As one of the biggest open-world titles, Skyrim has a ton to offer even years after its release. From all the new areas introduced in the DLCs to unmarked locations that players have never even discovered, the game is bound to keep on entertaining with its bottomless adventure.
There are countless of imaginative locations in Skyrim worth visiting, but not all of them are that good or pleasant to play through. Whether it's the sheer difficulty of such places or just unrewarding quests, they're usually better off being visited that one obligatory time. Here are five of the best locations in Skyrim and five of the worst.
10 Best: Broken Oar Grotto
The quest Lights Out! is bound to eventually lead the player to Broken Oar Grotto to get their revenge against Jaree-Ra, who set them up in a heist outside of Solitude. This cave is very different from most other Skyrim caves, due to its unique layout.
Not just that, the last part of the cave looks insanely cool. It's a large wooden structure, a sort of makeshift dock, with several boats docked on to it, opening up into the final chamber. Some of the boats are submerged, hinting at underwater treasure. This is a great place for loot overall, if you're fine with diving around for a bit after defeating Jaree-Ra's goons.
9 Worst: Markarth
Markarth is definitely a unique city, since it's built into the mountains and housed within an ancient Dwemer ruin. Fans of such architecture will appreciate how the city's laid out on different levels, but at the end of the day this is one of the seediest city in all of Skyrim, more so than Riften.
Most NPCs aren't exactly hospitable around here. The population consists of corrupted guards, miners, drunks and even a secret cult of cannibals. People aren't exactly helpful towards the Dragonborn, who's just looking for coin. Let's not even talk about the infamous Cidhna Mine prison that's also around.
8 Best: Kagrenzel
Any lovers of mystery and Dwemer architecture will find this tucked away set of ruins fascinating. Located in the far eastern mountains of Skyrim and guarded by a few trolls, Kagrenzel is an abandoned building, inside of which a bunch of corpses can be found around a glowing orb.
The real excitement happens when the Dragonborn approaches the orb. After a strange sequence that resembles some sort of a security alarm, the player will be dropped down several feet into the ground, landing into a cavern of sorts. It's definitely a unique location and worth exploring when bored with the more generic dungeons of the province.
7 Worst: Bleak Falls Barrow
Speaking of extremely generic dungeons, a lot of Nordic ruins in Skyrim are highly repetitive. While it's hard to make each level unique for such a huge open-world game, they tend to follow the same pattern over and over again, which makes them less than exciting to explore. Bleak Falls Barrow is the biggest offender in that regard.
This tends to be the first dungeon that every character in Skyrim wanders into, and a first introduction to Draugr and the super predictive Dragon Claw puzzle door. Once it's completed at the start of the game, pretty much all the other dungeons follow in the same suit.
6 Best: Labyrinthian
When it comes to more unique dungeons that offer a real challenge and something truly awe-inspiring to look at, head over to the Labyrinthian. This area is part of a few quests, so the player is bound to visit this place sooner than later.
The outside of the Labyrinthian is already very vast, offering tons of spots to explore. Inside, there's the famous Shalidor's Maze, the Skeleton Dragon, and eventually Morokei, who provide some exciting gameplay and incredible loot to satisfy all your weapon and armor needs.
5 Worst: Darkfall Cave
While the chase for the infamous Auriel's Bow is a cool quest idea, the actual location the player needs to travel through really isn't. Inspired by many of the Falmer caves and in part by Blackreach, Darkfall Cave's greatest flaw is in its name: it's way too dark.
There are many areas in Skyrim that have a lack of light, but this place brings it to a whole new, annoying level. Pair that with Falmer and the measly reward at the end of the quest, and it feels like a scam disguised as a quest. At least it introduces the player to a rare Snow Elf.
4 Best: Apocrypha
Some of the best locations in Skyrim are amazing due to how insane and unique they look like. From the inside of Azura's Star or Pelagius' mind, it's hard not to be impressed with the amount of creativity that's being put into this game. Apocrypha is exactly like that.
Found in the Dragonborn DLC, this dark dimension with a green and yellow sky, filled with tentacles, arches and spikes, is truly like something out of a nightmare. Lovecraftian in appearance, it's a mythical place filled with challenging enemies, floating black books and Miraak himself. This alone makes the DLC worth the investment.
3 Worst: Arcwind Point
When it comes to sheer challenge, Arcwind Point is probably one of the worst places to accidentally wander into if the player isn't prepared to deal with a myriad of extremely tough enemies. Just on the road leading to this place, two Trolls will be guarding the path.
Moving further along, a Draugr Deathlord will break out of a coffin. Once at Arcwind Point itself, the player is not only pitted against a Draugr Death Overlord, but also a Dragon, as well as a Dragon Priest. The area is a huge, snowy outside ruin of sorts, making it very hard to know where to focus. In other words, it's a nightmare better left alone.
2 Best: Blackreach
Not all challenge has to be a headache to deal with, and while it could be argued Blackreach is among the toughest areas in the game, it tends to depend on how early the player arrives here. The place is extremely unique and accessible for a multitude of different Dwemer ruins with elevators leading down to this desolate underground city of glowing mushrooms.
As expected, the place is infested with Falmer and Dwemer creatures. There's even a dragon here that can be slain when beckoned. Tons of amazing loot can be collected here for smithing and alchemy purposes, and in general, the gear and weapons tend to be pretty good as well. This is one of the most popular places in the game, and for good reason.
1 Worst: Sovngarde
In Skyrim, almost every Nord will mention Sovngarde at some point. This is a mythical dimension, and after life, where all Nords go upon death. From all the tales of glory and the legends told, one would imagine this place to be a little bigger and more exciting than what it actually is.
Unfortunately, this last area of the main quest pits the player and their companions against an underwhelming final boss, Alduin. With nothing to gain from it concretely at the end, it's a massive letdown in all aspects. Sure, it has a nice aesthetic, but that's about all.