Second Life Tourism

In an earlier thread I lamented the loss of beauty for beauty's sake in SL in the face of overwhelming and gaudy commercialism. I got some great suggestions out of it and have since been introduced to some wonderful places. I'd like to use this thread as a sort of virtual tourism bureau where SL residents new and old can come and discover places to visit outside the same 5 malls/clubs they frequent.

Please feel free to plug any sims/areas you feel would make great tourists spots. I'm looking for thematic, well designed areas for exploration and wonder.

So far I've found:

Nexus Prime:
Billed as the "Cyberpunk City of the Future" this futuristic metropolis in Gibson is nothing short of jaw dropping. From the heights of its monolithic skyscrapers to the dingy slums at street level, you could spend weeks exploring this masterpiece and still not see it all. I find it particularly spooky to visit this vast, empty city at night.

Think of this sim as a set to create your own adventures. Get a bunch of your friends outfitted with Frag-foo or some other combat simulator and stalk each other through this urban maze.

If they would rent apartments there, I'd move in in a heartbeat.

Wind:
A nice, fantasy (Gorean?) sim. Explore the forest, or get sucked up to the huge castle floating above the mountain crater. But be careful of flying. The winds in Wind are treacherous and will knock you about like a pinball.

Telador Island:
This sim is a recreation of the city of Urd from the game Myst. Great design and great texturing are the hallmarks of this amazing sim. It would take weeks of constant exploration to discover every nook and cranny of this work of art.

Lauk's Nest:
Poke around the Mayan-esque ruins. Well built and good looking. I'm afraid I haven't spent as much time here as I'd like, I've been busy with the aforementioned sims, but I will get there!

Eldamar:
A beautifully realized Elven forest, this sim is a wonderful escape, some traquility away from the tringo and the same 5 songs over and over. I just wish this place was populated by more Elves. When you go to Transylvania, you find Vampires (and the occassional Werewolf), go to a Gorean sim and you'll find Goreans, go to a Furry sim and you'll find Furries. Why can't I go to an Elven sim like this and find Elves? ..but I digress...

Miyajima:
A stunning Japanese sim. Nice, quiet, and beautiful to look at.


Game Sims:
These are games within the game. I've never spent much time in these, but they sstill make for a good distraction.

Numbukulla

Dark Life




These are only what I have found so far. Please stop by and add your own discoveries/creations so that we can all enjoy getting off the beaten path.

-Kiamat Dusk
Wanderer, explorer

Besides the places to see there are fun things to do in SL.

Try ice skating at the Alchera Winter Wonderland and Skater's Paradise. Buy the skates for $75L and have a blast!

Silver City Motorsports Complex on Silver Island. This is a great place to drive that new car/motorcycle or buy one of theirs and race!

Tompson: A nice quiet waterside mainland sim with wonderful views, wildlife, trees, islands. Somewhere to just chill...

Portage: Another idylic landscape with some interesting builds, fantastic views over the ocean, situated next to Tompson.

I was in a sim called Chaos yesterday. I knew Surreal and Ferran had moved to their own island sim but I had never been. It is absolutely fantastic. TONS of work has been put into it, the detail is amazing. Check out the underground tunnels while you're there.

On the main grid I would go see the city sims (Grignano, Miramare, Sistiana, Barcola) and Lusk, Boardman, Taber and Welsh as they are all rather unique and somewhat themed.

Definetely second boardman. Ingrid & Barnes did a real nice job rebuilding it.

-Adam

Devils Moon - Another Cyberpunk themed city within SL wich seems to have alot of Johnny Nemonic and Blade Runner influences. Has a nice club to visit, a few stores, and a great place along with Midnight City and Nexus Prime to roleplay in.

Midnight City - Great urban city sim that quite feels like a mini New York City night life with plenty of stores, a movie theater, a great looking park, and allows the use of vehicles to enhance the urban atmosphere.

Chaos is fantastic! I know it's already been mentioned, but I had to say it myself. I spent several hours there exploring one night. Totally impressed.

Akasha Village has a new look worth checking out. Sure, there are shops and a club, but there is also a lil cemetery, ice skating rink, park and the best new addition for explorers is the Underground which is an abandoned tube station beneath CLub Akasha. You'll find awesome details and build, cool nooks and crannies,etc.

Devil's Moon - I love this sim. You have to go just to see the textures on the streets. When i feel goofy I go buy silly stuff from Abramelin's shop and run around the streets like a lunatic.

Amsterdam - Definitely worth visiting. Great attention to details here and offers both quaint and seedy elements...just like the real thang.

Vail Art museum - finally got over here last night and i definitely recommend it. It is a designed like an RL museum and offers samples of RL masterpieces spanning centuries.

Ack, I'm on 2 hours sleep, but there are plenty more! All of SL hasn't gone to crap, I assure you, just takes some exploring.

Great idea to create a list - lets keep it going!

The island of Dragon Moon has beaches, mountains, waterfalls, a jungle, an underwater world, a cave with cave paintings and....dragons. And there's alot to do, too. Grab free scuba diving gear and explore the underwater world, ride jetskis with wake board, jump the dive boards, try the knife throwing game, bring friends for a tribal drums session or grab one of the free vehicles to explore the island. Skydiving elevators and targets will be set up on request, free gear is available.

Little nooks and PG poseballs are hidden all over the island. You can bring your own (mature) poses/furniture/vehicles etc (things get returned every 24 hours).

There's a big event area/dance floor and the Dragon Claw Bistro with a bar and gift shop. Every now and then the "Dragon Moon Arena" is set up on the main beach for U2 in SL concerts or other live music event (www.u2insl.com)

There are a few things you WON'T find on Dragon Moon:
Slingo/Tringo/whatever games.
Money balls, chairs and dance rugs.
Mainstream or charts music.
Malls, stores and vendors (besides the small gift shop)

Everybody is welcome and all SL and rw lifestyles are welcome and respected! The more diverse, the better.

Dragon Moon - Where the Dragons Live!

Anango Island is a wonderful place with danger from the wildlife and the inhabitants.

The Riverwalk in Ganymede i Love the river thru that area

Anango Island is a wonderful place with danger from the wildlife and the inhabitants.

The Riverwalk in Ganymede i Love the river thru that area

Isle of bliss is a wonderful place.

I was just in a sim called Serenite last night... really beautiful place, all snowy, very peaceful. There are a couple of shops in one corner, but that's it. It has rambling paths through snowy hills, a bridge lined with luminarias, gardens, quiet spots to meditate... also a really amazing build that replicates the M.C. Escher picture with the stairs going in all directions. Very beautiful and magical place.

Nexus Prime and Devil's Moon rock!!!!

Wow, thanks a lot for the recognition. Much of our motivation as we built Nexus Prime was to make a fun landscape for exploration and imagination. Our close proximity to the welcome area fills us with a sense of responsibility to make a solid first impression on newbies. I'm glad to read that we're succeeding in creating the image you've described.

Come check us out! Our elevators are functioning properly again. I personally encourage you all to find the secret entrance to my otherwise-locked office.

(Hint: check the industrial level)

Alas, I visit Eldamar a lot but there's never anyone there. It has such potential for medieval LARP but.... it's always so quiet.... so I go and reflect for a while, then get bored of reflecting all alone... :>

Anyone interested in checking these builds out with a group, I'm looking for members for the League of Villainy & Evil Expeditionary Force

I have actually run a few 'magical mystery tours' recently around some of the more interesting sights of SL, so I'm grateful for the extra venues to add to my tours!

Just to contribute something.... here's a few of the places I already have on the list

Amsterdam
Big Easy
Blarney Stone
The Forest of Kahruvel (space ball)
YadNi's
Mars Japanese Gardens
Clementina Park
The Scurvy Pier
Ambertown
Pop's Roadhouse
Megabux Games Rides Fun (182,37,123)
Lost Gardens of Slosser

Although of course some of these are already quite popular, I feel it important to give a variety of things for people to look at as well as just pretty mountainsides.

Lewis

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread so far. My sightseeing folder is bursting now-I've got plenty to keep me busy for some time to come. Let's keep this going-it's a great place for newbies and oldies alike to come and find someplace new to see.

-Kiamat Dusk
You mean there's a MAP!?

Add Riverwalk to the list; on-going art exhibits and a river-side park that is quite lovely.

Someone beat you to it, Jim.

Ooops!! And I thought I was being so careful to look thru the list to see if it was there already. 'drat

Oh well, what about Silk Waters Mountain ... forget the name of the sim, off-hand. I didn't see that on the list.

I find myself going often to Transylvania Nation/Vampire Empire. I dig the music & lifestyle.

And even tho its a bit laggy, there's the pyramid N stuff in Furnation Prime.

I've been so many places I cant even begin to name 'em all!

Being a Transylvanian Vampire myself, that's the place I call home. I didn't include it in my initial list (well I did mention it in my no sequitor about lack of Elves in Eldemar) since that isn't exactly "off the beaten" path and is always busy.

-Kiamat Dusk
One Blood, One Empire

I'm a cybergrrl so I spend a lot of my time in places like Nexus Prime, Devil's Moon (thanks to this thread), and Chaos. I was exploring the underground tunnels in Chaos (thanks to this thread) when it hit me. Yeah, it's fun to find all the hidden places and see all the great builds-but it would also be nice if there was some*thing* to find. For example-say I walk into an office in Nexus Prime and there's all this neat, original furniture. It would be great if I could take a copy or at least buy it. Something you can get from there and no where else.
I found this rebel hide out in Chaos with a flamethrower or something leaning against it. It would have been neat to be able to take a copy.

Something else that is neat is if there is a coherent storyline for the place. This is something that Chaos and Nexus Prime sorta do. I was standing on the top of the tallest building in Nexus Prime when there was an alert about mutant violence in the old town sector. That was neat-got my blood pumping.

Something else that would be really kewl is more background noises. Lots of machine noises and stuff.

I'd join if you let me in *waves hand*


To add to the good sim to see, I'd say "Taco" ; it's a cartoony sim with bright colors and home of the only "mall" that doesn't suck: DwellGet. DwellGet has lineages like a RL mall, with merchandises in standardized packages ; it has decorations like carriages outside and promotion posters.

If you visit just one mall, it must be DwellGet.