Guidebooks are annoying. Just because some editor who doesn’t know me tells me which restaurant is the best or what attraction is a must-see doesn’t make it a must-see attraction. Sightseers’ Delight is dedicated to the weird, the quirky and the fun. After all, traveling is fun.
If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong.
All of the places highlighted in this ever-growing database are great. Sightseers’ Delight has visited them all. We think you should make a point to see every one of them. But, this is not a guidebook. Just a webpage to help you plan your next adventure.
The Edwin Fox Maritime Museum houses what is said to be the “oldest merchant sailing ship still afloat.” The vessel, built in 1853 in India, transported immigrants to New Zealand and Australia and is the only remaining ship that brought convicts to Australia. After its sailing days, the boat was used in the 1880s as a floating freezer and later as a coal store hulk. In about 1950, the Edwin Fox was left to rot on its moorings, but preserved as a museum piece.
The Eiffel Tower, or La Tour Eiffel as it’s known in French, is perhaps the most famous tower in the world. The tower was built the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair. While it is a world-renowned landmark today, that was not always the case. Many roundly criticized the lattice Tower, but views toward the structure have changed over the past 130 years. The Eiffel Tower, located on the Champ de Mars, is the tallest structure in Paris and welcomes more than 6 million visitors per year, making it the most-visited paid monument in the world.
The Elberton Granite Museum in Elberton, Ga., opened in 1981. The free museum is dedicated to telling the story of how granite is produced and its impact on Elberton, Ga., is on display. The many exhibits at the museum include artifacts, photographs and whimsical anecdotes. While the tools of the trade show how granite is carved from the earth, a seven-foot-tall granite statue tucked away in a backroom of the museum illustrates a lighter side of the granite industry and how people view the monuments produced.
For millions of immigrants, Ellis Island was the first view of America. Today, it is a moving experience for anyone wanting to learn more about that era in U.S. history. The island, part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, sits in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Though quiet today, it’s amazing to think of what the Great Hall was like as new arrivals to the country passed through in search of a better life here.
The Empire State Building is arguably the most iconic representation of Gotham City. The 102-story-tall skyscraper was built in 1930-31 and opened on May 1, 1931. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world until 1954 and today is the second-tallest skyscraper in New York and the fifth-tallest completed in the country. The view from the observation deck is awesome, to say the least.
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum is an interactive museum in Dublin’s Docklands that explores Irish history and identity through 20 digital and hands-on galleries. The museum traces how Irish emigrants shaped communities around the world, highlighting figures who became scientists, politicians, poets, artists, and outlaws. Designed to move beyond clichés, EPIC shows how Irish culture extends far beyond Ireland’s shores and why the phrase “I’m Irish” resonates globally.
Beside the Smyrna Museum in Smyrna, Georgia, the Fanny Williams statue offers visitors a chance to engage with a more complete chapter of local history.
Unveiled in November 2024, the memorial honors Williams as an African American woman remembered in Smyrna for activism, economic sustainability and social justice. It also reflects the city’s effort to reinterpret a legacy long overshadowed by the former Aunt Fanny’s Cabin restaurant, which promoted myths and racial stereotypes that did not accurately represent her life.
The memorial grew out of the Fanny Williams Legacy Project, a city initiative launched after Smyrna demolished Aunt Fanny’s Cabin in 2022 and began seeking a more appropriate way to honor Williams. The final design was completed in January 2024 through a collaboration between the city’s committee and lead artist David Wilson, and the statue now stands beside the museum as part of Smyrna’s evolving public history landscape.
The statue stands beside the Smyrna Museum, making it an easy stop for anyone visiting or passing through Smyrna. Together with the museum and the surrounding area, it offers a look at how the city has chosen to remember Williams today and its past.
Malcolm Cochran created “Field of Corn (with Osage Orange),” which debuted in 1994 and as part of a project commissioned by the Dublin Arts Council. The field features 109 rows of corn measuing six feet tall or taller. Sam Frantz, a pioneer of hybrid corn and his wife, Eulalia, previously owned the land and grew corn here. Since debuting, the project wasn’t without its share of controversy.
The Finnieston Crane, or Stobcross Crane in the heart of Glasgow, Scotland, is a massive cantilever crane that is no longer used. However, it remains a significant symbol of the city’s engineering history. This crane was mainly used to load cargo, such as steam locomotives, onto ships for global export. Four of five cranes originally situated on the River Clyde remain today, with the fifth being demolished in 2007. Only eleven giant cantilever cranes like this one still exist worldwide.