The Most Dramatic Places in the World to Cry

I’ve cried in some of the most beautiful places in the world—and you can too!

Sometimes , you justneed a good cry . From cinematic sunsets to majestic mint and surprisingly affective responses toin - flight movies(Free Willyjust hits differently at 30,000 metrical foot ) , tear - soaked katharsis can be a instinctive reaction to reverence - inspiring sweetheart or a twang of nostalgia .

As a self - proclaimed public cryer , I ’ve done some of my best work in public — sometimes in the seclusion of a remote national park , sometimes surrounded by tourists . Aside from those on - the - nozzle occasions when I ’ve traveled during an worked up crisis ( shoutout to Mother Nature for provide solacement amidst divorce and pandemic ! ) , my most public breakdowns have attain me when I least ask it , on otherwise glad hikes and house vacations that yanked on my heartstrings . It ’s a testament to the poignant power of these places , where the ingredients emulsify to create a formula for a suddenly wet face .

And really , outcry in world just sense particularly clean when juxtapose by a transcendent background , a sullen beach , or an reverence - revolutionize museum . Noteveryplace , certainly , is idealistic for a public nuclear meltdown . I ’ve cried in my parcel of airports , and I would n’t recommend them as prime call spots . But if you need an incredible spotlight for a good , cathartic cry , I can personally commend some of the populace ’s most beautiful and run position . And yes , I ’ve actually teared up at all of them .

crying man

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Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls

If you ’re operate to weep in public , doing so under a shower of water and mist is a commodious fashion to hide your tears and fuse in with your surround . AtNiagara Falls’Cave of the malarky , you’re able to have a full - blown fiasco and — thanks to the immenseness of the falls — no one will even notice . As close as you’re able to get to the American side of the mighty waterfall without going immediately over it in a bucketful , the self - guided boardwalk lead takes raincoat - clad guests along the base of Bridal Veil Falls , ensuring a complete and arrant soaking . The astonishing raw beaut of the fall does good deal to provoke emotion , and is sure to prod some crying of delight , fear , or some combination of the two . The unspoiled part , though , is that no matter how many tears you drop , they ’re nothing compared to the waterfall .

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

There ’s something palpably herculean about a ocean of elaborate spicy airwave balloons , silently rise over the New Mexican desert . TheAlbuquerque International Balloon Fiesta , among the largest blistering breeze balloon events on Earth , is a dazzling nine - day show of aerial founding and artistry , where balloonists come from all over the domain to float through sky-blue - blue sky over the Sandias . merely stare up , at any spot during the annual October spectacle , is enough to trigger a drip of tears , but it ’s especially potent around sundown , when eveningballoon glowssee pilots burn their balloon in synchronization while ground to the ground . The tradition , which started in Albuquerque in 1979 , has become a marquee upshot for the fete , and a in truth beautiful sight to behold — one that , speaking from personal experience , is trusted to wave a few happy tears .

Greenwich Beach, Prince Edward Island

If sunset is the crying hour , then sunset inPrince Edward Islandis made for sobbing . Canada ’s smallest province packs a impact of emotion at every vantage point in time , thanks to its well - carry on raw beauty and nautical stateliness , from field filled with purple lupin to timeworn lighthouses , stand up sentinel along its sandstone shores . And it ’s precisely those shores , where the sandstone tints the beach red , that tug on heartstrings total fortunate hour . Sunsets here just take care brighter and bolder , clear up the Gulf of St. Lawrence with hues of orange and pink so intense that they calculate almost neon . This sight is well beheld from places likeGreenwich Beachin Prince Edward Island National Park , home to the biggest George Sand dunes on the Island . It ’s a property of peerless serenity and unmutilated raw smasher , where the salty sea zephyr , lave waves , and confidential information - swept dunes provide an idealistic backdrop for a beachy breakdown .

Museum of Us, San Diego, California

In 2020 , San Diego ’s Museum of Man was renamed as the more inclusiveMuseum of Us , to better highlight its vast assembling of anthropology and human history . The name alone is touch , as is the museum ’s historic Balboa Park scope . But probe a little deeper and you ’ll discover exhibits that feel seamster - made to leave you in shambles . Highlighting diverseness and humanity at its rawest , exhibits explore everything from Mayan culture , to in-migration , to race . Animal lover would be wise to bring tissues to the livelihood with Animals showing , which traces the psychology of cuteness and fellowship with pet , and bang the aroused hammer with quote from people who have lost their furred kinsperson members . One particularly brutal division of the exhibit allows visitors to write their own notes about animals , and hang them anonymously on the wall . If you ’re anything like me , you wo n’t be strong enough to hold out note like , “ I love my Arabian tea so much . cave in my spirit she ’s getting older . I bid she ’d mature honest-to-god with me . ” without go bad down .

Loch Ness, Scotland

A lake the size of it of an inland sea , Loch Nessis so large that it contains more H2O than all the lake in England and Wales blend . sweep 23 mile in the Scottish Highlands , with a maximum astuteness of 755 feet , the unmixed scope and size is enough to conjure striking awe — but it ’s the glum purlieu that make it an optimal scene for a healthy sob . Surrounded by lush greenish mountains , the glacier - carved vale sit under a perpetual plumage of fog , making the whole place look at the same time eerie , serene , and downright mythic . The evergreen plant mist is n’t restrain to the atmosphere , either , since a setting of this order of magnitude and mythos is likely to make your look a small misty too . For one of the good panorama , head to Urquhart Castle , and take the steps down to the loch shore . Touch the gelid water , muse aboutmonsters , and permit the tears stream as you stare off into the distance .

Bridge of Sighs, Venice

With all its ghost traditional knowledge , ancient chronicle , and inescapable romance , few cities on Earth rap into tears like Venice . Really , you ca n’t go wrongly here if you ’re looking to cry in public , whether you ’re taking in a sundown over the Grand Canal or slurping a life - changing plate of clam spaghetti at Antica Adelaide , but might I suggest the competently dubbedBridge of Sighs ? Located just off the pigeon - swarmed Piazza San Marco , the Baroque bridge was build in 1602 to connect the Doge ’s Palace with a prison . The only covered bridge in Venice , narrow-minded opening along its wall were designed to provide prisoner one last coup d’oeil of the lagoon — and one last suspiration — before being whisked into the dark , lightless dungeon . The whole thing is both pathological and proud , and the somber chronicle is evident as you pass through on a term of enlistment . This bridgework has sure seen its fair share of tears over the centuries , so feel free to sum to the tradition .

Garibaldi, Oregon

The craggy Oregon slide , clad in driftwood and constellate with bouldered islands , has all the caparison for a split - soaked jaunt . For top grade yell , halt inGaribaldi , a historical sportfishing small town at the northerly nexus of Tillamook Bay . About an hr and a half from Portland , the quiet community features vast beaches , like Tunnel Beach and Diamond Beach , that are optimum mise en scene for an worked up crisis , thanks to their heroic sizing and the fact that they ’re sparsely visited . Out here , amidst the Pacific mist and the whistle winds , you may whimper as loud as you ’d like . And when you ’re done , you’re able to soothe your sorrows with ice cream at nearbyTillamook Creamery .

Snowmass, Colorado

Colorado is a thoroughly captivate locale , from its Charles Percy Snow - capped Rocky Mountains to itsplunging canyons . You could easily tear up just about anywhere in the state , but one underrated setting is waiting atop a childlike tip inSnowmass . Located just up the road from Aspen , Snowmass is a comparatively homier residential district that boasts its fair parcel of stunning beauty . But you need n’t be a diehard skier or hiker to savor such dish , as evidenced by the rent - jerking finis of theRim Trail South . A relatively easy outing , located near Snowmass Village , the lead crank its way over the vale below , tender spectacular view at each switchback . The grandness is everywhere , and is more than enough to make you cry teardrop of joy , but it ’s the top that really shoot . Here , a jolting bench is carve with a quote fromAn American Tail : Fievel Goes West . It might go silly , until you intermit to register it : “ Just recollect , Fievel — one human being ’s sunset is another homo ’s dawn . I do n’t know what ’s out there beyond those hills . But if you ride yonder … head up , optic firm , gist open … I mean one day you ’ll find out that you ’re the hero you ’ve been looking for . ” As someone who first hike this lead while work through a divorce , this inscription even me . I ’ve since done this trail a few time , and the summit is rarely populated , so you ’ll have plenty of space to sit on the bench and let Fievel jerk the bout from your eyes .

Cactus Forest Trail, Saguaro National Park

comeuppance are the ultimate symbols of resilience . These rough landscapes transude a lifelike sense of dramatic play and defiance , and they feel like the ultimate embodiment of the Jeff Goldblum quote , “ sprightliness finds a way . ” Of all the striking desert , the Sonoran Desert that surrounds Tucson feels especially striking , for the sky - scraping cacti that compriseSaguaro National Park . Reaching up to 50 feet , living up to 200 year , and providing call for nutrients and respite for species like Gila woodpecker and elf owls , these barbellate titans are as mesmerizing as they are confusing , and as brawny as they are lively . For a teary-eyed - eyed hike , trek the Cactus Forest Trail , a mostly - insipid path on the east side of the park , which realize its name from its slow collecting of cacti , stretching into the foothills of the Rincon Mountains . The length of the out - and - back trail , at five mile each way , ensures plenty of solitude along the way — and plenty of clock time to contemplate the sweetheart of the defiant desert , as the whole “ spirit finds a manner ” ethos slowly consumes you . The add fillip here is that , in this water - starved landscape painting , your tears are a welcome wellspring .

Amphitheater Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Amidst the mightyGrand Tetons , some mass cry because of the nonnatural ravisher , some because of the bears . Either mode , this iconic range is mature for a good cry . Simply tug around and witnessing it from your auto is certain to rile up emotions , but among the most reverence - inspiring wage increase in the Wyoming parkland , Amphitheater Lakeis a billet to sit and speculate — literally , the alpine lake is so mirror - still that it perfectly reflects the jagged , ironically identify Disappointment Peak that hover over it . The whole hike is anything but disappointing , offer sweeping views along the manner from the Lupine Meadows trailhead , and the potential to see larger - than - life wildlife , like moose and grizzly bear . It ’s a long , extortionate ascent , which intend the shore of Amphitheater Lake are often as mute as they are still , realize it an idyllic place to perch up on the shore and cry into your own reflexion .

Niagara Falls