Beyond the ordinary: 10 surreal travel destinations that feel like stepping into another world

Forget predictable beach holidays and polished city breaks. For travellers seeking the extraordinary, these destinations offer dreamlike landscapes, fantastical architecture and unforgettable experiences that blur the line between reality and imagination.

1. Tarot Garden, Italy
Hidden in Tuscany, artist Niki de Saint Phalle’s dazzling sculpture park features 22 towering, mosaic-covered creations inspired by the Tarot’s Major Arcana. Visitors can even step inside some of the sculptures, making it one of Europe’s most immersive art destinations.

2. Las Pozas, Mexico
British surrealist Edward James transformed a subtropical jungle into an 80-acre wonderland of staircases leading nowhere, towering concrete structures, waterfalls and hidden pools, creating one of the world’s most surreal gardens.

3. Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Scotland
Designed by architect Charles Jencks, this extraordinary landscape combines science, mathematics and art through spiralling landforms, fractal-inspired gardens and the famous Universe Cascade. It opens to the public just once a year.

4. Cretto di Burri, Italy
In Sicily, artist Alberto Burri memorialised the earthquake-destroyed town of Gibellina by covering its ruins with vast white concrete slabs, preserving the original street layout in one of the world’s most powerful land-art installations.

5. La Scarzuola, Italy
Part monastery, part fantasy city, architect Tomaso Buzzi’s lifelong creation in Umbria is filled with symbolic towers, theatres, staircases and temples that resemble an elaborate theatrical dream.

6. Island of the Dolls, Mexico
Accessible only by boat through the canals of Xochimilco, this eerie island is covered with hundreds of weathered dolls hanging from trees—a haunting tribute linked to local folklore that has become one of Mexico’s most unusual attractions.

7. Cappadocia, Türkiye
Shaped by volcanic eruptions and centuries of erosion, Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys, cave churches and vast underground cities create one of the planet’s most otherworldly landscapes, made even more spectacular by its iconic hot-air balloon flights.

8. Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, California
Niki de Saint Phalle’s final sculpture garden bursts with colourful mosaics, mythical figures and towering serpents, offering a vibrant, whimsical experience inspired by California folklore.

9. Naoshima Art Island, Japan
A quiet island transformed into a world-renowned open-air museum, Naoshima combines cutting-edge contemporary art, minimalist architecture by Tadao Ando and stunning coastal scenery in a uniquely immersive cultural experience.

10. Saudi Arabia’s ‘Gingerbread’ Fortresses
Tucked away in the Asir Mountains, villages such as Rijal Almaa are known for their distinctive multi-storey stone towers decorated with white geometric patterns and colourful interiors painted in the traditional Al-Qatt Al-Asiri style, showcasing one of the Middle East’s most remarkable architectural traditions.

Together, these destinations prove that the world’s most memorable journeys often lie far beyond the usual tourist trail, where art, history, myth and nature combine to create places unlike anywhere else.