Most countries in the world still adhere to a quarantine regime, so the choice of travel destinations is rather limited. Although the real world is not yet available for visiting, there is still a way to feel freedom in a quarantine. You just have to turn on creative mode in Minecraft.
Minecraft is a simple game with simple rules, which, despite its cubic nature, provides players with the opportunity to recreate in detail both the real world and the fictional one. This article presents the top ten best places you can visit without leaving your laptop screen.
10. Denmark
Generally, most Minecraft players prefer small buildings to avoid being attacked by the Creepers. However, the Danish government had ambitious plans. Using a real map, they managed to create a scale model of their state. This should have served as an interesting way to explore the country, especially its hard-to-reach parts. Due to the way virtual Denmark was created, the houses turned out to be unfilled and with flat roofs. To correct this shortcoming, the citizens of Denmark were involved in the process of improving the simulator of their own country. The only prohibited tool was dynamite, which makes the game extremely fun.
Alas, Denmark was not destined to exist for a long time, because soon after its construction, it was captured by the US military. The players managed to carry dynamite and smash the capital Copenhagen to pieces. Huge American flags were flying all over the country, but luckily for Denmark, it was enough for it to simply revert to a previous save version to recover all the damage.
9. Acropolis
The buildings, temples and property of the Acropolis in Athens is considered the apogee of Greek civilization. The Pantheon became a kind of icon throughout the era. It took the Greeks a tremendous amount of time, gold and effort to build the Acropolis. After the capture and destruction of Athens by the Persians, the Greeks built and restored buildings that still adorn the Greek capital for 50 years.
In reality, the Acropolis was located in the heart of Athens, however the virtual version is located among the Champs Elysees. Another difference between the Acropolis in Minecraft is that it is made in white, although in reality it was distinguished by bright colors.
8. Cathedrals
Cathedrals have become the pinnacle of architectural art in European cities. They were built with the aim of people trying to embrace them with their eyes, feeling the greatness and divinity of these structures. Of course, such large-scale construction work took more than one hundred years. For example, the construction of the Cologne Cathedral lasted from 1248 to 1880. The Minecraft version was built much faster, while retaining all the details of the original, including hanging chandeliers and other luxurious elements.
In case you don’t like Cologne Cathedral, you have the opportunity to visit Notre Dame in Paris, which is especially important after the building suffered from a horrific fire in 2019.
7. Babylon
Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Egyptian pyramids have survived in their original form to this day. Some of these structures, such as the Colossus of Rhodes, were destroyed several years after their construction and disappeared forever from the face of the Earth. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built around 600 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife and were just one of the miracles created by the Babylonians in their capital.
The recreated version of Babylon in Minecraft offers its visitors not only the Hanging Gardens, but also the infamous Tower of Babel. In reality, the tower was designed so that it touches the heavens, but the virtual tower was limited to a height of 256 blocks.
6. Minas Tirith
“Have you ever seen him, Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, sparkling like a spire of pearls and silver, whose banners are blowing high in the morning breeze. The capital of Gondor in John Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Minas Tirith is a city built on the side of a mountain and towering over the plain. In Minecraft, book and movie fans have recreated the city down to the smallest detail.
Although some other places on this list cannot be visited because they are in dangerous places or have been destroyed, Minas Tirith is a fictional object. If you want to visit it, then Minecraft is your only choice.
5. Hogwarts
Probably every young man dreams of getting into the wizarding world, and the Harry Potter universe gave us this opportunity. The Floo Network has been working for several years to create the Hogwarts School in Minecraft. For those looking to try their hand at being a witch or a sorcerer, J.K. Rowling’s world has been recreated in detail, from the Shrieking Hut to the Rattling Willow and the flying candles in the main hall.
To complete the location, the developers have created separate parts of London, where the passages to the wizarding world are located. By the way, their version of the city is much neater.
4. Festivals
Hundreds of different events around the world have been canceled this year. Some of the greatest music festivals will not be held in the near future due to the risk of the coronavirus spreading. What was previously considered a disadvantage of online games, namely the isolation of the player from the outside world, has now become an advantage – the coronavirus is not transmitted over the Internet. Therefore, musicians use Minecraft as a virtual platform for communication with fans.
Minecraft, unlike other games like Fortnite, gives bands unlimited locations for their concerts and allows them to gather a large number of users at the same time. True, you will not be able to come off on the dance floor, because your character can only move up and down.
3. Land
Modern travelers are limited in movement by the vastness of our planet. And the especially wealthy can get to orbit. The game offers its own version of the planet, which will especially delight those who still believe that the Earth is flat.
There are several variants of the Earth in Minecraft. One of them is slightly smaller than the real one, with an area of 16,200 by 32,400 blocks – a 1: 1,500 scale model. Each zone of the planet is recreated in one of the biomes available in Minecraft. However, this size seems unrealistic to some.
The Built the World project is working to create a real Earth (1: 1). Over 100,000 players support the development of the new world. Given the sheer scale of the project, several teams are working on different areas that will then be stitched together.
2. Los Angeles
Los Angeles is one of the most visited cities in the world and attracts people with its activity. Imagine yourself in the shoes of these lucky ones. You can now visit Los Angelescraft. This is not a perfect replica of the city, but rather an atmospheric-inspired version.
It has everything from imposing skyscrapers to cozy suburban cottages. If you’ve ever dreamed of your own home in the City of Angels, this is your chance. Each of the buildings is flawless inside and out. This card has become a real gift for players who want to visit Los Angeles.
1. Westeros
It is believed that the last season of Game of Thrones is … controversial. If “controversial” means “failed,” then why not play your own story in the vastness of the virtual version of Westeros?
The map, with an area of 22,000 by 59,000 blocks, may not quite coincide with the continent from Game of Thrones, but hundreds of people tried to fit everything mentioned in books or shown on the screen. Something like a Wall can be easily built by stacking ice cubes. But in the capital of King’s Landing it was necessary to build the Red Castle and the Iron Throne, and most of the work had to be invested in the creation of the city. There are 4,788 individual, dissimilar houses in it.
It took 4 months to build the city. But then the creators rebuilt it completely, adding new materials and textures. The WesterosCraft server moderators have a fairly strict set of rules about what and how to build to preserve the atmosphere of an alternative Middle Ages. One of them commented on the mistakes made by the players: “In Westeros, even the upper classes are practically illiterate and it hurts me to see books in the houses of commoners.” Readers waiting for George Martin’s new book have long been accustomed to this feeling ..
