If you’ve already ploughed down the beaten track in some of the world’s greatest cities, or feel that all city breaks tend to merge into one, there are always some more unusual alternative options…
London
There’s no shortage of weird and wonderful things to do in London. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is the place to find out about how Britain came to dominate the clocks with Greenwich Mean Time, while there is also a Fan Museum nearby. Another somewhat macabre highlight off the usual tourist trail is the Old Operating Theatre near London Bridge – it’s full of truly horrifying 19th century surgical equipment.
Paris
Instead of a romantic stroll along the banks of the Seine, how about canoodling up to a loved one on a walk through Paris’ sewer system? The entrance to the touristy part is by the Pont De L’Alma. After that, skip the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and head to the Magic Museum which covers the history of illusions and conjuring, and features live sleight of hand shows.
Prague
Yes, the castle complex is lovely, as is most of the old town, but they’ve been done before. Slightly more unusual is the Museum of Communism, which is somewhat ironically above a McDonalds. This takes visitors back to the good (or bad, depending on your perspective) old days, with a big Stalin bust for good measure.
For something on a smaller scale, head to the Muzeum Miniatur, where artworks on poppy seeds and human hairs can be viewed through microscopes.
New York
The Big Apple isn’t exactly short on big buildings, and it even has a Skyscraper Museum for those fascinated by how they get the cranes up so high and earthquake-proof giant, swaying structures. It’s inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
But for those really thinking big, it’s also possible to go on a bus tour around what was once the biggest man-made structure in the world. The Fresh Kills landfill site on Staten Island was at one point higher than the Statue of Liberty and is now being converted into a giant public park.
Vienna
The Austrian capital is the world epicentre of strange attractions. There are museums devoted to contraception and abortion, crime, globes, funerals and Esperanto. And then there’s the Haus Der Musik, which although it has some sober displays on famous composers, also has a barking mad ‘musical forest’ where visitors create ghastly noises by moving around and playing with tree-shaped instruments.
Berlin
Berlin weighs in with a couple of odd ones of its own, the Sugar Museum for those with a sweet tooth and The Ramones Museum for any punk fans. But the city’s quirky highlight has to be the Trabi-Safari (www.trabi-safari.de) of East Berlin. This involves driving around obscure spots in the east of the city in the iconic Communist-era Trabant car, getting a radio commentary through headphones.
Sydney
Done the Opera House and Bridgeclimb? Well why not head to Taronga Zoo and take a behind the scenes tour with a zookeeper, which includes the chance to feed the animals and creep into the enclosures? Or maybe learning circus skills and the flying trapeze at the Sydney Olympic Park?
Los Angeles
Those wanting an alternative Hollywood experience should check out the bras of the stars at the Lingerie Museum inside celebrity smalls designer Frederick’s of Hollywood’s shop. But perhaps the oddest sight in LA is the La Brea Tar Pits. These bubbling pools of asphalt sit in Hancock Park and contain fossilised remains that are thousands of years old.
Bangkok
The Thai capital has some well worn trails around the temples and backpacker haunts, but it also has the Queen Saowapha Memorial Institute. This is a snake antivenin production centre, but there are shows twice a day where handlers let angry king cobras blithely wander around in front of visitors.
There are also plenty of places where tourists can join in Muay Thai (kick-boxing classes).
Venice
The world class art, gondola rides and romantic canal bridges are all very well, but the artistically inclined can do something a little bit different by getting on a boat to the island of Murano and watching glass-blowers in action. Then there’s Ca’ Macana, a workshop in the Dorsoduro area that teaches visitors how to make their own carnival-style masks.
This article was originally written for AOL UK.
Copyright David Whitley
