When you wish upon a star … Close your eyes and make a wish … we’re all familiar with sayings about wishes making our dreams come true. Don’t you owe it to yourself to have the best chance of achieving those dreams? Hell yeah! Here are the best places to go to make a wish:
1 Throw a Coin in the Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy
This beautiful fountain is the largest in Rome and perhaps most famous for featuring in a Fellini film, La Dolce Vita, where actress Anita Ekberg rises from the fountain like Venus from her seashell. Ekberg's dip in the fountain is one of the most famous scenes in 20th century cinema. This is also one of the most popular places to make a wish for romantics the world over. Thousands of coins find their way into Trevi Fountain each year. Throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish. Maybe you'll meet your Mr. Right!
Frequently asked questions
2 Make a Wish at the Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is one of the holiest places to make a wish for Jewish people. Millions of pilgrims visit the Western Wall every year to make a wish. They write their innermost desires on a piece of paper and place it in the gaps between the stones of the wall, wishing for good health, salvation, riches and good fortunes.
3 Kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland
The old adage "he or she has the gift of the blarney" is a reference to the Blarney Stone and Blarney Castle in Ireland. Kissing the Blarney Stone, which is mounted in a wall of the castle, is said to bestow the gift of eloquence. Coronations of kings took place here for many centuries, which is why the stone is one of the most sacred relics of the Celtic world.
4 Stand on the Prime Meridian, London, United Kingdom
The world received Greenwich Mean Time from this leafy place by the Thames. The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich in London and if you stand on the metal band that marks this spot, you can put one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one in the Eastern Hemisphere, making a wish while you're doing it.
5 Touch the Sculpture of John of Nepomuk, Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic
If you want all your wishes to come true, you must either shake hands with the statue of John of Nepomuk, which stands on the beautiful Charles Bridge, or place one hand on the dog featured in the reliefs of the bridge. Charles Bridge spans the River Vltava, traversing central Prague and linking the Old Town with the New Town. There is also a cross with five stars on a marble slab that is said to grant wishes on this bridge. Failing that, you can just get carried away with the romance of the place and hope you'll meet a handsome, tall, dark stranger among the throng of tourists posing for pictures on Charles Bridge.
6 Rub the Nose of the Dog in Revolution Square, Moscow, Russia
For those about to take an exam in the Russian capital, it is vital to rub the nose of the bronze dog that stands to attention on Revolution Square.
7 Rub the Foot in the Leopold Fountain, Innsbruck, Austria
You'll have to have very long arms if you want to rub the foot of the bronze statue that stands in the middle of this fountain, or you'll get very wet. Poseidon, the god of the seven oceans, is a fickle wish-fulfiller, so don't get your hopes up that your wishes will come true.
8 Walk Barefoot in the Seven Sources of Rhodes, Greece
It is one of the most famous places to make a wish in Greece. If you want your sins to be washed away, take off your shoes and wade barefoot in the icy stream that bubbles through this dark tunnel on the Island of Rhodes. When your toes hit the water, your first wish will be for a hot water bottle!
Or, of course, you can gaze at the heavens from wherever you are and look for that falling star to wish on. Tell me what you wish for … no, hang on … strike that … ‘cos it won’t come true, will it, if you tell me?
