Feeling a little down on your luck? There’s a destination for that.
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While we usually associate luck and travel with things like making a tight connection or landing the last tickets to an attraction, sometimes luck is the focus of the trip. For most Americans, luck and travel are associated with one place: Las Vegas. It’s a destination where luck can change lives with a single spin of the slots or a throw of the dice.
But what about specific locations that are said to bring luck to visitors? What are the luckiest places in the world, and how did they end up with such a fantastic reputation?
In honor of the new year and all its potential blessings, let’s count down the luckiest places in the world to visit in 2026.
8 luckiest places in the world
The Blarney Stone (Ireland)
If you’ve visited the Emerald Isle, you might have been compelled to kiss the Blarney Stone in the hopes of getting the ‘gift of the gab’. The gift of the gab is the ability to woo others with persuasive, beautiful speech. The Blarney Stone has a few myths attached to it. Some say a weeping fairy queen soaked the stone with her magical tears. Others say it’s the exact stone that a chieftain kissed after winning a difficult legal battle in court.
Unfortunately, my tour guide in Ireland steered us clear of the Blarney Stone, saying that some locals like to mess with the stone, knowing that tourists will line up to kiss it.
Wishing Trees (Hong Kong)
Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees are located in a shrine in Hong Kong called the Tin Hau Temple. The temple houses two large banyan trees that locals visit during the lunar new year. They leave wishes and offerings on the trees in hopes of a spiritual and/or material blessing. This tradition has been around since the late 1700s, when the temple was first built.
Lincoln’s Nose (USA)
Lincoln’s tomb in Springfield, Illinois, includes a large bust replica of the same statue in the US Capitol. If you’ve visited, you already know: the replica’s nose has been polished to a shining hue thanks to millions of visitors touching it. Why is it widely believed that touching Lincoln’s nose will bring good luck? No one is certain, but many claim to have improved outcomes in personal and academic matters after rubbing the nose.
Charles Bridge (Czech Republic)
In the center of Prague, on the Charles Bridge, you can find a small bronze plaque that depicts St. John of Nepomuk. It shows the saint being thrown into the Vltava River back in 1383 from the very bridge the plaque stands on. It’s one of thirty statues on the bridge (8th on the right when coming from Old Town Square).
It’s considered good luck to touch the statue of St. John, specifically the body of the saint, for imminent good luck. Similar to throwing a coin into Trevi Fountain, it’s also considered a way to guarantee your return to the city.
Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
The Hagia Sophia is the largest mosque in Istanbul, and its home to a column that’s known to grant wishes. Sometimes called the Sweating Column, Wishing Column, or the Weeping Column, it’s located in the northwest section of the mosque near the last door on the left.
You’ll see a column with a small hole covered by a bronze plate. Visitors who make a wish and put their thumb into the hole, then rotate their thumb in a full circle, could see a change in fortune. You’ll know whether your wish will come true if, when you pull your thumb from the hole, it’s wet. If it’s wet, you’re in store for good luck.
Fushimi Inari Taisha (Japan)
Linked to a Shinto deity, this shrine is known to bring good fortune and prosperity. Specifically, you should pass through the vermillion gates in order to ensure your wish comes true. (Just prepare for the crowds.)
You can also ‘weigh’ your wishes in one part of the shrine that’s home to omokaru ishi or ‘heavy-light stones’. You make a wish, then pick up a stone—if it’s lighter than you thought it would be, your wish is set to come true. If it’s heavy, your wish might still come true, but it could take time.
Katsuo-ji Temple (Japan)
Located in Osaka, this temple has been around since the 1300s—and it’s been associated with luck and prosperity for centuries. That’s thanks to the presence of its daruma dolls, which are traditional Japanese dolls with round bodies, letting them always revert back to an upright position.
You can pick up your own daruma at the temple. Write your wish on the back, then your life’s purpose on the bottom, and then write an ‘eye’ over its right eye. If your wish comes true, you can bring the daruma back to the temple as an offering.
Point Zero (France)
In the heart of Notre Dame is a bronze plate with a star carved into the center, which marks the centermost point of Paris. It has more than a few traditions associated with it, and most revolve around luck. You can spin on top of the star and make a wish, kiss a loved one while standing on the star to stay together, or even be laden with coins that represent wishes. Think of it like a general luck talisman.
