My Happy Places isn't just another travel website. It's an attempt to capture a feeling — the feeling that comes over you in certain places, in certain moments: pure lightness, real joy, the sense of having truly arrived.
Born, raised, and proudly at home in Vienna — for me, the most beautiful city in the world. And yet I've had the great fortune of traveling to many of the world's most beautiful places. I've seen a lot of places along the way — but only a few where I truly felt: I could live here, this place makes me this happy. Those are exactly my Happy Places. And it's exactly that feeling — that lightness and freedom — that I want to make accessible through My Happy Places. I firmly believe: the more of these places we find and share, the more often each of us can experience that pure feeling of happiness. That's exactly our vision — to discover and present as many of these special places as possible.
I know this feeling exactly. That one moment when your head empties out and your body simply is — by the sea, on a mountain, on a street corner in a foreign city, over the first sip of coffee on a terrace you've never seen before. Often it's the small, unexpected moments: an exciting little restaurant you stumble into by chance, a drink on a rooftop bar in New York with the skyline in front of you, perfect wagyu in a tiny place in Tokyo, grilled octopus in a side street in Lisbon, an Illy coffee tasting in an old coffeehouse in Trieste. The sunset up on Lion's Head after what might be the most beautiful hike in the world, looking down on Camps Bay in Cape Town — unforgettable. Or a relaxed day at a special beach club in Ibiza, over paella, simply soaking up that one-of-a-kind island feeling. Moments that stand on their own — and that trigger exactly this feeling. Suddenly there's this energy, this sense of happiness that needs no reason and demands no explanation. It's simply there. And for that one moment, everything is exactly right, just as it is.
These moments don't happen every day. But when they do, they change something in me. They give me energy that carries me for weeks afterward. They make me lighter, freer, more grateful — for what is happening right now, and for what I've been fortunate enough to experience.
That's the truly remarkable thing for me: a photo, a scent, a song — and I'm right back there. The lightness of that moment, the joy, the happiness — they're still there, accessible any time, just as real as in the moment itself. Hardly anything gives me back as much energy as the memory of a truly happy place.
It's exactly this feeling — in the moment and in memory — that I want to make accessible through My Happy Places. Not as yet another interchangeable "Top 10 Sights" list, but as a curated collection of real, personally experienced places that have exactly this effect: places that make you happy. That set you free. That make everything light.
I believe every person already knows places and moments like this — or should. Maybe it's a beach at sunset, a small bar in a side street, a hiking trail overlooking a bay, a café where time seems to stand still for a moment. My Happy Places is meant to help you find exactly these places — before you go, while you're there, and long after, when you look back and feel that feeling once more.
That's why we personally test every place, every hotel, every restaurant, every hidden gem before we recommend it. No AI-generated noise, no paid arbitrariness — only what I'm convinced can trigger this feeling in you too.
Christian Sonnenberg · Founder, My Happy Places
The moment you let go and simply are — no plan, no pressure, fully in the now.
Small, real moments that need no filter — and that still change everything.
Your head empties out, your body simply is — the feeling that everything is exactly right, right now.
The feeling of that moment, accessible any time — a photo, a scent, a song is all it takes.
“I've felt how a single place can make you lighter, freer, and happier — even if just for a moment. That's exactly my vision for My Happy Places: a world in which every person knows their own Happy Places — and visits them as often as possible. Not as a luxury. As a necessity.”
Christian Sonnenberg · Founder, My Happy Places · ViennaDiscover curated destinations, real recommendations, and travel plans designed to bring exactly this feeling into your life.