Kyoto shrine has honored the rice deity Inari since the 8th century. Thousands of vermilion torii gates now form tunnels up the sacred mountain behind it. Visitors can hike the full trail past smaller shrines tucked among the trees. Businesses have donated gates for centuries, hoping for prosperity in return.

Explore Fushimi Inari-taisha

Town in Germany

Wagner, baroque theaters and Franconian beer

Composer Richard Wagner built a theater in this German town specifically for his operas. The Festspielhaus opened in 1876 with acoustics designed to his exact specifications. Visitors can attend the summer festival still held annually in his honor. Wagner and his wife Cosima are buried in the garden of their nearby home.

Explore Bayreuth

Landmark in Kyoto

Gold leaf pavilion beside a mirror pond

A shogun built this Kyoto pavilion as his retirement villa in 1397. Gold leaf covers its top two floors, giving the temple its nickname. Visitors can view the pavilion reflected in the still pond before it. Fire destroyed the original building in 1950 before a full reconstruction followed.

Explore Kinkaku-ji

Region in Japan

Hot springs, volcanic coast and beaches

American commodore Matthew Perry negotiated a treaty at Shimoda on this peninsula in 1854. That agreement opened Japan's ports to foreign trade after centuries of isolation. Visitors can walk the harbor town where the historic negotiations took place. Hot springs used by samurai and shoguns still operate throughout the region.

Explore Izu Peninsula

Temple in Tokyo

Tokyo's oldest temple beyond a red lantern gate

Legend holds that fishermen found a statue of Kannon in the river here in 628 AD. This Tokyo temple, built soon after, ranks among the city's oldest. Visitors can walk beneath a massive red lantern hanging at the main gate. Nakamise shopping street leading to the temple has sold goods for centuries.

Explore Sensō-ji

Castle in Kyoto

The Tokugawa shogun's Kyoto palace and gardens

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu built this Kyoto castle as his residence in 1603. Its floors were designed to chirp underfoot, warning of any approaching intruders. Visitors can walk these nightingale floors through halls once reserved for the shogunate. Painted screens inside still display artwork commissioned during that era.

Explore Nijō Castle

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