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Colonial Williamsburg is a weird here because it’s very curated like a living museum. And a “feast for the senses” usually steers the mind to the opposite of that.
I agree with this. I have been to Williamsburg and while I loved seeing where the presidents used to drink beer and what not, it didn’t strike me as a feast for my senses
Surprised no one said the ocean. I feel like beaches are so popular because they engage all of your senses.
Sight - the vast blue abyss stretching out into the horizon
Sound - waves crashing and seagulls squawking
Smell - the salty fresh sea air
Touch - sand in your toes and the pleasant sea breeze
Taste - seafood has lots of unique and distinctive flavors associated with it
I meant to add - very cool thread. I so agree with NYC, NJ Boardwalk, and New Orleans. And i've never been to Williamsburg but my parents went every year for many years. They loved it.
I also thought of two more - Disney World, FL and Key West, FL.
Surprised no one said the ocean. I feel like beaches are so popular because they engage all of your senses.
Sight - the vast blue abyss stretching out into the horizon
Sound - waves crashing and seagulls squawking
Smell - the salty fresh sea air
Touch - sand in your toes and the pleasant sea breeze
Taste - seafood has lots of unique and distinctive flavors associated with it
Great post. I grew up right by the Pacific Ocean, the salty ocean air and the crashing waves are the most calming and exciting sensory input, and they are free.
I’m absolutely not an “outdoorsy” person in the traditional sense and I’ve been living in only big cities my whole life, but the places I found with beautiful and rich sensory stimulations (upon reading this thread) are interestingly in the nature. (So against my nature, pun intended.)
Other than the ocean nadnerb beautifully described above, in the U.S:
The Grand Canyon
Joshua Trees
Niagara Falls
Malibu beach (especially when there’s no one else around.)
Summer afternoon torrential downpour rain in Hawaii (and the birds chirping afterwards.)
Summer afternoon pouring rain in NYC (in particular Central Park)
Dusk hours sunset seen from Griffin Park Observatory in Los Angeles
Driving in convertible racing through Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco when heavily fogging.
Colonial Williamsburg is a weird here because it’s very curated like a living museum. And a “feast for the senses” usually steers the mind to the opposite of that.
Well, spoiler alert - I have a Colonial Williamsburg membership. In hot summers with the tourists, it feels like Disney. In spring, fall and winter, it's a feast for the senses! In winter, I love walking around the ice skating rink with a cup of hot cocoa. The air is just cold enough to be wintery. The colonial Christmas decorations are muted and fit the architecture and landscape. It's my a favorite place to be! Unlike NYC, Williamsburg's sky is wide open and blue. NYC tends to have a lower, grey sky and the sunset is earlier.
NYC is too big. Little Italy and Chinatown are feast of the senses. Central Park is a feast of the sense in all seasons. Upper Westside is gorgeous in the fall and excitement of the college students returning is in the air. Fort Tryon Park is a feast only for the eyes, but well worth it. Same for the Staten Island Ferry which is always a fun ride. Midtown and Wall Street - sorry, no. Summer in NYC subways stations and the summer smells of early morning streets is so freaking miserable.
If a movie counts as a feast for the sense - it's Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose. It should the old NYC that I remember from my twenties. It's like a time machine to the early 1980's. Some days, I wish I could go back to experience again.
I have feast of the senses in forests with birds chirping, the smell of pine, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the coldness of air.
Rehoboth Beach DE boardwalk in August--next to the ocean so you can walk in the water and look up to the brightly lit boardwalk full of people in good moods. Fresh air smell from ocean can't be beat
Taste: Hot, fresh french fries (with vinegar and salt) in hand while you walk
Touch: Hold hands with your bestie, young or old. Try this--walk forward without looking ahead, you will never run into anyone
Sounds: Funland Amusement Park on the middle south end has the same rides since 1950's plus new ones for older kids to scream with. Little motor boats in water so much fun for small kids
Other boardwalks are nice but this one is special
Too late this year but the July 4th fireworks is amazing. Multi-thousands of happy people everywhere, a safe place to share the joy of simply being there
I would opt for authenticity more than recreations. Some places, like Williamsburg, are recreations. You never lose sight that it is a living history reproduction. It may still be a feast for the senses but so is Disneyworld or a trip to the zoo in some ways. And some places are too big. Certain neighborhoods or clusters of neighborhoods might be good but not the entire city.
Sounds like less of a feast of "senses", and more a feast of colonial history.
I'd agree with the previous poster of New Orleans for the senses, but it will have next to nothing colonially.
New Orleans has a very "colonial" history but it's more of a Spanish or French colonial than English colonial and New Orleans maintains that colonial flair, especially in the architecture, and especially in the touristy French Quarter. Also, French Colonial style is found throughout New Orleans and the surrounding towns.
I also love Yorktown, VA for many of the same reasons the OP loves Williamsburg, but also because of this:
Sight - the Riverfront and beaches, people watching, etc. My gosh, Corwallis surrendered here to the US forces - that's pretty interesting, and I LOVE the house that's now a park, overlooking the river area. So much water! Tall ships in the harbor.
Sound - the slapping waves, birds, wind, peacefulness
Smell - salt, seafood, little shops
Tastes - great seafood, ice cream, southern style beans, etc.
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