Where to go: 488 destinations

The Accursed Mountains: Theth, the pass to Valbona and a ferry through a flooded gorge.

Ionian beaches, Ottoman stone towns and very fair prices.

The town of a thousand windows, a lived-in castle and the colourful, changing capital.

High Pyrenean valleys with the range’s largest ski area in winter and empty walking country in summer.

A beach for every day of the year, and a Georgian naval dockyard still in use.

An Alpine-looking town of chocolate shops, the Seven Lakes road and craft beer in Patagonia.

Tango, steakhouses and grand European-style boulevards.

Hundreds of waterfalls and the Devil’s Throat in the rainforest.

Malbec vineyards below the highest peaks of the Andes.

Glaciers, granite spires and wind-swept trekking at the end of the world.

Rainbow-coloured mountains, the high-altitude vineyards of Cafayate and colonial Salta.

Mountain monasteries, Mount Ararat views and a pink stone capital.

Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and explore the ancient Daintree Rainforest.

Surf beaches, theme parks and hinterland rainforest.

Limestone stacks, surf beaches and koalas in the eucalyptus.

Laneway cafés, street art, sport and a thriving food scene.

World-class wineries, surf breaks and tall karri forests.

Harbour icons, coastal walks and surf beaches with the Blue Mountains nearby.

Wild national parks, empty beaches, gourmet food and provocative art in Hobart.

The sacred monolith at sunrise and the domes of Kata Tjuta.

Sailing to Whitehaven Beach and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef.

A steppe lake you can wade across, reed beds full of birds, and sweet wine.

Alpine lakes warm enough to swim in, under the Hohe Tauern and the Italian border.

Mozart’s Baroque city and lake villages beneath the mountains.

The green heart of Austria: pumpkin oil, wine roads and a Renaissance armoury.

Alpine valleys for skiing, hiking and hut food.

Imperial palaces, coffee houses, classical music and Danube vineyards.

Timber architecture in the Bregenzerwald, alpine cheese and the opera on Lake Constance.

The Danube between terraced vineyards, apricot orchards, Melk Abbey and Dürnstein’s ruin.

Fire that burns out of the ground, mud volcanoes and a walled city on the Caspian.

A chain of 365 cays in impossibly clear water, sandbars, swimming pigs and the Thunderball Grotto.

An island of burial mounds, pearl diving and a tree that stands alone in the desert.

The world’s largest mangrove forest, rivers instead of roads and almost no tourists.

Calm west-coast beaches, rum distilleries and a UNESCO capital.

Canals, Flemish masters, chocolate and beer.

Guild houses on the canal, the Ghent Altarpiece, a castle in the city and Belgian beer.

Ardennes forest, abbey breweries and the caves and castles of the Meuse.

Barrier-reef diving, Mayan caves and laid-back cayes.

The birthplace of voodoo, the palaces of the Dahomey kings and a stilt village on a lagoon.

Himalayan dzongs, the Tiger’s Nest and a kingdom of happiness.

The world’s highest capital by cable car, the witches’ market and the islands of Lake Titicaca.

The world’s largest salt flat, flamingo lagoons and geysers.

A white colonial capital, dinosaur footprints and the silver mountain of Potosí.

Dry karst country of turquoise rivers, Ottoman bridges and stone villages, an hour from the Adriatic.

Ottoman bazaar, Austro-Hungarian boulevards and a recent, unavoidable history, in a valley ringed by mountains.

Elephant herds at the river by boat, and Victoria Falls an hour down the road.

Mokoro canoe safaris through an inland delta full of wildlife.

An island of 40 beaches, lagoons and Azorean fishing villages.

White dunes filled with rainwater lagoons — a desert that is only swimmable half the year.

A rubber-boom opera house, the Meeting of the Waters and jungle lodges on the Rio Negro.

The world’s largest wetland: jaguars on the riverbanks, caimans by the thousand and hyacinth macaws.

Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, famous beaches and samba.

The colourful Pelourinho, Afro-Brazilian music and capoeira, and car-free island villages.

Golden-domed mosques, the largest water village in the world and untouched rainforest in Temburong.

Long sandy beaches and Ottoman-era seaside towns, with package resorts and quiet coves sitting side by side.

A green, low-rise capital with a mountain on its doorstep and Roman ruins under the pavement.

The medieval tsars’ capital on its river loops, revival-era villages and the Valley of Roses.

Angkor Wat at sunrise and jungle-covered temples.

The royal palace on the Mekong, the memorials of the Khmer Rouge and pepper farms by a river.

Turquoise lakes, glaciers and wildlife along the Icefields Parkway.

French-speaking cities, a walled old town, festivals and autumn colours.

French-speaking festivals, bagels and a mountain in the city.

Lighthouses, lobster suppers and the Cabot Trail.

A city between mountains and sea, with Whistler up the road.

Whale watching, rainforest trails and Pacific surf.

Winter sun, kitesurfing beaches and morna music.

Salt flats, geysers, high-altitude lagoons and some of the clearest night skies on earth.

Perfect snow cones above lakes, German-built towns, hot springs and rafting.

Wooden churches listed by UNESCO, houses on stilts, penguins and curanto cooked in the ground.

Granite towers, glaciers and the W trek at the bottom of the world.

Painted hills and funiculars over the Pacific, wine valleys and the capital below the Andes.

The Forbidden City, hutong alleys and walks on the Great Wall.

Karst peaks along the Li River and rice terraces.

A futuristic skyline, classical gardens and West Lake.

Old towns of the Naxi and Bai, snow mountains and Tiger Leaping Gorge.

The Gold Museum, La Candelaria’s street art, a salt cathedral and a white colonial town.

Colourful walled Cartagena, Tayrona’s jungle beaches and the Sierra Nevada.

The city of eternal spring, colourful Guatapé and coffee farms.

A lagoon-ringed island with a relaxed Polynesian pace.

Rainforests, volcanoes, sloths and two coastlines for surfing and wildlife.

Turtle beaches at Tortuguero, reggae and cacao in Puerto Viejo and sloths along the jungle coast.

The dry Pacific: surf beaches, sunsets, a steaming volcano and cowboy country.

Island hopping, Roman palaces and walled medieval towns on the Adriatic.

Venetian harbour towns, hilltop villages, truffles and olive oil.

Habsburg villas in Opatija, island towns on Krk and the nearest Adriatic to Germany.

Sixteen turquoise lakes stepping down through waterfalls, and a mill village on the river.

Vintage cars, colonial towns, salsa, tobacco valleys and Caribbean beaches.

Cuba’s music capital, the fort above the bay and cocoa and rivers in remote Baracoa.

Aphrodite’s island: mosaics, mountain villages and warm seas.

Painted Byzantine churches, pine forest, wine villages and lace from Lefkara.

Europe’s largest sandstone arch, deep gorges and a river gorge travelled by punt.

Wine cellars, painted villages and karst caves — the Czech half nobody books.

A fairy-tale old town, castle views, beer halls and classical music.

Český Krumlov in its river loop, castles, fish ponds and the home of Budweiser beer.

Colonnades and hot springs in Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně, and Pilsner at the source.

Granite cliffs, round churches and smokehouses, closer to Sweden than to Denmark.

Design, bikes, harbour swimming and New Nordic food.

Hans Christian Andersen’s Odense, Egeskov’s moated castle and the South Funen islands.

North Sea dunes, a lighthouse being swallowed by sand, and two seas that meet visibly.

The nature island: a boiling lake, rainforest waterfalls, hot springs and sperm whales offshore.

Palm-lined Caribbean beaches and humpback whales in Samaná Bay.

Blue domes over a colonial city, Panama hats, the lakes of Cajas and the Inca site of Ingapirca.

Fearless wildlife: sea lions, giant tortoises, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies.

A colonial capital at the equator, volcano road and hot springs.

The Pyramids of Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum and Islamic Cairo’s bazaars.

Pharaohs’ temples and tombs, felucca sails and Nubian villages along the Nile.

Egypt’s southern Red Sea: untouched reefs, dugongs, dolphins and an old Ottoman port.

Coffee villages on the Route of Flowers, a colonial town on a lake and world-class surf at El Tunco.

Roman baths, Georgian crescents and England’s smallest cathedral city.

Surf beaches, fishing harbours, coastal paths and cream teas.

Honey-stone villages, wool churches and country pubs along the footpaths.

Two coasts, the granite tors of Dartmoor and cream teas in harbour towns.

The Needles, Victorian seaside towns and dinosaur beaches, a short ferry from the mainland.

White sand and turquoise water off Cornwall, subtropical gardens and boats between the islands.

Fossil beaches, the Durdle Door arch and the ruin of Corfe Castle.

The Garden of England: Canterbury Cathedral, moated castles, oast houses and white cliffs.

Fells, lakes and cosy pubs in England’s favourite national park.

Royal landmarks, free world-class museums, parks, theatre and markets.

Ponies on the heath, cycle tracks through ancient woods and two cathedral cities.

Salt marshes and seal colonies, flint villages and waterways for slow boats.

Castles on an empty coast, Holy Island at low tide and Hadrian’s Wall inland.

Gritstone edges for climbers, caverns, stately homes and Bakewell pudding.

York Minster and the Shambles, heather moors and Whitby’s abbey above the sea.

Drystone walls, stone barns, waterfalls and limestone pavements.

Manor houses, bog boardwalks, erratic boulders on the shore and fishing villages on the Baltic.

A bishop’s castle, windmills, juniper and a meteorite crater on Estonia’s biggest island.

A medieval Hanseatic old town with a digital-age buzz.

Estonia’s student city, lake-dotted hills and smoke saunas in the south-east.

A small kingdom of royal festivals, rhino in the lowveld and craft markets in the Ezulwini valley.

Rock-hewn churches, castles of Gondar and Lake Tana’s monasteries.

Sheer sea cliffs, grass-roofed villages and puffins.

Island hopping, coral reefs, village visits and famously warm hospitality.

A Swedish-speaking archipelago of six thousand islands between Finland and Sweden, best seen by bike and ferry.

Northern lights, snowy forests, huskies and the midnight sun.

Nordic design, saunas and a sea fortress in the archipelago.

Lakes, rapids and Orthodox monasteries along the last stretch before Russia.

Half-timbered wine villages, Strasbourg and Christmas markets.

A river that carved its own stone arch, and the oldest painted cave known.

Pink granite coast, walled Saint-Malo and crêpes by the sea.

Grand cru villages, Beaune’s tiled hospice, canals for slow boats and Romanesque abbeys.

Chestnut ridges, limestone gorges and a shepherding landscape listed by UNESCO.

At the foot of Mont Blanc: glaciers, cable cars and alpine trails.

Chalk cellars under Épernay, Reims cathedral and the half-timbered old town of Troyes.

Mountains rising from the sea, cliff-top towns and the GR20.

Belle-époque seafronts, perched villages and the light that inspired painters.

Castles above a river made for canoes, cave paintings, truffles and golden stone villages.

Comté, vin jaune and waterfalls, in limestone folds along the Swiss border.

Europe’s grand canyon: turquoise water, limestone walls for climbers and lavender on the plateau.

Renaissance châteaux, vineyards and cycling along the river.

Mont-Saint-Michel, D-Day beaches and Impressionist light.

World-class museums, grand boulevards, cafés and a legendary food scene.

Lavender fields, hilltop villages, markets and some of France’s best wine.

Rounded forested summits above the Alsace vineyards, with lakes in the hollows.

Emerald peaks, overwater bungalows and lagoons in the South Pacific.

Where the rainforest meets the beach: forest elephants on the sand, lowland gorillas and whales offshore.

Caucasus peaks, ancient wine culture and legendary hospitality.

Gelati monastery and karst caves near Kutaisi, and Georgia’s Black Sea resort city.

Medieval defence towers below the glaciers of the Caucasus, and one of Europe’s highest villages.

Green alpine pastures, via ferratas above Oberstdorf and cheese from the mountain huts.

A slow river for canoes, limestone rocks, Roman forts and a monastery brewery in a gorge.

Zugspitze, alpine lakes and painted villages.

Germany’s oldest national park: wild forest, lynx and wolves, glass towns and quiet valleys.

History on every corner, Museum Island, street art and legendary nightlife.

Dark forests, spa towns and cuckoo clocks in Germany’s southwest.

The “Bavarian Sea”, King Ludwig’s island palace and the first real mountains behind it.

A cathedral, Kölsch in small glasses and the rivalry with Düsseldorf across the river.

Baroque riverside skyline and sandstone towers above the Elbe.

Fishing harbours, windmills and tea, the Wadden Sea at low tide and islands offshore.

Crater lakes, half-timbered towns and castles on basalt, an hour from Cologne.

A Baltic peninsula of wild beach, thatched artists’ villages and cranes in autumn.

The world’s densest brewery country, Franconian wine and old towns from Bamberg to Würzburg.

Thousands of climbing routes on limestone towers, caves, castles and a brewery in every village.

A port city of warehouses, canals and the Elbphilharmonie, with Lüneburg an hour south.

Steam trains to a summit of witches, half-timbered towns and a thousand years of mining.

The castle ruin above the old town, the Philosophers’ Walk and the Neckar valley upstream.

Three countries around one lake, island gardens and the Alps on the far shore.

Purple heather in August, heath sheep, thatched villages and Celle’s half-timbered streets.

A thousand connected lakes you can cross for days without a licence.

The Rhine gorge: a castle on every hill, the Loreley and vineyards down to the water.

Vineyards at impossible angles, wine towns on every bend and Roman Trier at the end.

Beer gardens, great museums and fairy-tale castles nearby.

Silver-mining towns listed by UNESCO, wooden toy villages and trails along the Czech border.

Red sandstone rocks, castle ruins on every summit and the Wine Route at the forest’s edge.

A road of walled medieval towns — Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen — down to the Alps.

Chalk cliffs over the Baltic, seaside resort architecture and a beech forest listed by UNESCO.

Forested hills, reservoirs and bike parks — the Ruhr’s own mountains.

Sandstone towers above the Elbe, with a footbridge strung between two of them.

A labyrinth of channels in the forest, punts instead of cars and pickled gherkins.

Limestone cliffs, caves, castles like Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein, and the Blautopf spring.

Forty kilometres of beach, dunes, thatched villages and Germany’s smartest island.

A long wooded ridge with the Externsteine rocks, spa towns and the Hermann monument.

The Rennsteig ridge trail, the Wartburg above Eisenach and Goethe’s Weimar nearby.

White resort villas, long piers and the sunniest beach in Germany.

A lively capital, the slave castles of Cape Coast and Elmina, and a canopy walkway in the rainforest.

The Acropolis, rooftop bars and the birthplace of democracy.

A Venetian old town, olive-covered hills and turquoise coves on a green Greek island.

Gorges, lagoons, Minoan palaces and the healthiest cuisine in the Mediterranean.

Myrtos beach below the cliffs, cave lakes, sea turtles and a harbour of Venetian houses.

Olive groves, ouzo from Plomari, hot springs and the castle village of Molyvos.

Seventy beaches of volcanic colour, the moonscape of Sarakiniko and sea caves by boat.

The greenest Cyclades island: long beaches, marble villages and cheese.

A fishing harbour of white alleys, marble villages, windsurfing and the ferry hub of the Cyclades.

Ancient Olympia, a Byzantine rock town and the wild Mani.

A knights’ medieval city, Lindos’ acropolis and sunny beaches.

Whitewashed villages on caldera cliffs, volcanic beaches and sunsets.

Shipwreck Bay from the cliffs, the Blue Caves by boat and turtles nesting on protected beaches.

The spice island: nutmeg plantations, a harbour town of red roofs, rainforest falls and an underwater sculpture park.

French Caribbean: rainforest waterfalls, a volcano and white beaches.

A colonial city below volcanoes, Lake Atitlán and the temples of Tikal.

A harbour town of steep lanes, cliff paths, car-free Sark and wild little Alderney.

A wooden colonial capital on the Atlantic, and a flight over the rainforest to one of the world’s mightiest falls.

The second-largest barrier reef in the world, just offshore, and some of the cheapest diving in the Caribbean.

Harbour skyline, dim sum, night markets and surprisingly wild hiking trails.

Thermal baths, Danube views, grand architecture and ruin bars.

A castle that held off the Ottomans, Bull’s Blood wine cellars and the sweet wine of Tokaj.

Central Europe’s largest lake: warm water, volcanic wine hills, the Tihany peninsula and Hévíz.

A Mediterranean-feeling university town with a mosque on its square, and red wine from Villány.

Waterfalls, glaciers, geothermal pools and volcanic landscapes.

The Taj Mahal, Mughal forts and Old Delhi’s bazaars.

Palm beaches, Portuguese churches and a laid-back spirit.

Backwater houseboats, tea plantations, Ayurveda and palm-lined beaches.

High-altitude desert, Buddhist monasteries and mountain passes.

Maharajas’ palaces, desert forts, colourful bazaars and the Taj Mahal.

India’s holiest city: ghats, dawn boat rides and evening ceremonies.

Rice terraces, temples, surf beaches and a wellness-focused island culture.

Komodo dragons, pink beaches and manta rays.

Surf beaches, the Rinjani volcano and the Gili Islands.

Java’s cultural heart with the world’s largest Buddhist temple.

Bog, quartzite mountains and a shattered Atlantic coastline, with Irish still spoken as a first language.

Ireland’s least-visited coast: sea cliffs among the highest in Europe, surf beaches and empty roads.

Literary pubs, Georgian squares and live music every night.

Live music pubs, the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara and the Aran Islands.

Croagh Patrick, Achill’s cliffs and beaches, a greenway for bikes and Yeats country.

Ireland’s most scenic drive, wild peninsulas and cosy pubs.

Ireland’s oldest city, a greenway along the sea and the geopark of the Copper Coast.

Painted harbour towns, the gourmet food of Kinsale and islands off a ragged coast.

The Garden of Ireland: Glendalough’s monastic valley, Powerscourt and bog-road passes.

A self-governing island of moors, steam railways and the most dangerous road race in the world.

Italy’s wildest mountains, with bears and wolves an hour and a half from Rome.

Seven volcanic islands off Sicily, one of them erupting several times an hour.

Cliff-hugging towns, lemon groves and one of the world’s most scenic coastal roads.

Matera’s cave town, a ghost village on a ridge and two coasts within an hour.

Porticoed streets and the home of parmesan, prosciutto and tortellini.

Wild coastline, mountain national parks and honest southern Italian food.

Five colourful fishing villages linked by cliff paths above the Ligurian Sea.

Jagged peaks, alpine meadows and hut-to-hut hiking with South Tyrolean food.

Napoleon’s island of exile: granite coves, mountain trails and Tuscan wine by the sea.

Where Italy, the Alps and the Slavic world meet — white wines, mosaics and a Habsburg port.

Thermal gardens by the sea, the castle on its rock and Neapolitan food without the crowds of Capri.

Elegant villas, gardens and mountain-framed villages on an Alpine lake.

Italy’s largest lake: windsurfing, lemon gardens and mountain trails.

Belle-époque Stresa, the island palaces of the Borromeo and camellias by the water.

Tuscany’s hills without Tuscany’s prices, plus caves, a Renaissance court and the Conero cliffs.

The region Italians joke does not exist: drove roads, Roman ruins and no crowds at all.

Pizza’s hometown, Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii.

Barolo vineyards, white truffles and elegant Turin.

Whitewashed towns, baroque Lecce, olive groves and some of Italy’s best food.

Ancient ruins, Baroque piazzas and long Roman lunches.

Crystal-clear water, granite coves, a wild interior and ancient nuraghe towers.

Greek temples, Mount Etna, baroque towns and legendary street food.

Renaissance cities, cypress-lined hills, hill towns and Chianti wine.

Hill towns, medieval art and quiet green valleys.

Canals, palazzi and island hopping in the lagoon.

The skyline of West Africa’s boom city, a faded colonial capital by the sea and lagoon beaches.

Reggae, jerk chicken, waterfalls and Negril’s sunsets.

Powder snow, lavender fields and fresh seafood in Japan’s wild north.

Castle towns, thatched villages and mountain trails in central Japan.

Temples, gardens, geisha districts and Japan’s refined cuisine.

Subtropical islands, coral reefs and the Ryukyu kingdom’s heritage.

Japan’s kitchen, neon canals and deer among ancient temples.

Deep snow, hot springs and summer festivals, in the Japan the tour buses skip.

Neon districts, quiet shrines, world-class food and Mount Fuji views nearby.

A Channel Island closer to France than to Britain, with huge tides, sandy bays and an occupation history.

The rock-cut city of Petra, desert camps in Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

A green city of apple trees below snow peaks, the Kolsai lakes and the canyon of Charyn.

Big Five safaris in the Maasai Mara and white beaches on the Indian Ocean.

Europe’s youngest country: Ottoman towns, medieval monasteries and empty mountains, at the lowest prices on the continent.

Yurt camps, alpine lakes and nomad culture in the Tian Shan.

Saffron-robed monks, Mekong sunsets and turquoise waterfalls.

Hammocks on Mekong islands, river dolphins, the Wat Phou temple and coffee on the Bolaven plateau.

Red sandstone cliffs over a forest river, with three castles in one small town.

Art Nouveau boulevards, a huge market and Baltic beaches.

Roman temples, cedar forests and a coast where you can ski and swim the same day.

The kingdom in the sky: pony trekking between Basotho villages and one of Africa’s highest waterfalls.

A principality you can walk across in a day, with a princely wine cellar below and Alpine ridges above.

A ninety-kilometre sandbar of migrating dunes, pine forest and fishing villages.

Baroque churches, a bohemian republic and a lake castle.

A fortress capital above two gorges, with sandstone hiking country and a Moselle wine road within half an hour.

Lemurs, baobab avenues and wildlife found nowhere else.

A freshwater sea of colourful cichlids for snorkelling and kayaking, and elephants on the Shire river.

Tea plantations and mossy cloud forest in the cool, and Ipoh’s cave temples and white coffee.

The Petronas Towers, hawker food from three cuisines and the old Straits port of Malacca.

Borneo’s friendliest city, orangutans at Semenggoh and proboscis monkeys in Bako’s mangroves.

A duty-free island of rainforest, mangrove boat trips, a cable car and long quiet beaches.

Street art, clan houses and Malaysia’s best hawker food.

Orangutans, Mount Kinabalu and river safaris in the rainforest.

Overwater villas, house reefs, manta rays and the clearest lagoons imaginable.

Baroque Valletta, prehistoric temples, diving and blue lagoons.

Turquoise lagoons, volcanic peaks, sugarcane fields and a multicultural cuisine.

Desert meets sea: whale sharks, grey whales and Cabo’s arch.

Mayan ruins in the jungle, indigenous markets and canyons.

Aztec ruins, murals, mezcal and some of the world’s great regional cuisines.

Maya ruins, cenotes, colonial towns and Caribbean beaches.

Wine country with the largest cellars on earth, a cave monastery above the Răut, and almost no other visitors.

Ger camps in the steppe, horseback riding, wild horses and the old capital of Genghis Khan’s empire.

A fjord-like bay, walled Kotor, island churches and Adriatic beaches.

A limestone massif above the deepest river canyon in Europe.

The blue town of the Rif Mountains and the gateway city to Africa.

A breezy fortified port with blue boats, argan oil and kitesurfing.

The world’s largest medieval medina, tanneries and madrasas.

Souks, riads, palaces and day trips into the High Atlas.

Camel treks into the Erg Chebbi dunes and nights under the stars.

Dhow sailing to the dunes of the Bazaruto islands, whale sharks and manta rays off Tofo.

Red dunes, desert wildlife, Etosha’s waterholes and endless open roads.

Himalayan treks, Kathmandu’s temples, lakeside Pokhara and jungle safaris.

Canals, bikes, Golden Age art and a relaxed, compact city.

Lakes and canals for sailing and paddling, and the eleven old towns of the Elfstedentocht.

The Netherlands with hills: Maastricht’s old town, vineyards and Burgundian food.

Heath, forest and drifting sand, free white bikes and Van Goghs in the middle of the park.

A tidal sea that empties twice a day, with car-free islands along its edge.

Islands, dykes and the storm barrier built after the sea took 1,800 lives.

The world’s largest lagoon, French cuisine and Kanak culture.

Geothermal wonders, Māori culture, volcanic hikes and sub-tropical beaches.

Fjords, glaciers, alpine lakes and adventure sports on an epic road trip.

A colourful colonial town on a great lake, twin volcanoes on an island and surf beaches on the Pacific.

Africa’s largest population, a sacred forest of sculpture and a music scene that sets the continent’s tempo.

One of Europe’s oldest lakes, Byzantine churches and summer swims.

Basalt columns, a coast road of cliffs and glens, and a capital that has turned its history into something worth visiting.

Jagged peaks rising from the sea, red fishing cabins and the midnight sun.

Epic fjord scenery, waterfalls and road trips through the mountains.

Fjord-side museums, bold architecture and forests at the city’s edge.

Frankincense trees, white beaches, a monsoon that turns the mountains green and camel-lined roads.

Desert dunes, mountain forts, wadis to swim in and a welcoming Arabian culture.

Apricot terraces under seven-thousanders, on the old road to China.

The Rock Islands by kayak, a lake full of harmless jellyfish and some of the world’s best diving.

The canal, a skyline by the sea, cloud forests and Caribbean islands.

Red-stone Jesuit mission ruins in the forest, a river beach and carnival on the Paraná.

Inca stonework, the Sacred Valley and the citadel of Machu Picchu.

South America’s food capital, desert oases and seabird islands.

The largest city unreachable by road and river trips into the jungle.

The Chocolate Hills, tarsiers and white Panglao beaches.

Sardine runs and turtles at Moalboal, canyoneering at Kawasan falls and the oldest city in the Philippines.

Limestone lagoons, island hopping and some of Asia’s most beautiful beaches.

The surfing island: Cloud 9, palm-fringed roads by scooter, lagoons and island-hopping.

Emptied mountain meadows where wolves, bison and bears came back.

Hanseatic facades, amber and the world’s largest brick castle.

A medieval market square, Wawel Castle and mountain hikes around Zakopane.

Wrocław’s market square, the valley of castles and palaces, and the Karkonosze mountains.

Two thousand lakes joined by channels, with a canal that hauls boats overland.

Poland’s mountain resort with wooden villas and alpine lakes.

Cork oaks, whitewashed towns, wine estates and empty beaches.

Golden cliffs, sea caves and sunny beaches at the south-western edge of Europe.

Crater lakes, hot springs and whale watching in the middle of the Atlantic.

Hills, trams and pastéis in the city, fairy-tale palaces in Sintra.

The hiking island: levada trails, dramatic peaks and a mild climate all year.

Tiled churches, riverside port cellars and terraced vineyards along the Douro.

Colourful Old San Juan, a rainforest and glowing bays.

Islamic art, a restored souq and dunes meeting the sea.

Volcano hikes, deep cirques and Creole culture in the Indian Ocean.

Where the Danube ends in reeds: three hundred bird species and roads made of water.

Carved wooden gates, tall shingled churches and a cemetery that jokes about the dead.

Monasteries painted on the outside, in colours nobody has managed to reproduce.

Saxon towns, fortified churches and Carpathian forests.

Mountain gorillas in the volcanoes and the “land of a thousand hills”.

A British fortress on a hill, a sugar train round the island and quiet Nevis across the strait.

Sailing between small islands: Bequia’s harbour, the Tobago Cays with turtles and Union Island.

Beach fales, swimming holes and Fa’a Samoa traditions.

The oldest republic in the world, stacked on a limestone crag above the Romagna plain.

Cocoa plantations in the rainforest, a volcanic needle, turtle beaches and a sleepy Portuguese capital.

Nabataean tombs carved into sandstone, a mud-brick old town and desert rocks shaped like elephants.

Britain’s largest national park: Caledonian pine forest, reindeer, Balmoral and Highland games.

A castle on a volcano, the Royal Mile and the world’s largest arts festival.

Victorian grandeur, Mackintosh buildings and live music, with Loch Lomond forty minutes away.

Nine peat-smoke distilleries, geese in their thousands and white beaches on the Atlantic.

Scotland in miniature: Goatfell, standing stones, a castle and a distillery, an hour from Glasgow.

The seafood capital of Scotland, Tobermory’s coloured harbour and the abbey on Iona.

Green, fertile islands holding some of the best-preserved neolithic sites in Europe, and a sunken war fleet.

A hundred-mile chain of white shell beaches, peat moor and Gaelic, with standing stones above the Atlantic.

Ruined abbeys, tweed mills, rolling hills and some of Britain’s best mountain biking.

Lochs, glens, castles and whisky along some of Europe’s wildest roads.

Britain’s northernmost islands: treeless, wind-scoured, closer to Bergen than to Edinburgh, and full of seabirds.

Half of Scotland’s malt whisky distilleries along one salmon river.

West African rhythms, Gorée Island and a colonial river town.

A blunt, energetic city where two rivers meet, with the most committed nightlife in the Balkans.

A relict spruce that survived the Ice Age, above a turquoise reservoir in a gorge.

Granite boulders, powder-white beaches and giant tortoises.

Futuristic gardens, hawker food, multicultural neighbourhoods and rooftop views.

A compact capital on the Danube, and castles up the Váh valley to fairy-tale Bojnice.

Europe’s smallest high-alpine range, with granite peaks, glacial tarns and hut-to-hut trails at a fraction of Alpine prices.

A limestone gorge park where the trails climb waterfalls on iron ladders, and almost nobody outside Slovakia has heard of it.

A Venetian harbour town on a point, the Škocjan and Postojna caves and Lipizzaner horses.

A charming green capital, Lake Bled and emerald rivers in the Julian Alps.

An emerald river for kayaks and rafts, canyoning in the side gorges and the Julian Alps above.

Table Mountain, penguins, dramatic coast roads and world-class wine.

Basalt walls, San rock art and South Africa’s best hiking.

Lagoons, forests, whale watching and coastal hikes.

Self-drive safaris to see the Big Five.

Beaches in the city, a fish market on the harbour, a temple on the rocks and island-strewn Tongyeong.

Volcanic craters, lava tubes and the haenyeo diving women.

Palaces and K-pop, street food markets and the ancient royal city of Gyeongju.

The Alhambra, Seville’s plazas, white villages and tapas culture.

Green Spain: cider poured from overhead, cliff coves and pre-Romanesque churches.

Gaudí’s architecture, city beaches, tapas bars and late nights.

The smallest, quietest Canary island: diving reserve, natural rock pools and juniper trees bent by the wind.

Caribbean-clear water, long white beaches and bicycles instead of cars, a boat ride from Ibiza.

Endless beaches and dunes, kite and wind surfing, and a whitewashed old capital.

Atlantic inlets, the end of a thousand-year pilgrimage and the best seafood in Spain.

A “continent in miniature”: dunes, pine forests and year-round sun.

Legendary clubs, hidden coves and a fortified old town.

A laurel forest in the clouds, terraced valleys and a language that is whistled.

The green island: a giant crater, volcano trails, laurel forest and the clearest skies in Europe.

Volcanic landscapes, black-sand vineyards and César Manrique’s art.

World-class art, tapas bars and nights that start at midnight.

Beaches, the Tramuntana mountains and one of Europe’s best cycling islands.

Turquoise coves, a coastal trail and calm family holidays.

Limestone walls rising to 2,600 metres barely twenty kilometres from the Atlantic.

Pintxos bars, surf beaches, green cliffs and Bilbao’s Guggenheim.

The pilgrims’ cathedral, wild Atlantic coast and seafood.

Year-round warmth, the Teide volcano, laurel forests and whale watching.

Paella’s birthplace, futuristic architecture and city beaches.

Ancient cities, tea hills, wildlife safaris and palm-fringed beaches.

Calm summer sea while the south-west has its monsoon: whales, a temple on a cliff and quiet bays.

Two volcanic spires rising straight out of the sea, with sulphur springs behind them.

A Dutch wooden old town where a mosque and a synagogue stand side by side, and rainforest mountains inland.

A walled Hanseatic town, limestone sea stacks and Sweden’s best summer light.

Four hundred windmills, the royal summer palace and the bare limestone plain of Alvaret.

A city on fourteen islands, royal history, design and archipelago boat trips.

Northern lights, the Icehotel and midnight-sun trails.

Painted house fronts, green hills below the Säntis and mountain inns on the ridges.

Eiger, Jungfrau, turquoise lakes and scenic mountain railways.

A high valley of lakes and larches, the Swiss National Park and painted Romansh villages.

Lavaux vineyards above the lake, Chillon castle, and cheese and cream in Gruyères.

A covered bridge, lake steamers and panoramic peaks.

Switzerland in Italian: palm-lined lakes, green river gorges and stone villages in the valleys.

Car-free alpine village facing the Matterhorn.

Taiwan’s old capital of temples and snacks, a tropical national park and a lake among tea hills.

Night markets, temples and a marble gorge on the east coast.

Turquoise lakes below five-thousand-metre peaks, Sogdian ruins and homestays in mountain villages.

The Great Migration and the wildlife-filled Ngorongoro Crater.

Stone Town’s alleys, spice farms and white beaches on the Indian Ocean.

Golden temples, river boats and legendary street food.

Temples, night markets, cooking classes and jungle-covered mountains.

Palm-fringed beaches, jungle waterfalls and a marine park.

Limestone cliffs, island hopping, rock climbing and sunset beaches.

Andaman beaches, the islands of Phang Nga Bay and diving trips.

Winter sun on the Atlantic, hundreds of bird species and boat trips up the Gambia river.

Asia’s youngest nation: a harbour capital, whales in the strait and the world’s richest reefs off Atauro.

Swimming with humpback whales, sailing a sheltered archipelago and sea caves on the last Pacific kingdom.

The Caribbean’s biggest carnival, the oldest rainforest reserve and a lake of asphalt.

Flat sandy beaches, street art villages and an ancient synagogue.

The medina of Tunis, Roman Carthage, blue-and-white Sidi Bou Said and the holy city of Kairouan.

Lycian tombs, gulet cruises and the Lycian Way.

Fairy chimneys, cave hotels, underground cities and hot-air balloons at sunrise.

Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, bazaars and ferries between two continents.

Gorillas, chimpanzees, crater lakes and the source of the Nile.

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the Louvre and desert dunes.

Record-breaking skyscrapers, desert safaris, luxury hotels and winter sun.

Glaciers, fjord cruises, bears and salmon rivers.

Revolutionary history, lobster shacks and autumn colours.

San Francisco, Big Sur’s cliffs and Highway 1 down to Los Angeles.

Red-rock canyons, slot canyons and some of America’s most famous national parks.

The Strip’s shows and casinos, with desert canyons nearby.

Hollywood, beach towns and museums with ocean views.

The Road to Hana, Haleakalā sunrise, whales and golden beaches.

Art Deco beachfront, Cuban coffee and street art.

Art deco Miami, the Overseas Highway, coral reefs and Key West sunsets.

Jazz clubs, Creole cooking and wrought-iron balconies.

Skylines, world-class museums, Broadway and neighbourhoods to explore on foot.

Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and North Shore surf.

Golden Gate views, cable cars and wine country next door.

Coffee culture, ferries and rainforests on the coast.

Free world-class museums and monuments along the National Mall.

Geysers, bison herds and the jagged Tetons.

Red sandstone canyons, slot-canyon hikes and hoodoos.

A laid-back capital, a colonial river town and Atlantic beach resorts.

Turquoise domes, Silk Road cities and legendary hospitality.

An active volcano, blue holes and a famous wreck dive.

Hanoi’s street food, the limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay and rice terraces in Sa Pa.

Lantern-lit old town, tailors, beaches and the imperial city of Hue.

Motorbike-buzzing Saigon, floating markets and river life.

Edward I’s castles, a coastal path round the island and Welsh spoken in every shop.

Grassy summits, waterfall country, the town of books and food festivals.

A castle in the capital, rugby on match day and Britain’s first protected coast.

Wales’s mountain heart: Yr Wyddfa, slate villages and narrow-gauge railways, with the sea never far.

A coast national park with a 300-kilometre path, puffin islands and Britain’s smallest cathedral city.

The smoke that thunders: Victoria Falls, the Devil’s Pool, rafting and sunset cruises on the Zambezi.

The home of the walking safari: leopards at night, hippos by the hundred and Thornicroft’s giraffe.

The “smoke that thunders”, sunset river cruises and elephants.