Down on Your Luck? Visit These 10 Lucky Places Around the World

Amid a magnificent forest near Galway City hides the 1,000-year-old headquarters of a supernatural king, Finvarra, who was the leader of the Sidhe fairies that inhabited the underworld of Irish mythology. These magical beings traveled to the living world via a fairy fortress called Cnoc Meadha. There are hundreds more locations like it across Ireland, and it’s considered bad luck to disturb them. If you hike to them and treat them with care, however, it is believed to earn good fortune. While there, you can learn more on a guided tour of the area.

Inside the 1,300-year-old Ohatsu Tenjin shrine in Osaka, you’ll find hundreds of heart-shaped wooden plaques, called ema, which have been inscribed with wishes for good luck in romance and fidelity. Locals leave them at this Shinto complex because it’s known as the home of Ohatsu and Tokubei, lovers from a 300-year-old play called The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. A visit to this historic site can be built into a day tour of Osaka.

When patients leave the Sydney Eye Hospital, one of the first things they’ll spot is a statue of a wild boar. Called Il Porcellino (“little pig”), it’s modeled after a statue in Florence, Italy, and both are believed to grant good fortune. To earn the boar’s favor, visitors place a coin in its mouth and then rub its snout. Tours of downtown Sydney pass by Il Porcelino, which is located near key tourist attractions including Hyde Park and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Located in Rome’s historic heart, near the iconic Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain is a marble masterpiece about 86 feet (26 meters) tall and 160 feet (49 meters) wide. This Baroque wonder is nearly 300 years old, but its good-luck tradition dates only to 1954, when the movie Three Coins in the Fountain, made it a popular destination for visitors to toss coins for wishes—one to return to Rome, two to fall in love with an Italian, and three to find marriage. Luckily, you can visit this film famous spot on several tours of the city.

On Silom Road, one of Bangkok’s most popular tourist areas, a colorful building stands out amid a nest of high-rise office towers, shopping centers, and 5-star hotels. This is Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, an eye-catching 19th-century Hindu complex laden with intricate stonework, which you can stop by before or after a tour of Silom’s market. Several of its sculptures depict Goddess Mariamman, the wife of Lord Shiva. Hindus believe that praying to the former at this temple will earn fortune in romance.

Istanbul's biggest attraction, the Hagia Sophia, began as a cathedral, became a mosque and then a museum, and now is a mosque again—and you can learn about its rich history on a guided tour. Inside this colossal structure, you’ll find a huge prayer hall with a domed ceiling embellished with Islamic calligraphy. All this splendor makes it easy to miss a brass-covered hole in a pillar called the Sweating Column. If you put your thumb inside it and then twist your hand, it’s said that your wishes will be granted.

Germany brims with so many well-known big cities that it’s easy to overlook smaller destinations like Göttingen. Situated in front of the city’s stately Town Hall you’ll find Goose Girl, a metal sculpture of a young woman flanked by two geese. Locals used to kiss the statue in order to gain good fortune, but these days visitors leave flowers or touch the statue’s feet for a bit of luck. After a private tour of nearby Hanover, you can take a 35-minute train ride to Göttingen to see the goose girl for yourself.

An evening walk along Prague’s famed Charles Bridge can be an eerie experience, with its 30 statues staring down at you. But one of these sculptures could steer you towards success if you pause to rub its plaque—and many tours of Prague pass by the very spot. Found on the north side of the bridge, the green-tinged monument of St. John of Nepomuk commemorates the spot where this holy man was reputedly thrown to his death.

High in the mountains of Peru sits the astonishing, 600-year-old Inca citadel, Machu Picchu. Near the crest of this archaeological site is a sundial called the Intihuatana Stone. Once used for astronomical observation, this giant carved rock hosted rituals honoring the sun, which was the Incas’ key god. On a tour of this bucket list–worthy attraction, place your hand on this stone, which legend states will transfer the sun’s energy directly to you.

One of the world’s engineering wonders, Nevada’s Hoover Dam is the US’ highest concrete arch dam, and a wonderfully photogenic location, too. A major attraction, it draws several million tourists a year, many of whom now seek fortune by rubbing the toes of two 30-feet-tall (9-meter-tall) statues at the dam, called the Winged Figures of the Republic. These angel-like characters represent the guardians of the dam, and touching them will supposedly earn a human their protection. Meet them on a tour of this awe-inspiring site.