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Denmark's second city and the country's youngest, with one in five residents enrolled at Aarhus University. The cultural centrepiece is ARoS, the art museum crowned by Olafur Eliasson's Your Rainbow Panorama, a 150 m glass walkway through every colour of the spectrum. Den Gamle By is an open-air history museum reconstructing Danish urban life across four centuries, and Moesgaard Museum south of town displays the 2,000-year-old Grauballe Man bog body in a grass-roofed sloping building you can walk over. Reach it from Copenhagen in 3 hours by direct DSB train (~DKK 350-450 / EUR 47-60) or 30 minutes by SAS flight.

A 200-person village 250 km north of the Arctic Circle that has become Europe's most reliable Northern Lights base — a microclimate produced by the Lapporten U-shaped valley keeps a hole in the cloud cover even when the rest of Swedish Lapland is socked in, giving Abisko roughly 200 clear nights a year. The Aurora Sky Station gondola climbs 900 m up Mount Nuolja for cloud-free aurora viewing from November through March. In summer the village is the southern trailhead of the Kungsleden, Sweden's classic 440 km long-distance hike, with the midnight sun above the horizon from late May to mid-July.

The UAE's capital has the most extraordinary mosque in the world — Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (white marble, 82 domes, world's largest handmade carpet) is free to non-Muslim visitors. The Louvre Abu Dhabi under Jean Nouvel's Rain of Light dome is a genuine world-class museum. Qasr Al Watan presidential palace opened to visitors in 2019. The Empty Quarter's 200m sand dunes are 2.5 hours south.

The first national park east of the Mississippi (1916) — 47,000 acres across Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Peninsula, and Isle au Haut. Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 ft is the first place in the continental US to see sunrise October through early March. Rockefeller's 45 miles of carriage roads exclude cars; the 27-mile Park Loop Road connects Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs, and Jordan Pond. The Beehive and Precipice ladder trails are some of the most dramatic hikes in the eastern US.

West Africa's most welcoming capital — vibrant markets, historic Jamestown, lively beach bars, and world-class jollof rice. Gateway to Cape Coast castles and Kakum rainforest canopy walks.

Addis Ababa is the diplomatic capital of Africa and the birthplace of coffee culture. Sitting at 2,355 m elevation, this high-altitude capital houses the Lucy fossil at the National Museum, the sprawling Merkato market, Holy Trinity Cathedral, and the African Union headquarters. A gateway to Ethiopia's extraordinary historic northern circuit — Lalibela, Gondar, and the Simien Mountains.

Morocco's premier beach resort city — completely rebuilt after the catastrophic 1960 earthquake that killed a third of its population — now stretches along a 10km crescent of soft Atlantic sand backed by promenade hotels, riad-style resorts, and an artificial marina. Less culturally dense than Marrakech or Fez but more relaxed and family-friendly: 300+ days of sunshine, year-round 18-28°C, and consistent surf at nearby Taghazout (45min north) which has become a global longboard pilgrimage. The hilltop Kasbah ruins (rebuilt walls only — interior never restored) overlook the bay; the Souk El Had is North Africa's largest market with 6,000+ stalls; Paradise Valley palm oasis and Crocoparc are easy half-day trips. Population ~600K including greater area.

Home to the Taj Mahal — the white-marble Mughal mausoleum Shah Jahan built for Mumtaz Mahal between 1632-1653, and one of the planet's most familiar buildings. UNESCO 1983. Agra Fort + the Baby Taj round out the trio of Mughal masterpieces; Fatehpur Sikri 40km west adds another UNESCO site for day-trippers. Sits on the Golden Triangle between Delhi (200km north) and Jaipur (240km southwest). The Gatimaan Express does Delhi-Agra in 1h40m, India's fastest train. Air pollution and aggressive touts are real downsides.

Iceland's de facto northern capital — a town of 19,000 at the head of the 60 km Eyjafjörður, ringed by 1,500m mountains that hold their snow until June. The botanical garden is the world's northernmost; the bars on Strandgata are unexpectedly lively for a sub-Arctic latitude. Akureyri is the launch pad for the Diamond Circle (Goðafoss, Mývatn, Dettifoss, Húsavík whale watching) and a far quieter alternative to Reykjavík for serious north-Iceland exploration. 388 km / 5 hours from Reykjavík by Ring Road, or a 45-minute domestic flight.

Albuquerque straddles the Rio Grande on a high desert plateau (5,300 ft) with the granite face of the Sandia Mountains rising 5,000 ft directly east of downtown — reachable by the longest aerial tramway in the Americas. The Old Town adobe plaza dates to 1706 Spanish settlement, and green chile (the state question is literally 'red or green?') drips from every breakfast burrito. Each October the world's largest hot air balloon festival floods the sky with 500+ balloons; the rest of the year you get Breaking Bad locations, Petroglyph National Monument, and 310 days of sunshine.

Egypt's second city and the Mediterranean's great Levantine port - founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, capital of the Ptolemies, home of Cleopatra, the Pharos lighthouse, and the original Library that for centuries was the brain of the ancient world. Modern Alexandria is a 5-million-strong waterfront city of crumbling Belle Epoque facades, the 2002 Bibliotheca Alexandrina (a 172-million-euro modernist reincarnation of the lost Library), the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, the 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel built on the lighthouse foundations, and a humid sea breeze that feels nothing like the Sahara three hours south.

Portugal's golden coast is Europe's most photogenic Atlantic shoreline — limestone sea stacks and grottos at Ponta da Piedade (Lagos), the sheltered cove of Praia da Marinha, and 300 days of sunshine per year (the highest in continental Europe). Cabo de São Vicente — the most southwesterly point of mainland Europe — is where Henry the Navigator founded his navigation school in 1419 and launched the Age of Discovery. The Ria Formosa lagoon system stretches 90km, home to flamingos, rare chameleons, and barrier island beaches.

Kazakhstan's largest city sits dramatically beneath the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains. A cosmopolitan hub with Soviet-era architecture, excellent Central Asian cuisine, the iconic Green Bazaar, and easy access to alpine hiking and skiing at Shymbulak.

Saudi Arabia's northwestern oasis valley and its first UNESCO site — Hegra (Madain Salih), 111 monumental Nabataean tombs carved into honeyed sandstone 2,000+ years ago, far better preserved than Petra. The mud-brick Old Town crumbles photogenically at the valley floor; Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil) defines the night-sky photos; the mirrored Maraya hall hosts headline acts at the Winter at Tantora festival. Opened to tourism only in 2019 — luxury lodges (Habitas, Banyan Tree) lead the boom.

The Amalfi Coast is a UNESCO-listed stretch of dramatic clifftop villages cascading down to turquoise Mediterranean waters. Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello are the headliners, but the quieter towns of Atrani and Praiano offer a more authentic experience. The coastal roads are spectacular (if hair-raising), and the food is incredible.

A road-trip region of red-rock canyons and impossibly wide skies — Grand Canyon's South Rim, Sedona's crimson buttes, Antelope Canyon's light shafts, Horseshoe Bend, and Monument Valley's towering mesas. Flagstaff and Sedona anchor most itineraries; a rental car is mandatory and the distances are bigger than they look.

Amman is the gateway to Jordan's ancient wonders — Petra, Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea are all within reach. The city itself rewards exploration: the Citadel and Roman Theater anchor the historic core, while the Rainbow Street area buzzes with cafes and galleries. Jordanian hospitality is legendary, and the mansaf (lamb with yogurt sauce) is a must-try.

Amsterdam's iconic canal rings, world-class museums, and cycling culture make it one of Europe's most charming capitals. The city punches well above its weight in art (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum), food, and nightlife. Compact enough to explore on foot or by bike, with a tolerant, cosmopolitan vibe that's uniquely Dutch.

Anchorage holds nearly 40% of Alaska's population on a Cook Inlet promontory ringed by the Chugach Mountains. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs 11 miles along the water with regular moose sightings and beluga whales offshore. It's the staging ground for Denali, the Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound — and the only US city where you can land on a Boeing 737, fish for king salmon downtown on Ship Creek, and watch a midnight-sun sunset around 23:30 in late June.

Maryland's capital was briefly the capital of the United States (Nov 1783–Aug 1784), and the State House is the oldest US capitol still in continuous legislative use. The 18th-century brick streets of the historic district run downhill to the Chesapeake Bay-fed harbor — known locally as Ego Alley because boaters love to be seen there. The US Naval Academy occupies 338 waterfront acres on the Severn River; Maryland blue crabs come steamed with Old Bay; and Annapolis is the self-proclaimed sailing capital of America, with a fleet of charter sloops on the city dock most weekends.

Annecy is the alpine resort French people send each other to — a 14th-century old town wrapped around the Thiou canal where the Palais de l'Île sits midstream like a stone ship, and behind it the Lac d'Annecy: 27 km² of glacier-fed water so clear that EU water-quality reports rank it the cleanest large lake in Europe. The 42 km lakeside cycle path (Voie Verte) is one of France's flagship rides, the swimming is genuine swimming (not posing), and 30 minutes' drive south-east puts you on the Col de la Colombière or Glières plateau, both Tour de France climbs. Pastel facades, geraniums in window boxes, and a quality of summer evening light that makes the lake look almost tropical.

Turkey's Mediterranean capital of 1.7 million sprawls along a 30-km stretch of cliffs and coves backed by the snow-capped Beydağları range — Hadrian's Gate framing the entrance to Kaleiçi (the walled Roman-Ottoman old town), the Yivli Minaret silhouetted against the Gulf of Antalya, the Düden Falls cascading directly into the Mediterranean, and the Antalya Archaeological Museum's Pamphylian sculpture hall. The launchpad for the Lycian and Pamphylian ruins of Aspendos, Perge, Side, and Termessos, with year-round mild winters and summer beaches stretching to Olympos.

The larger of the two islands that make up Antigua and Barbuda, a 108-square-mile volcanic-and-coral landmass in the Leeward Caribbean with a much-quoted boast of 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. The southwest coast holds Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbour, the only continuously-running Georgian-era dockyard on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sunday evenings draw the island to Shirley Heights for steel-band-and-barbecue sunsets over the same harbour. The Dickenson Bay strip on the northwest coast anchors the all-inclusive resort cluster, and a 90-minute ferry north reaches Barbuda's pink-sand Princess Diana Beach.

A UNESCO World Heritage colonial city surrounded by volcanoes, with cobblestone streets, baroque churches, and some of Central America's best coffee and chocolate.

Arches sits on 76,000 acres of red Entrada and Navajo Sandstone north of Moab in eastern Utah, holding more than 2,000 documented natural stone arches — the densest concentration on the planet. Delicate Arch (the Utah license-plate arch) is the iconic 3-mile sunset hike, while Landscape Arch on the Devil's Garden Trail spans 306 feet, one of the longest natural arches on Earth. The Windows section delivers four major arches in one short loop. Timed-entry vehicle reservations are required April through October via recreation.gov. Moab is the gateway town and pairs naturally with a Canyonlands NP day trip.

Arequipa is Peru's second-largest city (~1.1 million) sitting at 2,335m (7,660 ft) in a high-desert basin under the perfect cone of El Misti volcano (5,822m). The colonial old town is built almost entirely from sillar — pearly-white volcanic ash blocks quarried from nearby Chachani — earning the nickname La Ciudad Blanca. The standout sight is the Santa Catalina Monastery: a walled 'city within a city' (20,000 m², founded 1579) that operated as a closed convent for almost 400 years and still has 20 Dominican nuns in residence. Arequipa is also the staging post for the two-day descent into the Colca Canyon (3,400m deep, twice the Grand Canyon) to see the morning thermals carry condors out of the gorge.

A 19-mile Dutch Caribbean island 15 miles north of Venezuela — outside the hurricane belt, dry and breezy year-round, and reliably sunny (the local saying is “sun, sand, and sea every day”). Eagle Beach’s photogenic divi-divi trees, Palm Beach’s high-rise resort strip, the otherworldly Arikok National Park (cactus-and-iguana desert covering 18% of the island), the Natural Pool tucked in volcanic rocks, and the colonial Dutch capital of Oranjestad with its pastel architecture. US dollars accepted everywhere; English universally spoken; US Pre-Clearance at the airport.

Blue Ridge Mountain city nicknamed Beer City USA — more craft breweries per capita than any American city. Biltmore Estate (250 rooms, George Vanderbilt, 1895) is the largest private home in America. The River Arts District has 200+ working artist studios in former industrial buildings. Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (45 minutes) and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A blue-and-white Atlantic coastal town 45km south of Tangier — the calmest, most artistic corner of the Moroccan north. The Portuguese ramparts still wrap the medina, and every August the Asilah Cultural Moussem repaints the entire old city with murals that stay up all year. Paradise Beach stretches 4km south of town. Spanish is spoken as commonly as French, a hangover from the protectorate years, and seafood is the reason to linger.

America's most famous ski town and the priciest in this set — a 7,000-resident former silver-mining town at 7,908 ft surrounded by four separate mountains under one Aspen Snowmass lift ticket: Aspen Mountain (Ajax) rising from town, Aspen Highlands with the legendary Highland Bowl hike, Buttermilk (Winter X Games home since 2002), and massive Snowmass 12 miles down-valley. The Maroon Bells, twin 14,000-ft peaks reflected in Maroon Lake, are the most photographed mountains in North America (reservation shuttle May-October). Off the slopes, the Aspen Music Festival fills July and August, the Food and Wine Classic takes over mid-June, and the Aspen Ideas Festival convenes thinkers each summer. ASE airport sits 4 miles from downtown.

Kazakhstan's futuristic capital rises from the steppe with bold architecture — the Bayterek Tower, Khan Shatyr mall, and Norman Foster's Palace of Peace. One of the world's youngest capitals, showcasing ambitious 21st-century city building.

Egypt's southernmost city sits at the First Cataract of the Nile, where the river narrows around granite islands and the Sahara meets Nubian sandstone. Once the ancient frontier town of Swenett guarding Pharaonic Egypt's southern border, Aswan today is the launching point for Abu Simbel (280km south), Philae Temple (relocated to Agilkia Island after the High Dam flooded its original home), and felucca cruises around Elephantine Island and Kitchener's Botanical Garden. The Nubian villages on the West Bank — Gharb Soheil and Heisa — preserve the language, music, and indigo-and-ochre architecture of a culture displaced when Lake Nasser drowned 44 villages in the 1960s. Significantly hotter, drier, and quieter than Cairo or Luxor; population ~290K.

The driest non-polar desert on Earth — a high-altitude moonscape of volcanoes, geysers, salt flats, and altiplano lagoons centered on the adobe village of San Pedro de Atacama (2,400m). El Tatio's dawn geysers, Valle de la Luna's sunset, the Salar de Atacama's flamingos, and the Miscanti & Miñiques lakes round out the standard week. ALMA observatory tours and the world's clearest night skies make it a stargazer's pilgrimage. Connects overland to Uyuni.

Athens is the cradle of Western civilization — the Acropolis still dominates the skyline 2,500 years on. Beyond the ancient ruins, a modern city of street art, rooftop bars, and a vibrant food scene has emerged. Plaka's winding streets, the Monastiraki flea market, and sunset views from Lycabettus Hill make it far more than a history lesson.

The capital of the New South — Sherman burned the city in 1864 and the phoenix on the official seal commemorates the rise from ashes. Martin Luther King Jr. was born here, preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue, and is buried at the King Center; the MLK National Historical Park is the essential Civil Rights pilgrimage. Coca-Cola was invented here in 1886 and the brand still anchors downtown alongside the Georgia Aquarium (largest in the Western Hemisphere) and the Civil and Human Rights Center. The 22-mile Beltline trail has connected 45 neighborhoods into a continuous urban park; Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market on the Eastside Trail are the food-scene anchors. ATL is the busiest airport in the world; Atlanta is the cultural and economic capital of the South.

The Atlas Mountains run 2,500 km across northwest Africa, with the High Atlas of Morocco as the trekking heart and Toubkal (4,167m) the highest peak in North Africa. Imlil village, 1.5 hours from Marrakech, is the standard launch pad — a cluster of stone Berber villages strung along walnut groves, where mule trails climb into snow-capped peaks and tagine homestays end most days. Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO red-clay ksar 3 hours south on the desert edge, doubled for ancient Egypt and Westeros in Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones, and anchors the southern road circuit out of the range.

New Zealand's largest city is built on 53 volcanic cones with harbors on two sides. The "City of Sails" offers world-class sailing, Polynesian culture, excellent food, and easy access to black sand beaches, wine regions, and native bush.

Austin is Texas with the volume turned up — a tech-money boomtown still nursing its "Keep Austin Weird" soul. Live music spills from honky-tonks on South Congress, smoked brisket lines form by 10 a.m. at Franklin, and Lady Bird Lake threads the downtown skyline with paddleboards and bats. Rainey Street, East Austin, and the Hill Country day-trip loop all reward a car or rideshare.

Ayutthaya is the brick-and-laterite ghost of the second Siamese capital, sacked by the Burmese in 1767 and never rebuilt. The historical park, a UNESCO site since 1991, sits on an island wrapped by three rivers 80 kilometres north of Bangkok, and the three signature ruins — Wat Mahathat with the Buddha head wrapped in fig roots, riverside Wat Chaiwatthanaram glowing at sunset, and royal Wat Phra Si Sanphet — are all rentable-bicycle distance from each other. Trains from Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong take 90 minutes and cost 20 baht in third class. The night market at Bang Ian draws the food crowd; the Khlong Sa Bua boat noodle stalls draw the regulars.

Portugal's mid-Atlantic volcanic archipelago offers crater lakes, whale watching, hot springs, hydrangea-lined roads, and Europe's best-kept secret for nature lovers.

An archaeological zone covering 26 square kilometres on the dry Irrawaddy plain — at its 11th-13th century peak, the kingdom of Pagan built more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries here, and around 2,200 still stand. UNESCO-listed in 2019 (decades after Angkor and Borogudur) following revised restoration policy. The signature Bagan experience is sunrise from the temple plain as hot-air balloons drift over thousands of brick stupas — flights operate October-April only and book months ahead. Note: following the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar travel involves serious safety, ethical, and practical considerations including travel advisories, banking sanctions (no international cards work), and ongoing civil conflict elsewhere in the country.

Azerbaijan's capital is one of the world's most architecturally jarring cities — a UNESCO medieval Old City (Icherisheher) with the Maiden Tower and Shirvanshahs' Palace sits directly beneath Flame Towers, three stainless-steel skyscrapers lit at night to simulate fire. The Heydar Aliyev Center (Zaha Hadid, 2012) is one of this century's signature buildings. Gobustan's Bronze Age petroglyphs and mud volcanoes are 65 km south. F1 hosts the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the city's streets every June.

Bali is Indonesia's most famous island — a tropical paradise of terraced rice paddies, ancient Hindu temples, volcanic peaks, and world-class surf breaks. From the spiritual heart of Ubud to the beach clubs of Seminyak and the cliffside temples of Uluwatu, Bali offers something for every type of traveler.

Banff National Park is the Canadian Rockies at their finest — turquoise lakes (Lake Louise, Moraine Lake), towering peaks, glaciers, and abundant wildlife. The charming town of Banff sits right inside the park, and the Icefields Parkway connecting to Jasper is one of the world's most scenic drives. World-class skiing in winter, incredible hiking in summer.

Bangkok is a sensory overload in the best way — ornate temples rise next to gleaming malls, street food sizzles on every corner, and the Chao Phraya River winds through it all. The city rewards both short visits and deep dives, with a mix of must-see landmarks and hidden neighborhoods that feel worlds apart from the tourist trail.

Ecuador's adventure-sports capital sits at 1,820m where the Andean highlands transition to the Amazon basin — perpetual spring climate (15-25°C year-round) beneath the active 5,023m Tungurahua volcano. The Pailón del Diablo waterfall (100m thundering cascade reached via suspension bridges and behind-the-falls rock tunnels), the Casa del Árbol cliff-edge swing famously photographed 'swinging into the void' with Tungurahua as backdrop, the Termas de la Virgen mineral hot springs, and the 60km Ruta de las Cascadas with 60+ waterfalls. Bungee jumping, canyoning, ziplining, white-water rafting, mountain biking — all at one-third the cost of equivalent in the West. Population ~20,000.

The gateway town to Acadia National Park on the northeast shore of Mount Desert Island, three hours by car from Portland. Once a Gilded Age summer colony for Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors (the 1947 fire destroyed most of the cottages), Bar Harbor today is a compact downtown of brick storefronts, lobster pounds, ice-cream parlours, and the trailhead for nearly every Acadia visitor's first day. Cadillac Mountain summit (1,530 feet, the highest point on the eastern seaboard) is a 20-minute drive away, the carriage roads start a mile south, and Jordan Pond House serves the legendary popovers a 15-minute drive from the town pier.

The easternmost Caribbean island — a Commonwealth nation that became a republic in 2021 and the birthplace of rum (Mount Gay, 1703, is the world's oldest still-running distillery). UNESCO Bridgetown and its Garrison preserve the British military layout of the 17th–19th centuries; the rugged east coast (Bathsheba's mushroom rocks) is for surfers; the calmer Caribbean west (Holetown, Speightstown) for swimmers. Crop Over (July–August) is the largest carnival outside Trinidad. Flying fish is the national dish, served with cou-cou. The dry season runs December–May.

Barcelona is where Gothic architecture meets Gaudí's surreal masterpieces, where tapas bars spill onto sunny plazas, and where the beach is just a metro ride from the mountains. The Catalan capital has a creative energy all its own — distinct from the rest of Spain and fiercely proud of it.

Argentina's Patagonian lake district capital — a Swiss-chocolate town on the shore of Nahuel Huapi Lake beneath the Andes. Cerro Catedral is South America's largest ski resort; the Circuito Chico drive is one of the hemisphere's most scenic road loops. The "chocolate capital of Argentina" hosts artisan chocolatiers on every corner of Mitre street.

An Indonesian island in the Riau archipelago lying 20 km southeast of Singapore, close enough that Sindo Ferry and Batam Fast catamarans cross from HarbourFront Centre and Tanah Merah in 45 to 60 minutes for about SGD 38 round-trip. Batam is the duty-free weekend escape Singaporeans use for cheap seafood at Top 100 and Welcome Restaurant, beach overnights at Montigo Resorts Nongsa, Turi Beach Resort and Nongsa Point Marina, golf at Palm Springs and Tamarin Santana, and the reflexology and shopping circuit of Nagoya Hill. The centre is industrial rather than pretty, but it is the most affordable island getaway in the region — and the only one with no flights from Singapore because the ferry is simply faster.

Britain's most perfectly preserved Georgian city, and the only British city designated entirely as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Roman Baths — a 2,000-year-old complex fed by Britain's only natural hot spring at 46°C — rank among the finest Roman remains in Northern Europe. The Royal Crescent (1767–1775), The Circus, and Pulteney Bridge (shops on both sides, one of only four in the world) form the Georgian masterwork that inspired Jane Austen, who lived here from 1801 to 1806.

Cambodia's second-largest city and quiet cultural capital, draped along the lazy Sangker River in the country's rice-bowl northwest. Battambang preserves more French colonial shophouses than anywhere else in Cambodia, with verandahed two-storey rows now housing boutique hotels, third-wave coffee bars, and the studios of Phare Ponleu Selpak, the circus and arts school founded in 1994 to support children orphaned by the Khmer Rouge era. Bamboo Train rides on improvised flat platforms, the cliff temples of Phnom Sampeau with their grim Killing Caves, and the brick stupas of Wat Banan and Wat Ek Phnom round out a destination most travellers regret skipping.

Georgia's subtropical Black Sea city is a unique architectural kaleidoscope — Ottoman, Art Nouveau, Soviet, and contemporary towers sit side by side. The Alphabet Tower rotates in the wind at 130m; the Ali and Nino kinetic sculpture merges and separates every 10 minutes. Visa-free for 95 nationalities for a full year — Batumi is one of the most accessible destinations in the Caucasus.

China's capital is a treasure trove of imperial history — the Forbidden City, Great Wall, and Temple of Heaven are just the beginning. Ancient hutong neighborhoods, world-class Peking duck, and a rapidly modernizing cityscape make Beijing endlessly fascinating.

The Paris of the Middle East is a resilient Mediterranean city of ancient ruins, legendary cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and a creative spirit that persists through every challenge.

Northern Ireland's capital has transformed from the epicenter of the Troubles into one of the UK's most vibrant cities. Titanic Belfast is the world's largest Titanic exhibition. The political murals of Falls and Shankill Roads are among the most powerful pieces of public art in Europe. The Cathedral Quarter's Victorian pubs and the covered St. George's Market are the social heart of modern Belfast.

Serbia's capital at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers is famous for its legendary nightlife, Kalemegdan Fortress, hearty Balkan cuisine, and irrepressible spirit.

The only English-speaking country in Central America — Caribbean coast on one side, Guatemalan jungle on the other, the world's second-largest barrier reef just offshore. The 124m-deep Great Blue Hole anchors the offshore atolls and decorates the country's banknotes; Ambergris Caye is the model for Madonna's "La Isla Bonita"; tiny car-free Caye Caulker takes the "Go Slow" mantra so seriously that they painted it on signs. Inland, the ancient Maya pyramids of Caracol, Xunantunich, and Lamanai rise from jungle reserves, and Actun Tunichil Muknal cave still holds skeletal sacrifices from a thousand years ago. English-speaking, BZD pegged 2:1 with USD, and one of the least-visited adventure paradises in the Caribbean.

The "City of a Thousand Windows" — tiered white Ottoman houses stacked up the slopes above the Osum River. UNESCO 2008 and one of Europe's oldest continuously-inhabited cities (2,400+ years). Berat Castle (Kalaja) is a still-inhabited medieval citadel — people live inside the walls. Facing Mangalem (Muslim) and Gorica (Christian) quarters across the 18th-century stone bridge. Onufri icon museum inside the castle; Çobo and Kokomani wineries in Albania's wine capital; Tomor Mountain NP 20 km east. Access: 2.5 hr bus from Tirana. ALL currency (EUR widely accepted); 90-day visa-free for most Western.

Norway's second city and the gateway to the western fjords — a UNESCO Hanseatic port wrapped around a harbour hemmed in by seven mountains. Bryggen's coloured wooden wharf buildings are Bergen in a single postcard. The Fløibanen funicular hauls you up Mount Fløyen for fjord-and-city views; the Bergen Railway to Oslo is one of the world's most scenic train rides; and Nærøyfjord (UNESCO) is an easy day trip by Norway in a Nutshell. It rains 270 days a year. Bring a waterproof.

Berlin is Europe's capital of reinvention — a city shaped by its turbulent history and defined by its creative present. The Wall may be gone but its legacy is everywhere, from the East Side Gallery to the vibrant neighborhoods that grew up in its shadow. Cheap by Western European standards, with legendary nightlife and a thriving art scene.

Switzerland's federal capital — not Zurich, despite the common assumption — wrapped in a horseshoe bend of the turquoise Aare river. The medieval old town gained UNESCO status in 1983 for its 6 km of continuous sandstone arcades, the 1530 Zytglogge astronomical clock that still chimes on the hour, and the Bundeshaus where the Federal Council meets. Albert Einstein wrote his 1905 papers here while working at the patent office. In summer, locals float the Aare straight through the old town with a waterproof bag for their clothes.

Hawaii Island is bigger than all the other Hawaiian islands combined and is still actively growing — Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes (currently erupting as of April 2026) and Mauna Kea’s 4,205-m summit hosts 13 international observatories under what astronomers consider Earth’s clearest skies. Eight of the world’s 13 climate zones exist on this single island: the Hilo side gets 3,400 mm of tropical rainforest rain a year while the Kona side stays dry desert at 500 mm; Mauna Kea’s summit has alpine conditions year-round and snows in winter. Add Punaluʻu black-sand beach, Kona coffee country, the green sea turtles at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, and the manta-ray night snorkel off Keauhou Bay. The most geologically dramatic of the Hawaiian islands.

The Basque Country's industrial-turned-cultural capital — still rough and confident around the edges where polished San Sebastián is precious. Frank Gehry's 1997 titanium-cloud Guggenheim Museum kicked off the most successful urban regeneration in modern Europe (the global "Bilbao Effect"); the Nervión riverbank that was biologically dead in the 1980s now runs from Calatrava bridges through the Old Town's Casco Viejo, where Calle del Perro's pintxo bars deliver dinner-quality bites for €3–€5 each. Add the Mercado de la Ribera (Europe's largest covered food market), Norman Foster's gleaming metro, and the Athletic Club Bilbao stadium where every player is Basque — and you get a bigger, edgier, dramatically cheaper alternative to San Sebastián.

Kyrgyzstan's leafy capital is the gateway to Central Asia's most spectacular mountain scenery. Soviet-era plazas, buzzing bazaars, excellent Kyrgyz cuisine, and easy day trips to Ala Archa gorge and Issyk-Kul lake make it an underrated destination.

A 160 km north-south range of densely-forested hills along Germany's southwest border with France — cuckoo-clock workshops in Triberg, the 163m Triberger Wasserfälle (Germany's highest waterfall), the deep-blue Titisee, the 60 km Schwarzwaldhochstrasse scenic drive, and the half-timbered villages of the Gutach Valley. The original Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake) was created here in 1915. Freiburg makes the obvious base — a sunny university town at the southwestern edge with the Münster spire and a tram running into the forest in 20 minutes.

An archipelago of nine main islands and 200-something islets in Panama's far northwest Caribbean — a cheaper, scruffier, more laid-back answer to Costa Rica or San Blas. Isla Colón holds the main town (Bocas Town); Bastimentos has Red Frog and Wizard beaches; Isla Carenero is a 5-minute boat ride for sunset bars over the water. Snorkel the cays, see strawberry poison-dart frogs, and accept that everything runs on island time and most floors are wooden boards over the sea.

Bogota is a high-altitude capital undergoing a cultural renaissance. La Candelaria's colonial streets are alive with street art, the Gold Museum is dazzling, and Monserrate offers sweeping views from 3,150m. The food scene is booming, the coffee is (unsurprisingly) excellent, and the Ciclovia turns major roads into a car-free playground every Sunday.

A tear-drop island in the Central Visayas, two hours by fast ferry from Cebu and home to the most famous landform in the Philippines: the Chocolate Hills, 1,776 conical limestone mounds spread over 50 sq km of Carmen and Sagbayan that turn from green to brown in the February-to-May dry months. The Loboc River cruise glides past nipa-palm villages on a floating buffet boat, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella protects the 13cm saucer-eyed primate, and the resort island of Panglao — connected by causeway to the main island — strings Alona Beach with dive shops running daily trips to Balicasag's wall and Pamilacan's whale sharks. A 1-hour Cebu Pacific or PAL flight from Manila lands at Bohol-Panglao (TAG).

Idaho's capital sits where the high desert meets the Rockies — the Boise River cuts straight through downtown, lined by a 25-mile greenbelt of cottonwoods and bike paths that locals treat as the city's spine. The state's only Basque population in the country (roughly 15,000) gave Boise a Basque Block of pintxos bars and the Cyrus Jacobs-Uberuaga House. Add the climbable foothills behind town, the gold-domed Idaho State Capitol, and a tech scene anchored by Micron and HP, and you have one of the fastest-growing small cities in the West.

Italy's culinary capital — birthplace of tortellini, ragù, and mortadella. Medieval towers, 40 km of porticoed streets (UNESCO-listed), and the oldest university in the Western world.

The island that invented the overwater bungalow (Hotel Bora Bora, 1967) — a volcanic peak (Mt Otemanu, 727m) ringed by a turquoise lagoon and a barrier reef 50m offshore. Access is Tahiti (PPT) international then a 50-minute Air Tahiti hop to BOB. Honeymoon-grade resorts (St. Regis, Four Seasons, Intercontinental Thalasso) dominate the main atoll; Matira Beach is the public gem. May–October dry season is peak; November–April is cyclone risk. XPF (CFP Franc) is the currency, pegged to the Euro.

Boracay is a 7-km island off the northwest tip of Panay in the central Philippines — and White Beach, its 4-km western strip of powder-fine coral sand, has topped "world's best beach" rankings since the 1990s. The island reopened in 2018 after a six-month government shutdown that overhauled sewage and built setback rules; the result is a cleaner, more regulated, but still very lively beach scene. The west side delivers White Beach's sunset paraws (outrigger sailboats), island-hopping to Crystal Cove and Magic Island, while the windward east-side Bulabog Beach is the kiteboarding and windsurfing capital of Asia from November to April.

The world's wine capital and a UNESCO World Heritage city — Place de la Bourse and its Miroir d'Eau (the world's largest reflecting pool) anchor a centre of 18th-century limestone Hausmannian elegance that earned the nickname Little Paris. La Cité du Vin is the most ambitious wine museum on earth. Saint-Émilion's Romanesque monolithic church and chateaux are 40 minutes east; Médoc's first-growth grand crus 45 minutes north; the Atlantic and Dune du Pilat (Europe's tallest dune) an hour west. The TGV puts Paris just 2h05 away.

Denmark's outlier — a 588 km granite island in the middle of the Baltic, closer to Sweden and Poland than to Copenhagen. Locals call it Solskinsoen (sunshine island) for clocking the country's highest annual sunshine totals, and it shows in the smoked herring smokehouses of Svaneke, the wooden cottage colonies of Gudhjem, and the white-sand beaches at Dueodde and Sandvig. Four medieval round churches built as Knights-Templar fortresses ring the interior, with Osterlars the largest and oldest. The Hammershus castle ruin on the northern cliffs is the largest medieval fortress complex in northern Europe. Reach it from Copenhagen by 3-hour combined train and ferry through Ystad in Sweden, or 35-minute direct flight.

Boston is America's most walkable big city — four centuries of history packed into cobblestone streets, punctuated by Fenway's green monster, Italian cannolis in the North End, and college-town energy from Harvard and MIT across the river. The Freedom Trail delivers Revolutionary history in a single 2.5-mile walk.

Branson is a 10,000-person Ozark Mountain town in southwest Missouri that pulls roughly 9 million visitors a year on the strength of 50-plus live theaters, a 49-mile shoreline on Table Rock Lake, and the Silver Dollar City theme park up the road. The downtown 76 Country Boulevard strip stacks neon-lit theaters end to end (more theater seats than Broadway, the locals like to point out), Branson Landing runs a mile and a half along Lake Taneycomo with a fountain show and chain restaurants, and Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner theater feeds 1,000 people a night. Most travelers fly into Springfield (SGF, 45 minutes north) since Branson Airport (BKG) has thin scheduled service.

Transylvania's most beautifully preserved Saxon city sits in a Carpathian amphitheatre 625m above sea level — Mount Tâmpa rises directly above the old town with the famous Hollywood-style 'BRAȘOV' sign. The 14th-century Black Church (largest Gothic church in southeastern Europe), Council Square ringed by pastel Saxon merchant houses, and Strada Sforii (one of Europe's narrowest streets at 1.11m wide) anchor the UNESCO-quality old town. Bran Castle (Dracula marketing notwithstanding) is 30km away; the Poiana Brașov ski resort 12km. Founded in 1211 by the Teutonic Knights as one of the seven Saxon walled cities of Transylvania.

A compact, walkable old town on the Danube — just an hour from Vienna by train. Bratislava Castle overlooks pastel-colored streets, cozy wine bars, and some of Central Europe's best-value dining.

Queensland's sunny capital offers a laid-back river lifestyle, South Bank's cultural precinct with a man-made beach, and easy access to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The 2032 Olympics host city is undergoing a major transformation.

Bruges is a medieval fairy tale preserved in amber — winding canals, cobblestone squares, Gothic towers, and some of the best chocolate and beer in the world. The Markt square and Belfry are postcard-perfect, the art museums house Flemish masterpieces, and the whole city is compact enough to explore on foot in a day or two.

The capital of Europe is a city of Art Nouveau architecture, comic book murals, world-class chocolate, and the Grand Place — one of Europe's most beautiful squares. Outstanding beer culture with hundreds of varieties and cozy brown cafés.

Bryce Canyon is the hoodoo amphitheater of southern Utah — not actually a canyon but a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, packed with the densest concentration of hoodoos (eroded sandstone spires) on Earth. The rim sits at 8,000 to 9,000 feet, which makes it noticeably cooler than nearby Zion (4 hours from Las Vegas, 1.5 hours from Zion). The classic combination is a sunrise stop at Inspiration or Sunrise Point followed by descending into the amphitheater on the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail. An International Dark Sky Park, the night skies here are extraordinary.

Romania's eclectic capital mixes Belle Époque elegance with communist-era brutalism and a booming nightlife and cafe scene. Gateway to Transylvania's castles and Carpathian Mountains.

Budapest is two cities in one — hilly, historic Buda on one side of the Danube, flat, buzzing Pest on the other, connected by iconic bridges. The thermal baths are legendary (Szechenyi, Gellert), the ruin bar scene is one-of-a-kind, and the Parliament building lit up at night is one of Europe's most beautiful sights. Exceptional value.

Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America — grand Haussmann-style avenues, sidewalk cafes, and a fierce cultural identity built on tango, steak, and Malbec. The city's barrios each have a distinct personality, from the colorful houses of La Boca to the tree-lined elegance of Palermo. Incredible value for visitors right now.

Buffalo invented the chicken wing at the Anchor Bar on Main Street in 1964 and never quite got over it — but the city is also the closest American gateway to Niagara Falls (20 miles north), the home of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Darwin Martin House complex, and a rebuilt waterfront at Canalside that turned a derelict freight terminus into the city's summer centre. Add Bills Mafia at Highmark Stadium, the Albright-Knox-Buffalo AKG Art Museum (one of the best modern collections between Manhattan and Chicago), and the cheapest steak fingers in the East, and the city has quietly stopped being a punchline.

One of the best-preserved medieval cities in Central Asia, Bukhara's old town is a UNESCO site of ancient mosques, madrasas, and caravanserais. The Kalyan Minaret, Ark Fortress, and covered bazaars evoke centuries of Silk Road trade.

Vermont's biggest city is still small — under 45,000 people — and packs them onto a hillside that drops into Lake Champlain. Church Street Marketplace is a four-block pedestrian mall of brick, buskers, and farm-to-table restaurants. The University of Vermont (UVM) keeps the place caffeinated and progressive; Ben & Jerry's was founded here in 1978, Magic Hat brews on the south end of town, and the Adirondack peaks across the lake make every sunset look staged. Fall foliage peaks early October.

South Korea's coastal second city offers stunning beaches, vibrant seafood markets, hillside villages splashed with street art, and soothing hot springs. Haeundae Beach and Gamcheon Culture Village are highlights, with the KTX bullet train connecting to Seoul in just 2.5 hours.

UNESCO 1994 ancient montane forest (25,000+ years continuous) — home to roughly half the world's mountain gorillas (~450 of ~1,000 total). Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda cost $800 per person (vs Rwanda $1,500, DRC $400); book 6–12 months ahead. Four sectors — Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nkuringo — with variable trek difficulty from 1 hr to 8 hr. 350+ bird species including Albertine Rift endemics. Access via Entebbe → charter to Kihihi, or 8–10 hr drive on rough roads. Best June–August + December–February.

Where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez at the southernmost tip of the 1,200-km Baja California peninsula — the El Arco rock arch is the geological marker of land's end and the most photographed landmark in Baja. Calm Medano Beach, the buzzing 380-slip Marina, world-class sportfishing (the Bisbee tournament is the world's richest), December-April whale watching for grey, humpback, and blue whales, and the Tropic of Cancer running through the middle of Los Cabos. Easy US-friendly access — direct flights from every major US gateway, US dollars accepted everywhere.

Tropical northeastern Queensland's gateway to two adjacent UNESCO World Heritage sites — the Great Barrier Reef offshore and the 180-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest just to the north (the world's oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforest, where it meets the reef at Cape Tribulation). Cairns itself is a compact, walkable city of ~150K built around the Esplanade Lagoon (free saltwater pool replacing the unswimmable mudflat foreshore), with most of life happening between the lagoon, the Pier marina, and the night markets. Reef day trips (90min boat to outer reef pontoons; ~$220-280 AUD) and Kuranda Skyrail-and-Scenic-Railway combo to the rainforest village (~$120 AUD) are the standard outings. Tropical wet season Nov-April brings heat, humidity, monsoon rain, and stinger jellyfish — May-October is the dry, calm, pleasant window.

Cairo is a megacity that sits at the crossroads of ancient and modern — the Great Pyramids of Giza are literally at the city's edge. The Egyptian Museum holds treasures spanning millennia, Islamic Cairo's mosques and bazaars are a maze of history, and the Nile runs through it all. Chaotic, overwhelming, and absolutely unforgettable.

Malaysia's cool Pahang highlands — British colonial-era BOH tea plantations carpeting hillsides, the Mossy Forest boardwalk through cloud-forest on Gunung Brinchang, strawberry farms, and weekend night markets. 1,500m elevation keeps it 15-25°C year-round — a break from the hot peninsular coast. 4 hours bus from KL.

The Caribbean's most visited resort destination — Cancún's Hotel Zone is a 23km barrier island of turquoise water so specific in shade it barely looks real. But Cancún is also the gateway to Mexico's greatest Maya site: Chichén Itzá (a New Seven Wonder, 200km inland), Isla Mujeres (30min ferry), and Tulum's cliff-top ruins above the sea. The cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula — crystal-clear sinkholes sacred to the Maya — are the most extraordinary swimming experiences in the Americas.

The French Riviera's film-festival capital was a 3,000-person fishing village until British Lord Brougham was quarantined here in 1834 and, smitten, told his aristocratic friends — within a generation Cannes was wintering European royalty. The 2 km palm-lined Boulevard de la Croisette runs from the red-carpeted Palais des Festivals (home of the May film festival since 1946) past the Belle Époque grand hotels (Carlton, Martinez, Majestic) to Pointe Croisette. Le Suquet, the medieval old town climbing the western hill, holds the 11th-century Tour du Suquet, the Église Notre-Dame de l'Espérance, and most of the city's actual character. Daily ferries from the Vieux Port reach the Lérins Islands — Sainte-Marguerite's Fort Royal (where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned 1687–1698) and Saint-Honorat's working Cistercian monastery making Lérins wine. The Marché Forville, behind the old port since 1934, runs every morning except Mondays.

Cape Cod is the 65-mile hooked arm of Massachusetts that defines the New England summer for most of the East Coast. The Cape Cod National Seashore protects 44,000 acres of dune, marsh, and Atlantic beach from Eastham to Provincetown at the tip; the 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail runs the spine of the Lower Cape on a converted rail bed; and Hyannis is the ferry hub for day trips to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Six loose regions (Upper, Mid, Lower, Outer, plus Falmouth and Sandwich) each have their own character. The catch: Friday and Sunday traffic over the Sagamore and Bourne bridges can add two hours to a trip.

Cape Town is stunningly beautiful — Table Mountain looming over a city nestled between ocean and vineyards. The food and wine scene is world-class and incredibly affordable. From penguin colonies to the Cape of Good Hope, from vibrant Bo-Kaap to the V&A Waterfront, it's one of the most photogenic cities on earth.

Cappadocia is an otherworldly landscape of fairy chimneys, cave churches, and underground cities carved into volcanic rock. The sunrise hot air balloon flights over the valleys are bucket-list worthy, the cave hotels are unique, and the hiking through Rose Valley and Love Valley is spectacular. One of Turkey's most unforgettable destinations.

A 4-square-mile limestone island in the Bay of Naples — the Faraglioni sea stacks rising 100m straight from the Mediterranean, the eerie blue glow of the Blue Grotto where Tiberius bathed, the open chairlift to Mt Solaro’s 589m summit, the Piazzetta’s aperitivo theatre, and Villa San Michele’s cliff-edge Roman columns. Where Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire from AD 27–37, where Capri Pants were invented, and where 10,000 day-trippers pour off Naples ferries by 11 AM — overnight to see the island after they leave.

Cartagena's UNESCO-listed walled city is one of the most beautiful colonial centers in the Americas — bougainvillea-draped balconies, pastel-colored buildings, and cobblestone streets alive with music and street food. The Caribbean warmth extends to the people, the nearby Rosario Islands, and the ceviche.

Morocco's largest city (~4 million) and economic capital — the Hassan II Mosque rising from the Atlantic with its 210-metre minaret (one of only two mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims), the Art Deco legacy of the French Protectorate along Boulevard Mohammed V, the 1930s Quartier Habous new medina, the Corniche oceanfront bar scene, and a nightlife reputation that rivals Marrakech. The city that the Bogart film was entirely NOT shot in.

The oldest city in the Philippines — founded by Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565 and the colonial capital before Manila. Magellan's wooden cross from 1521 still stands beside the Basilica del Santo Niño, the country's oldest Catholic church. Cebu's lechon (whole roasted suckling pig with lemongrass and garlic stuffing) is what Anthony Bourdain called "the best pig ever". The Mactan Island shrine marks where chieftain Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan, ending the first European circumnavigation. Easy day trips reach Kawasan Falls, the Moalboal sardine run, the Oslob whale sharks, and the Bohol Chocolate Hills (2-hour ferry). The mid-January Sinulog Festival brings a million people to the city.

Český Krumlov is what tourists imagine when they think 'medieval Bohemian fairytale' — a 13,000-person town of red-tile roofs and pastel-coloured facades wrapped tightly inside an oxbow loop of the Vltava River, with a 7-hectare castle complex (the second-largest in the Czech Republic after Prague Castle) climbing the opposite bank. The historic centre joined UNESCO in 1992; the castle moat famously holds bears instead of water, a quirk inherited from the Renaissance-era lords of Rožmberk. Two-and-a-half hours from Prague by direct bus, Český Krumlov is the country's most-visited town outside the capital — and it earns the visit.

Charleston has perfected the southern coastal city — pastel Rainbow Row on East Bay, Battery mansions staring down the harbor where Fort Sumter sits, and a restaurant scene (Husk, FIG, The Ordinary) that has defined modern low-country cooking. Gullah-Geechee heritage, King Street shopping, and plantation day trips round out longer visits.

Charlotte is North Carolina's biggest city and the second-largest US banking centre after New York — Bank of America and Truist (formerly BB&T) are headquartered here, and the Uptown skyline along Tryon Street is a wall of corporate towers. Beyond banking, the NASCAR Hall of Fame anchors stock-car culture an hour from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the US National Whitewater Center (a man-made Olympic-grade rapids course) sits west of town, and the Discovery Place science museum draws families. Charlotte is also the entry point to the western North Carolina mountains (Asheville is 2 hours northwest).

Morocco's famous Blue City nestled in the Rif Mountains — every wall, stairway, and doorway painted in shades of blue. A photogenic haven with mountain hikes, artisan crafts, and a peaceful medina.

Capital of Sichuan Province and the panda capital of the world — the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base houses over 200 pandas and is best visited at 7:30am during feeding. Sichuan cuisine (málà numbing-spice from Sichuan peppercorn) is China's most internationally influential regional cooking. Sichuan Opera's biàn liǎn face-changing tradition is a UNESCO intangible heritage art. The Leshan Giant Buddha at 71 meters tall is the world's largest stone Buddha.

Chiang Mai is northern Thailand's cultural capital — a laid-back city ringed by mountains and packed with over 300 Buddhist temples. The Old City's moat-enclosed streets, legendary night markets, and world-class cooking schools make it a favorite for long-stay travelers. The gateway to hill tribe treks and elephant sanctuaries.

Thailand's northernmost city is defined by its temples — the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), an all-white private temple covered in mirror glass and under continuous construction since 1997, is unlike anything else in the Buddhist world; the Black House (Baandam Museum) is its dark counterpart. The Golden Triangle — where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet at the Mekong and Ruak confluence — is 65 km north. Doi Mae Salong, a misty tea-growing mountain village founded by KMT Chinese Nationalist soldiers after 1949, is one of the most surprising detours in all of Southeast Asia.

Chicago is America's architectural capital — a skyline of art deco towers and modern masterpieces rising from the shores of Lake Michigan. Deep-dish pizza is iconic, the jazz and blues scene is legendary, and the Art Institute is world-class. The Riverwalk, Millennium Park's Bean, and the city's diverse neighborhoods make the Windy City a must-visit.

New Zealand's South Island gateway — rebuilt after the 2010–11 earthquakes into a living showcase of urban innovation. Shigeru Ban's Cardboard Cathedral is a global architectural icon. The International Antarctic Centre is the world's best gateway to the southern continent (without going). The TranzAlpine train crossing the Southern Alps is one of the world's great rail journeys.

Cincinnati hits above its weight — the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is one of the largest collections of 19th-century Italianate architecture in the United States, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (1866) was the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge, and the city's two contributions to American food (Cincinnati chili and the goetta breakfast sausage) are unlike anything else. The Reds play at riverfront Great American Ball Park, the Bengals next door at Paycor Stadium, and Findlay Market (1855) still anchors the OTR food scene every Saturday morning.

Five Ligurian fishing villages clinging to a 15km stretch of cliffs — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore. Connected by boat, by train every 15 minutes, and (sometimes) by the Sentiero Azzurro hiking trail. Pesto is from here, sciacchetrà dessert wine is from these cliffs, and no cars enter the villages.

Cleveland sits at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River where it meets Lake Erie, and the city's two great institutions — the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Orchestra (one of the world's top five) — sum up its split personality: blue-collar rock town and high-culture European-flavored powerhouse. The West Side Market has been operating since 1912, the lakefront Edgewater beach gives you a real sand swim 10 minutes from downtown, and the city is now arguably the best sports town per-capita in America (Browns, Cavs, Guardians all play within walking distance of each other downtown).

Ireland's most-visited natural attraction — 14 km of vertical sandstone sea cliffs on the County Clare coast, rising to 214 m at Knockardakin and dropping straight into the Atlantic. O'Brien's Tower (1835) marks the highest viewpoint; the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience charges €10 admission for the central platform and exhibition. The 20 km Cliff Walk runs from Hag's Head south of the visitor centre north to Doolin, with no fences along most of its length. Galway is 1 hr 30 by bus (€15 return); Doolin village is the closest base, 6 km north.

Romania's second city and the unofficial capital of Transylvania — a 14th-century Saxon merchant town now reborn as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe. Four universities pump 100,000 students through Piata Unirii every year, the Gothic St. Michael's Church spire dominates the skyline, and Untold Festival fills August with 400,000 electronic music fans. Budget airlines from across Europe land at CLJ in 90 minutes from London or Berlin, the cafe scene rivals Berlin at a quarter the price, and you are six hours by train from Bucharest with the Apuseni Mountains an hour away.

Coimbra was Portugal's first capital (until 1255) and has been a university city for over 700 years — the University of Coimbra (founded 1290, UNESCO 2013) sits on a hilltop above the river Mondego with the 18th-century Joanina Library still home to the colony of bats released every night to eat manuscript-damaging insects. Coimbra Fado is the male-sung university version of Portugal's national music — sadder, more academic, performed in black student capes — and entirely different from Lisbon Fado. Conímbriga, Portugal's largest Roman ruin, sits 16 km south.

Colmar is the Alsace capital of half-timbered fairy-tale architecture — a town that survived both World Wars almost entirely intact, with the Petite Venise canal district, the Maison Pfister (1537, said to have inspired Howl's Moving Castle), and the Unterlinden Museum's Isenheim Altarpiece (Grünewald, 1515 — one of the great works of Northern Renaissance painting). It anchors the Alsace Wine Route (170 km of Riesling and Gewürztraminer producers between Strasbourg and Mulhouse), throws one of the four or five best Christmas markets in Europe across six themed plazas in December, and sits exactly on the German border zone — German and French street signs share equal billing in the old town.

Germany's fourth-largest city wraps around a 157-metre Gothic cathedral that took 632 years to finish and now anchors a UNESCO-listed Altstadt. Cross the Hohenzollernbrücke past its 500,000 love locks, drink Kölsch from skinny 200ml glasses in Brauhauses where moustachioed Köbes waiters keep refilling until you cap the glass with a beer mat, and time your visit for Karneval in February when the Rhineland's defining party shuts the city for a week. Roman Cologne, medieval Cologne, post-war reconstruction Cologne — all packed into 1,800 walkable years.

Colombo is Sri Lanka's bustling commercial capital — a mix of colonial heritage, Buddhist temples, and a rapidly modernizing skyline. The Pettah bazaar is sensory overload, Galle Face Green offers sunset strolls along the Indian Ocean, and the food scene blends Sri Lankan curry with international influences. The gateway to the rest of the island.

A sun-bleached pilgrimage town on the Bolivian shore of Lake Titicaca, three and a half hours by road from La Paz across the Tiquina ferry crossing. The whitewashed Moorish-style Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Copacabana houses the Dark Virgin, Bolivia's patron saint, and on weekends drivers line up the length of Avenida 6 de Agosto to have new vehicles blessed with flower garlands and beer. The harbour launches small wooden boats for the two-hour crossing to Isla del Sol, the Inca creation-myth island where Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo emerged. Trout pulled fresh from Titicaca arrives whole and grilled at lakefront comedores, and the Yunguyo border crossing puts Peru's Puno just three hours further on.

Copenhagen is Scandinavian cool distilled — colorful Nyhavn waterfront, world-leading restaurants (Noma, Geranium), cutting-edge design, and a cycling culture that puts everywhere else to shame. The city pioneered hygge and it shows: cozy cafes, canal-side hangouts, and a relaxed vibe despite being a serious foodie destination.

Córdoba was the largest city in Europe in the 10th century — a 500,000-person caliphate capital with paved streets, public lighting, and the largest library west of Baghdad. The Mezquita-Catedral is the surviving wonder: 856 red-and-white horseshoe arches in a forest under a cathedral nave that the Christians dropped into the centre after 1236. The Judería (Jewish Quarter) keeps one of three pre-expulsion synagogues left in Spain; the Roman bridge crosses the Guadalquivir under the Calahorra Tower; the Patios festival in early May opens private flower-stuffed courtyards across the old city. Twenty kilometres west, Medina Azahara — the lost caliphal palace-city — is a UNESCO archaeological site since 2018.

Ireland's second city sits on an island in the River Lee, with the covered English Market (open since 1788) at its centre and the steep Victorian streets of Shandon climbing the hill above. Cork is the gateway to the south-west — Blarney Castle (and its kissable stone) is 8 km north, the deep-water Titanic departure port of Cobh is 25 minutes by commuter rail, and the Wild Atlantic Way begins on the Beara and Mizen peninsulas an hour west. Murphy's and Beamish stouts are brewed here; Jameson's original distillery is 25 km east in Midleton.

The northern tip of Palawan and the world capital of recreational wreck diving — twelve Imperial Japanese Navy vessels sunk by US carrier planes on 24 September 1944 lie between 10 and 40 metres in Coron Bay, accessible to anyone with an open-water certification. Above the waterline, the Tagbanwa-owned island of Coron itself walls in jade-water lagoons fringed by 200-metre limestone karsts: Kayangan Lake (often called the cleanest lake in the Philippines), Twin Lagoon's swim-through opening, the 38-metre fresh-and-saltwater pool of Barracuda Lake. Reach: a 1-hour AirSwift, Cebgo or Philippines AirAsia flight from Manila MNL into Busuanga (USU).

England's largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (790 sq miles) — a region of honey-coloured Jurassic limestone villages, ancient wool-trade churches, and rolling green countryside spread across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire, and Warwickshire. The villages built their wealth on Cotswold Lion sheep wool from the 12th-18th centuries and the prosperity built the elaborate stone houses and 'wool churches' you see today. Bibury's Arlington Row appears inside every UK passport; Bourton-on-the-Water is the 'Venice of the Cotswolds' with the River Windrush flowing through the village green; Castle Combe is regularly named Britain's prettiest village; and the 102-mile Cotswold Way long-distance trail threads from Chipping Campden to Bath. Add Daylesford organic farm shops, Highgrove (King Charles III's home), and the antique capitals of Stow and Tetbury — and you have the most concentrated rural England in the country.

A flat 478 sq km Caribbean island east of Playa del Carmen, reached in 35 minutes by passenger ferry. The reason to come is underwater: Cozumel sits on the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest barrier reef system in the world, with Palancar, Santa Rosa Wall and Punta Sur drift dives consistently ranked among the planet's best. San Miguel is the only real town, a low-rise grid built around a cruise terminal that sees regular Carnival and Royal Caribbean stops. Inland, Chankanaab Park combines a Mayan ruin with snorkelling lagoons; the rest of the island is mostly mangroves, beach clubs and one perimeter road.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,949 feet, formed when 12,000-foot Mount Mazama collapsed roughly 7,700 years ago and the caldera filled with snowmelt. The water has no inlets or outlets and produces a near-impossible indigo blue that has stopped photographers for a century. The 33-mile Rim Drive circles the caldera (closed November to May for snow), Wizard Island rises from the western shore as a perfect cinder cone, and Cleetwood Cove Trail is the only legal route to the water — a 700-foot descent and a tougher climb back. The park sits 4 hours from Portland or 1.5 hours from Medford (MFR), peaks July-September, and is a designated International Dark Sky Park.

Greece's largest island is a world unto itself — the Palace of Knossos preserves the earliest advanced civilization in Europe (Minoan, 2700–1450 BCE); the Heraklion Archaeological Museum holds the finest Minoan collection on earth; the Samaria Gorge is a 16 km hike through Europe's longest canyon. In the west: Chania's Venetian harbor, Elafonissi's pink-sand beach, Balos Lagoon. A car is essential — the island rewards those who leave the package-resort coast.

The City of Eternal Spring, 90 minutes south of Mexico City over the mountains, where 1,500 metres of elevation and a mild year-round climate have drawn capital weekenders since the Aztec emperors. Hernan Cortes built his 1526 Palace here on the ruins of an Aztec tribute centre, making it the oldest standing civic building in the Americas. The Borda Garden, laid out by a French silver baron in the 1780s, was Maximilian and Carlota's summer retreat in the 1860s. The Robert Brady Museum, in a former convent, holds the American expat's idiosyncratic collection of Frida Kahlo, Tamayo, and African and Asian art across 14 themed rooms.

A 444 km² Dutch Caribbean island just off the coast of Venezuela — the largest of the ABC islands (Aruba-Bonaire-Curaçao), defined by the pastel Dutch colonial Handelskade row of UNESCO Willemstad and the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge that swings open 30+ times per day to let cargo ships pass. Outside the hurricane belt, with 35+ beaches packed into a 60 km long coastline, the world's only authentic Blue Curaçao distillery, the second-oldest synagogue in the Americas, and Christoffel National Park's desert moonscape. Far less developed than Aruba but more architecturally distinctive; Dutch tilt with universal English.

Cusco is the ancient capital of the Inca Empire and the gateway to Machu Picchu. Colonial churches built on Inca foundations, the vibrant San Pedro market, and the Sacred Valley are all within reach. At 3,400m elevation, take it slow your first day. The city rewards those who explore beyond the main plaza — every street tells a story.

Vietnam's Central Highlands hill station sits at 1,500m — cool and misty, French colonial villas, an Eiffel-designed railway station, the Crazy House, and the Valley of Love. Easy Rider motorbike tours of the Central Highlands start here. Coffee and flower capital, and the 3-hour spiral up from the coast is worth it for the climate shift.

Vietnam's third-largest city sits on a 30-kilometre crescent of the South China Sea between the Hai Van Pass and the Marble Mountains — the country's fastest-growing urban centre, with the viral Golden Bridge held aloft by giant stone hands at Ba Na Hills, the 666-metre Dragon Bridge that breathes fire and water on weekend nights, and the My Khe (China Beach) resort strip. The five Marble Mountains south of the city hide Buddhist cave temples; the Son Tra peninsula north hosts the 67-metre Lady Buddha statue. Easy day trips to Hoi An (30 km south) and Hue (100 km north via the famous Hai Van Pass coastal route) make Da Nang the natural base for central Vietnam.

Senegal's vibrant Atlantic capital pulses with Wolof culture, colorful markets, world-class music venues, fresh seafood, and the spirit of Teranga (hospitality) that defines West Africa.

Dallas anchors the 8.1M-person DFW metroplex. Downtown Dallas holds the 68-acre Arts District (the largest contiguous arts district in the US), the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza covering the JFK assassination from the actual sniper window, and Deep Ellum's live music. Forty miles west in Fort Worth, the Stockyards stage a twice-daily cattle drive, the Kimbell Art Museum (Renzo Piano) holds Caravaggios and Michelangelos, and Sundance Square is the most walkable downtown in Texas. The Cowboys play in Arlington at AT&T Stadium between the two cities.

Tanzania's bustling port city and commercial capital is a gateway to Zanzibar, the Serengeti, and Kilimanjaro. A vibrant mix of Swahili culture, Indian Ocean seafood, busy markets, and a growing arts scene along the Coco Beach waterfront.

Delft is a small canal town wedged between Rotterdam and The Hague, and it punches well above its size: this is Vermeer's birthplace, the home of Royal Delft pottery (still hand-painting blue-and-white ceramics in the same factory since 1653), and the resting place of William the Silent in the Nieuwe Kerk on the Markt. The leaning tower of the Oude Kerk shelters Vermeer's grave. The whole historic core is walkable in an afternoon, but the cafes around Beestenmarkt make you want to stay longer. Twenty-five minutes by train from Amsterdam-Zuid.

India's sprawling capital blends Mughal grandeur with modern chaos — from the Red Fort and Jama Masjid to the bustling lanes of Old Delhi and the leafy avenues of New Delhi designed by Lutyens.

Home to Denali (20,310 ft / 6,190m), tallest peak in North America — visible from only ~30% of visits due to cloud cover (the "30 Percent Club"). A 92-mile Park Road is the sole access, with private vehicles restricted past Mile 15 and park camper + tour buses handling visitors. Important: the 2021 Pretty Rocks landslide has closed the road beyond Mile 43, so Eielson + Wonder Lake remain inaccessible in 2026. Wildlife Big 5: grizzly, caribou, moose, wolves, Dall sheep. Anchorage (ANC) 4hr south, Fairbanks (FAI) 2hr north; Alaska Railroad Denali Star stops in the park. Aurora visible from late August.

Denver sits exactly one mile up — altitude real enough to floor first-time visitors. It's the Rockies' gateway city: craft beer everywhere, legal cannabis since 2014, a restored 1881 Union Station that's now one of the country's best urban train halls, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre 15 minutes west. Breckenridge, Vail, and Rocky Mountain NP are an hour or two into the mountains.

Detroit is the great American comeback city — the birthplace of Motown, the auto industry, and techno music, now in the middle of a 15-year reinvention that has restored Michigan Central Station, filled downtown with cocktail bars, and turned former industrial corridors into bike trails. The Detroit Institute of Arts holds a top-five US collection (Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals are here), Belle Isle is a 982-acre Olmsted-designed island park in the river, and the Henry Ford Museum complex in Dearborn is one of America's great Americana collections. Lafayette and American Coney Islands still serve chili dogs at 02:00.

Qatar's capital glints across the Persian Gulf — futuristic skyscrapers along the Corniche, I.M. Pei's Museum of Islamic Art on its own peninsula, and Jean Nouvel's desert-rose National Museum. Souq Waqif preserves the old market vibe with falconry shops + Persian-style restaurants. The Pearl-Qatar artificial island and Katara Cultural Village extend the modern face; the Inland Sea desert at the Saudi border delivers dune-bashing day trips. World Cup 2022 host. Hamad International is Qatar Airways' superhub — many travelers arrive on the stopover program.

A UNESCO World Heritage mountain range in northeastern Italy with dramatic limestone peaks, alpine meadows, world-class skiing, and via ferrata climbing routes through the clouds.

A scattered fishing village of 200 people in north County Clare with a global reputation for traditional Irish music — three pubs (Gus O'Connor's, McGann's, and McDermott's) host nightly trad sessions that musicians fly in from across Europe to attend. Doolin sits on the Wild Atlantic Way 6 km north of the Cliffs of Moher (reachable on foot via the cliff walk) and is the closest mainland departure point for the three Aran Islands — Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, and Inis Oírr — by ferry from Doolin Pier. The Burren limestone plateau begins at the village edge.

The 'Dragon Mountain' is a 1,000 km basalt escarpment along the Lesotho border — the tallest range in southern Africa, with Thabana Ntlenyana on the Lesotho side topping out at 3,482 m. The UNESCO Maloti-Drakensberg Park protects the highest reaches plus 600+ San rock-art sites, the largest concentration of rock paintings in Africa, and Tugela Falls (948 m, second-tallest in the world) plunges off the Amphitheatre cliff in the Royal Natal section. Hiking, horseback riding, zip-lining and trout streams cluster around mountain lodges roughly four hours from both Johannesburg and Durban.

Saxony's Baroque jewel rebuilt itself from rubble — the February 1945 firebombing flattened the Altstadt and the Frauenkirche stood as a black mound for 49 years until reunification funded an 11-year, $200 million reconstruction completed in 2005. Today the sandstone dome glows again over the Neumarkt, the Zwinger's pavilions enclose orange trees behind sgraffito walls, and the Semperoper stages opera in the same hall Wagner once conducted. Cross the Augustus Bridge into Neustadt for tattoo parlours and craft beer bars that lean hard into the city's eastern, post-Wende identity.

Dubai is a city of superlatives — the tallest building, the largest mall, man-made islands visible from space. Beyond the glitz, there's a fascinating mix of old and new: traditional souks alongside futuristic architecture, desert dunes within driving distance of indoor ski slopes. A major global hub with year-round sunshine.

Dublin punches well above its weight — a compact, walkable city with world-class pubs, a legendary literary heritage (Joyce, Beckett, Wilde), and some of the friendliest people you'll meet. The Guinness Storehouse, Temple Bar, and Trinity College's Book of Kells are must-sees, but the real magic is in the conversation at a local pub.

Dubrovnik's walled old town is one of Europe's most stunning medieval cities — limestone streets, terracotta rooftops, and the Adriatic glittering below. Walk the famous city walls, take the cable car to Mount Srd, and island-hop to Lokrum and the Elafiti Islands. Game of Thrones put it on the map, but the city has been captivating visitors for centuries.

Rapa Nui — one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth, 3,500 km from continental Chile. Home to nearly 1,000 moai stone statues including the 15-moai row at Ahu Tongariki, the quarry at Rano Raraku, the sea-facing Ahu Akivi, and the Birdman cult ceremonial village at Orongo. UNESCO Rapa Nui National Park covers 40% of the island. Sole air link is LATAM from Santiago (5.5 hr); the island's only town is Hanga Roa (~8,000 people). National park pass ~$80 USD.

Edinburgh is a city of two halves — the medieval Old Town cascading down from the Castle to Holyrood, and the elegant Georgian New Town below. The world's largest arts festival (the Fringe) takes over every August, Harry Potter was born in its cafes, and Arthur's Seat offers a proper hike without leaving the city limits.

A baroque town of 53,000 in northern Hungary that punches above its weight: Eger Castle, where Captain István Dobó and 2,000 defenders held off a 40,000-strong Ottoman army in 1552; a 40-metre minaret left from 91 years of later Turkish rule, the northernmost in Europe; and the Szépasszony-völgy (Valley of the Beautiful Women) just outside town, where a horseshoe of 50-plus rock-cut wine cellars pours Egri Bikávér (Bull's Blood) for the price of a coffee. Two hours east of Budapest by train, an easy weekend with cobbled streets, the country's second-largest basilica, and Habsburg-era thermal baths.

Argentina's trekking capital, founded in 1985 in a border-claim race with Chile and now a ribbon of hostels, microbreweries, and outfitter shops at the foot of Cerro Chaltén — better known abroad as Mount Fitz Roy, the jagged silhouette on the Patagonia clothing logo. Trails leave directly from the village, no entry fee, no shuttle bus required. The 22-kilometre Laguna de los Tres day hike to the base of Fitz Roy is Argentina's most famous walk, climbing 1,100 metres on the final hour to a glacial lake under the granite. Cerro Torre and the Glaciar Grande complete the skyline. El Calafate's FTE airport is three hours south by Ruta 40.

Northern Palawan's limestone karsts rise from turquoise Bacuit Bay — Tours A through D island-hop the lagoons, hidden beaches, and coral reefs by bangka outrigger. Nacpan's four-kilometer sand strip, Las Cabanas zipline sunsets, and nightly power cuts in town. Reach it by direct ENI flight or the 6-hour drive from Puerto Princesa.

Morocco's windswept Atlantic coast gem is a laid-back blue-and-white medina town famous for its fortified harbor, fresh seafood grills, windsurfing, and the annual Gnaoua World Music Festival. A perfect counterpoint to Marrakech's intensity, just 3 hours away.

The walled UNESCO capital of the Alentejo, an hour and a half east of Lisbon by bus or train through cork-oak plains and olive groves. The Roman Temple of Diana from the 1st century stands almost intact in the upper square; the Cathedral of Evora, the Aqueduto da Agua de Prata, and the macabre Capela dos Ossos with its walls lined in 5,000 monk skeletons all sit within ten walking minutes of each other. The countryside around it holds more than 100 working wineries: Esporao, Cartuxa, and Mouchao among them, all open for tastings and lunch.

18 volcanic islands in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway — basalt cliffs falling sheer into the sea, grass-roofed villages, and sheep that outnumber humans 2:1 (the name literally means "Sheep Islands"). Sub-sea tunnels with roundabouts in the middle of the ocean connect the main islands. Sørvágsvatn lake-over-ocean optical illusion at Trælanípan, Múlafossur waterfall plunging off the cliff at Gásadalur, the grass-roof village of Saksun, and puffin colonies on Mykines (Jun-Aug). Self-governing within the Kingdom of Denmark — but NOT in Schengen.

A 21-island UNESCO archipelago of volcanic origin lying 350 km off the northeast coast of Brazil, reached only by a one-hour flight from Recife or Natal. The federal government caps the population on the main island at 470 visitors at any one time and charges a daily environmental preservation fee plus a national park entry, which keeps the place close to pristine. Praia do Sancho, accessed by a steep ladder down a cliff face, is consistently rated the world's best beach. Baia dos Golfinhos hosts the largest known resident colony of spinner dolphins on Earth, who arrive every dawn to rest after night feeding.

A Lycian harbour town of 170,000 wrapped around a sheltered bay, with the famous Blue Lagoon at Ölüdeniz 14 km south — the photo of paragliders launching off Mount Babadağ (1,969 m) toward the turquoise lagoon is one of Turkey's most-shared images. Fethiye itself anchors the western Lycian Way trail, the 12-island gulet cruise route, and access to Saklıkent Gorge, the rock-cut Tomb of Amyntas, and the abandoned Greek ghost village of Kayaköy. The eastern Mediterranean's most accomplished sailing base, with Göcek Bay's six 5-star marinas just 25 km west.

Fez is Morocco's spiritual and intellectual capital — home to the world's oldest university and a medieval medina so vast and labyrinthine that GPS is useless. The tanneries are iconic (and pungent), the mosaic workshops are mesmerizing, and getting lost in the 9,000+ alleyways is half the point. More authentic and less touristy than Marrakech.

An archipelago of 333 islands where the first "Bula!" hits like a physical thing — warm, oceanic, genuine. The Mamanuca Islands are 30 minutes by speedboat from Nadi; the Yasawas are a 4-hour catamaran ride with the Blue Lagoon and manta ray encounters at Drawaqa Passage. Taveuni's Rainbow Reef is rated top-10 globally for diving. The kava ceremony, the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, Sabeto's mud pools, and a culture that invented the overwater resort experience.

The birthplace of the Renaissance is an open-air museum — the Duomo, the Uffizi, Michelangelo's David, and the Ponte Vecchio are just the start. Florence rewards slow exploration of its neighborhoods, from the artisan workshops of the Oltrarno to the markets of San Lorenzo. The Tuscan food and Chianti wine are unforgettable.

A long volcanic spine of an island in Indonesia's Lesser Sundas chain east of Bali, anchored by the harbour town of Labuan Bajo where every Komodo National Park live-aboard and day boat departs. Inland, the 1,639-metre Kelimutu volcano holds three crater lakes that shift colour independently — turquoise, olive, black — and the cool highland villages of Bena and Wae Rebo preserve thatched conical houses and Ngada megalithic ancestor stones. Days run from dawn dragon walks on Rinca to swim stops at Pink Beach, manta cleaning stations at Manta Point, and the 5km drone-friendly ridge of Padar Island. Christian-majority and overwhelmingly local in feel.

A 54-km-long island off the southern Brazilian coast with 42 distinct beaches — broad surf beaches at Mole and Joaquina, calm family bay waters at Jurerê, the bohemian Lagoa da Conceição lagoon at the centre, and the wild undeveloped south where Lagoinha do Leste requires a 2.5-hour rainforest hike. Florianópolis (locally "Floripa") is consistently ranked the highest quality-of-life Brazilian capital, settled by Azorean Portuguese in 1748 with fishing villages still preserving Azorean lacework, oyster farms (90% of Brazilian oysters come from this bay), and the lilting "Manezinho" accent. The 1898 Mercado Público's upstairs Box 32 oyster bar is the most beloved local institution. Public transit is genuinely mediocre — rent a car or rely on Uber. Beach scene is world-class; peak summer (December-February) is crowded and expensive.

Foz do Iguaçu is the Brazilian launchpad for one of the planet's great spectacles — 275 individual waterfalls thundering across a 2.7 km horseshoe of basalt cliffs on the Paraná-Argentina border. The Brazilian side gives you the panoramic, postcard view of the falls (Argentina's side puts you on top of them, and most travellers do both). Beyond the cataratas, the city is the Tríplice Fronteira where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet, home to the Itaipu hydroelectric dam (the second-largest in the world) and a surprisingly diverse Lebanese-Brazilian-Paraguayan food scene built around shawarma, churrasco, and Paraguayan chipa.