Must-see attractions in Asia

  • Female Visiting the Cloister with Large Group of Seated Buddha Images in Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Bangkok Old City, Thailand, ( Self Portrait )

    Wat Pho

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Wat Pho is our absolute favorite among Bangkok's biggest sights. In fact, the compound incorporates a host of superlatives: the city's largest reclining…

  • Mt Fuji and Cherry Blossom

    Mt Fuji

    Fuji Five Lakes

    Fuji-san is among Japan's most revered and timeless attractions, the inspiration for generations of poets and the focus of countless artworks. Hundreds of…

  • Fighter planes outside War Remnants Museum.

    War Remnants Museum

    Ho Chi Minh City

    To understand the US invasion of Vietnam, and contextualize its devastating impact on the country's civilians, this remarkable and deeply moving museum is…

  • Tokyo, Ueno, Taito-ku: Tokyo National Museum, Honkan

    Tokyo National Museum

    Ueno & Yanesen

    If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…

  • Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa, Gal Vihara temple

    Gal Vihara

    Polonnaruwa

    Part of Parakramabahu I’s northern monastery, Gal Vihara is a group of beautiful Buddha images that probably marks the high point of Sinhalese rock…

  • Po Lin Monastery & Big Buddha

    Lantau

    Po Lin is a huge Buddhist monastery and temple complex that was built in 1924. Today it seems more of a tourist honeypot than a religious retreat,…

  • Peace Statue, Nagasaki,Japan

    Peace Park

    Nagasaki

    A still, serene and deeply moving place, Nagasaki's Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945, which reduced the…

  • Peak Tram
Hong Kong's Peak Tram going up an incline

    Peak Tram

    Hong Kong

    This cable-hauled funicular railway has been scaling the 396m ascent to the highest point on Hong Kong Island since 1888. A ride on this clanking tram is…

  • Grand palace, Wat pra kaew with blue sky, bangkok, Thailand

    Grand Palace

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    The Grand Palace (Phra Borom Maharatchawang) is a former royal residence in Bangkok that was consecrated in 1782. Today, it’s only used on ceremonial…

  • Wat Arun temple in Bangkok during sunset.

    Wat Arun

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Wat Arun is the missile-shaped temple that rises from the Chao Phraya River's banks. Known as Temple of Dawn, it was named after the Indian god of dawn,…

  • Wat Phra Kaew Bangkok Thailand

    Wat Phra Kaew

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    Architecturally fantastic, the Wat Phra Kaew temple complex is also the spiritual core of Thai Buddhism and the monarchy, symbolically united in what is…

  • Boats at Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    North-Central Vietnam

    Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003, the remarkable Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia, formed…

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    Uda Walawe National Park

    Uda Walawe National Park

    With herds of elephants, wild buffalos, sambars and spotted deer, and giant squirrels, this Sri Lankan national park is one of the nation's finest. In…

  • Hang Son Doong cave in the heart of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam.

    Hang Son Doong

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    Hang Son Doong (Mountain River Cave), located in the heart of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, is known as the world's largest cave, and is one of the…

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    Kumana National Park

    The East

    This 357-sq-km park, once known as Yala East, is much less frequently visited than its busy neighbour, Yala National Park. Consequently, it's a far less…

  • Tako

    Nishiki Market

    Downtown Kyoto

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • April 29, 2018: The Robot statue in an open garden space at the Ghibli museum.

    Ghibli Museum

    Tokyo

    This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…

  • Golden Gai

    Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

    Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…

  • Jaffna Fort, built by the Portuguese near Karaiyur at Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatao

    Jaffna Fort

    Jaffna

    Long the gatehouse of the city, the vast Jaffna fort, overlooking the Jaffna lagoon, has been fought over for centuries. Today you can wander its walls,…

  • Mehrangarh Fort.

    Mehrangarh

    Jodhpur

    Rising perpendicular and impregnable from a rocky hill that itself stands 120m above Jodhpur’s skyline, Mehrangarh is one of the most magnificent forts in…

  • teamLab Borderless

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…

  • Swan boats, Lumphini Park, Bangkok, Thailand

    Lumphini Park

    Bangkok

    Named after the Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal (Lumbini), Lumphini Park is central Bangkok’s largest and most popular park. Its 58 hectares are home to an…

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    Dutch Hospital

    Colombo

    This terracotta-tiled, Dutch-era structure dates back to the early 1600s. Beautifully restored, it's now home to trendy shops, cafes and restaurants. In…

  • 500px Photo ID: 62325271 - The amazing crossing near the Shibuya station

    Shibuya Crossing

    Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa

    Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…

  • National Museum of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

    National Museum

    Colombo

    Offering a captivating walk through Sri Lankan history, this delightful Colombo museum sprawls across a gleaming white, neo-Baroque building constructed…

  • Tokyo, Japan - May 6, 2017: Cup noodles Museum Front display in Yokohama.; Shutterstock ID 652705672; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiA: Takayama, south of Tokyo POI images for online

    Cup Noodles Museum

    Yokohama

    This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…

  • Tu Lan Cave.

    Tu Lan Cave

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    The Tu Lan cave system comprises of more than 20 wet and dry caves, which are thought to be between three and five million years old. Huge caverns,…

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    Arugam Bay Beach

    Arugam Bay

    This long crescent of sand, partially shaded by coconut palms, is as good a reason as any to visit Arugam Bay. In season, its appeal to surfers is obvious…

  • Unoccupied beach at the Lan Ha Bay in Vietnam

    Lan Ha Bay

    Cat Ba Island

    Lying to the south of Halong Bay off the north-eastern coast of Vietnam, the 300-or-so karst islands and limestone outcrops of Lan Ha are just as…

  • Mirissa Beach

    Mirissa Beach

    Mirissa

    A vision of tropical bliss, Mirissa Beach boasts powdery pale sand, while its azure water is framed by an arc of coconut palms. The west side is the…

  • Galle Face Green with World Trade Centre in background.

    Galle Face Green

    Colombo

    This long open space traditionally faced a narrow beach and the sea. It was originally cleared by the Dutch to give the cannons of Fort a clear line of…

  • The Ban Gioc Waterfalls on the border with China, Cao Bang, Vietnam.

    Ban Gioc Waterfall

    Cao Bang

    Ban Gioc is one of Vietnam’s best-known waterfalls, and its image adorns the lobby of many a cheap guesthouse. The falls, fed by the Quay Son River that…

  • Paradise Cave,Vietnam.

    Paradise Cave

    Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

    Surrounded by forested karst peaks, this staggering cave system in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park extends for 31km, though most people only visit the…

  • Tokushima, Shikoku, Japan, North-East Asia, Asia

    Nagoro

    Shikoku

    If you're travelling along Rte 439, it's not a matter of 'blink and you'll miss it', but blink, and blink again, because you may have a hard time…

  • Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Eastern Province, East Coast, Passekudah, Kalkudah beach, aerial view

    Kalkudah Beach

    The East

    Kalkudah Beach is the kind of fantasy that makes you want to chuck away your return air ticket and lounge forever under the palms. Good roads run inland…

  • Bai Sao Beach, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam.

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    Sao Beach

    Phu Quoc Island

    With picture-perfect white sand, the delightful curve of beautiful Sao Beach bends out alongside a sea of mineral-water clarity just a few kilometres from…

  • Sri Lanka, North Eastern Province, Trincomalee, Nilaveli Beach, coastline

    Nilaveli Beach

    Nilaveli

    Nilaveli's 4km stretch of sand is considered one of Sri Lanka’s best beaches and with its paradise-island remoteness, swaying palms and golden tinge to…

  • Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Eastern Province, East Coast, Trincomalee, Uppuveli beach

    Uppuveli Beach

    The East

    This honey-coloured crescent of sand makes a lovely spot to enjoy life under a coconut tree. Swimming is possible although there are often red flags…

  • Path through bamboo forest

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

    Arashiyama & Sagano

    The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…

  • Dragon bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam.

    Dragon Bridge

    Danang

    This wonderfully wacky bridge takes the form of a ginormous, colour-changing dragon, weaving its way across the Han River. If that wasn't attention…