When you travel, is there a particular place you'd always go - regardless of country?

Prisons. Old houses. Ghost tours (because they’re funny). Chocolate shops. Markets. Museums.

I like a museum or two (usually not more) one that gives some history, another that is unique.

Walk through the downtown, if it is a nice village atmosphere with restaurants and shops.

Check out some sort of scenic area.

I find supermarkets interesting also. I don’t go out if my way, but if there is one nearby I check it. I do like staying where I have a kitchen, so that gives me more reason to checkout the grocery store.

Unique stores that have interesting business ideas. I’m usually there more to see the idea, not to buy something.

I like a nice boat ride if I’m near a body of water.

My husband likes to go horse back riding, so we do that in scenic places, although lately it is difficult for my hips. I’m not sure if I’m still going to do it.

Spending time at the pool.

I also like just hanging out in my room here and there if it’s very nice with a balcony and a view. I grew up with parents who cheaper out on the hotel, because they would say we only slept there, but I find for some vacations the hotel is part of the experience.

I like doing all sorts of things. It just matters where I am.

Supermarkets, consumer technology markets like Akihabara (Tokyo), Namdaemun (Seoul), etc.
I geocache.wherever I go. The quality and number of caches tells me about the country and people. If caches last a long time the place is safe and economically stable. If caches disappear the country is more repressive and the the people are more desperate.

i tend to avoid the main sites. They are usually as expected. I prefer to walk or drive around meet people and let things flow.

Water, lakes, rivers, etc or mountains. I want to get away from people.

I like to go to grocery stores where you can find amazing regional favorites such as this.

@marinelife Oh thanks. Just before Easter. If my mother serves ham that image is going to jump into my head.

Supermarkets and thrift stores. There’s a neat anthropological aspect to them.

What? Seriously? No one else is going to say it?
The bars

Museums, galleries, “Old Town” sections with the original architecture, watefalls, rivers, lakes, countryside in general,

@Michael_Huntington Nope. I don’t do that now and rarely if ever do it when traveling. I have gone when in a large group and had no choice. If I were alone I would not bother.
I manage to meet people in so many other places.

@LuckyGuy I hang out in bars late at night, but it’s an ice cream bar. I love walking to one of the shops where I vacation for a hot fudge sundae or ice cream sandwich. I’m drooling thinking of that.

In the first pages of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley—Steinbeck’s personal journal of a meandering, 1960 roadtrip with his dog, Charley, throughout the United States in his home-made camper (which he named after Don Quixote’s horse)—he describes his method of exploring a town. There are three places he visits: The local coffee shop at breakfast, the local bar in the late afternoon after people get off work, and the local church on Sunday. From these, he got a feel of the people and what was important to them, the current events and the prevailing opinions of those events, and even a bit of history and folk lore. (He also said that you could tell whether a Mexican village was predominantly happy or sad and it’s people friendly or reserved, by the health and demeanor of it’s street dogs. There is truth in that.) I read that book long ago, but I’ve never forgotten his system and it has served me well.

When I get to a place I like, I visit their equivalent of the local breakfast restaurant. This can be a regular coffee shop, or a fisherman’s espresso shack planted on the beach. That is a must. I listen. I go to their library and mine their news archives and local history section. I’ll make at least one visit to a worker’s bar as they pile in after fishing or being on line in a factory all day. Most people’s curiosity is piqued by a new face in a small town and, in the bar, they will just talk to you about almost anything that is on their minds. I’ll go to one of their houses of worship if I’m there on their Sabbath. Locals seem to appreciate that the most as they see it as a sign of respect. The next visit to the coffee shop is usually very fruitful after the church visit.

Those are the places I go to in order to most quickly get the feel of a place.

OP: A particular place is going to be found in only one location. You seem to mean a kind or type of place.

McDonald’s.

@CugelTheClueless yes that’s it! I was having some trouble phrasing this question, thank you for the correction!

Local pizza place and hiking trails.

thanks for all your lovely answers, everyone! I’ll keep all of these in mind for the next time I travel :)

^^ Add little local museums to my list.

Add cafes and pubs to mine. I love finding the local pub and talking to the locals.

^^ Ah, I remember teaching the locals in Rosehall Pub the correct sequence for drinking tequila shots. Although, we had to make do with lemons since they had no limes.

@rojo, that sounds like my sort of lesson. I’m sure a good time was had by all. I remember being in a pub in Townsville. There were a group of old-timers sat at the bar. They were chatting together. They each had a specific spot at the bar. Their names were on plaques above it denoting their spot. Great characters.