Top Secret Travel Destinations That Look Like They’re Straight Out Of A Fairy Tale

June Steele | November 13, 2024 5:00 pm

While some people travel so they can explore other cultures and experience new adventures, others like to travel so they can escape into a new destination, like you would escape into a fairy tale.

Whether you're looking for your Prince Charming or you're looking for the place to hold your next great duel, there's the perfect magical backdrop somewhere in the world for you to find. You don't have to plan a trip to Disney World to step into a storybook!

The Clock Tower, Tbilisi, Georgia

clocktower in Tbilisi Georgia
Photo Credit: Mikhail JaparidzeTASS via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Mikhail JaparidzeTASS via Getty Images

A somewhat creepy crooked clocktower seems like the perfect setting for some sort of Brothers Grimm tale that all of us would read to our children before bed for years to come.

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Paro Taktsang (Bhutan)

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Mashrik Faiyaz
Photo Credit: Flickr / Mashrik Faiyaz
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Perched on the side of a cliff, Bhutan's Taktsang Monastery, also known as the Tiger's Nest monastery, looks like the hideaway for a villain who's plotting the course to world domination. You can picture the hero scaling the side of the cliff to sneak inside...

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Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

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Photo Credit: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images
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You can't take about fairy-tale destinations and not talk about Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle is the inspiration is for Disney's Cinderella castle at the Magic Kingdom, and no matter what time of year you visit, you'll be able to feel the magic.

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Multnomah Falls, Oregon, United States

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Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
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If you say that you can't picture some grand sword fight happening on this bridge at the pivotal moment when the prince is trying to save the princess, you'd be lying.

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Avenue Of The Baobabs

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Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Madagascar's Avenue of the Baobabs looks like it's been pulled out of a Dr. Seuss story. The grove surrounding the road contains approximately 20 trees, which are estimated to be up to 2800 years old.

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Admont Abbey Library

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Photo Credit: Imagno/Getty Images
Photo Credit: Imagno/Getty Images
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The oldest remaining monastery in Southeast Austria, one look inside the library of the Admont Abbey and you'll see why it would be the perfect place to escape into a new story.

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Fairy Pools, Isle Of Skye

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Vincent Leroy
Photo Credit: Flickr / Vincent Leroy
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Coming from a country whose national animal is the unicorn, is it any surprise that Scotland has the Isle of Skye, filled with destinations such as the Fairy Pools (pictured here), Fairy Glen, and a Giant's Thumb?

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Seljalandsfoss, Iceland

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Photo Credit: Flcikr / Bernd Thaller
Photo Credit: Flcikr / Bernd Thaller
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There's never a bad angle to look at a waterfall from, especially one as impressive as Iceland's Seljalandsfoss. As amazing as it is from the front view, you can also hike up behind it to get a view like this one.

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Melissani Cave

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Sanshiro KUBOTA
Photo Credit: Flickr / Sanshiro KUBOTA
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Nothing says "fairy-tale destination" like taking a trip through the crystal blue waters of Greece to have the sun shine down on you from the opening of the cave you're floating in.

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Lake Bled

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Hotice Hsu
Photo Credit: Flickr / Hotice Hsu
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Slovenia's Lake Bled is a popular tourist destination, so you can't expect to experience the magic of the beautiful clear water or amazing scenery on your own, but that doesn't make it any less magical.

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Las Lajas Sanctuary

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Bethany Ciullo
Photo Credit: Flickr / Bethany Ciullo
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In Ipiales, Colombia, the Las Lajas Sanctuary is a basilica church built inside the canyon of the Guaitara River. Also known as the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Las Lajas, the name comes from a number of legends of the basilica surrounding the Virgin Mary.

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Angel Falls

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Photo Credit: THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images
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Known for being the highest waterfall in the world at a height of more than 3,200 feet, you can picture some great battle happening atop Venezuela's Angel Falls, resulting in someone plummeting to their death over the edge.

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Colmar, France

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Photo Credit: Flickr / Iso Brown FR
Photo Credit: Flickr / Iso Brown FR
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If you're a Beauty and the Beast fan, then the Alsace region of France is the place for you to visit, considering it was the inspiration for Belle's town in the Disney movie version of the tale.

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Rakotzbrücke Devil's Bridge

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Photo Credit: PATRICK PLEUL/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
Photo Credit: PATRICK PLEUL/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
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The Rakotzbrücke or Rakotz Bridge was commissioned in the 1800s by a knight of the local town in Germany, with the intention for the bridge to be built as one half of a perfect circle, with the other half appearing in the reflection.

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Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

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There's a reason that people come from around the world to see the beauty that is Kyoto's Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. The grove is made up of several paths for you to get lost in as you wind your way among the tall stalks.

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Chefchaouen, Morocco

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Photo Credit: Fabrizio Crippa/Archivio Fabrizio Crippa/Mondadori via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Fabrizio Crippa/Archivio Fabrizio Crippa/Mondadori via Getty Images
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Sometimes called the blue pearl of Morocco, Chefchaouen has no shortage of color thanks to the blue-washed buildings and flower pots lining the streets of the cities old town area.

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Bojnice Castle

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Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Castles and fairy tales go hand in hand, right? Well, European countries have no shortage of old, beautiful castles, and Slovakia's Bojnice Castle is one of them. The Bojnice Castle is home to the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits if you're feeling particularly spooky one year.

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Angel Oak

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Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Believed to be one of the oldest living trees east of the Rockies, the Angel Oak sits on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Standing at approximately six stories tall, it's believed to be around 500 years old, and it looks like it's straight out of Pan's Labyrinth.

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The Dark Hedges

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Photo Credit: Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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If you watched Game of Thrones, you might recognize the covered road of Northern Island's Dark Hedges as the King's Road. The covered pathway makes it seem as if you're walking right into some sinister trap, and you very well might be.

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Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

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Photo Credit: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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Unlike much of Eastern Europe, Cesky Krumlov is a town in the Czech Republic that was not affected by any bombings or significant battles during World War II. The town is also home to Cesky Krumlov Castle, the second-largest castle in the country.

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