A round fort of 1668, the Friday goat market and the date-palm oasis at the foot of Jebel Akhdar.
The shrine of Imam Reza, the largest mosque complex in the world by area, and twenty million pilgrims a year.
A cobbled island town in Lake Peten Itza, the base for the Tikal pyramids at dawn.
The Gateway Arch, 192 metres of stainless steel over the Mississippi, and the free zoo in Forest Park.
Talavera tiles, 70 churches, mole poblano and the Popocatepetl volcano on the horizon.
The Alamo, four more Spanish missions and the River Walk below street level.
The Walker sculpture garden, the Mississippi falls and lakes inside the city limits.
The Mile High City, the gateway to the Rockies, with Red Rocks amphitheatre and a craft beer scene.
The port of Ometepe, an island of two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua.
A French-Dominican beach town on the Samana peninsula, humpback whales from January to March.
The Motown Museum, the Henry Ford, Art Deco skyscrapers and a comeback story.
Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center and the most diverse food scene in the country.
The model city of parks and bus lanes, the glass Botanical Garden and the train to the coast.
Xela, the highland second city of Spanish schools, hot springs and the Santa Maria volcano.
The black-sand surf village of the Surf City coast, named for the pig-shaped rock offshore.
Alexander the Great's easternmost city, the Panjshanbe bazaar and the Syr Darya river.
The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the Rocky steps at the art museum, and a cheesesteak.
The longest zipline in the world off Jebel Jais, mountains and quieter beaches than Dubai.
A colonial centre of pink stone and an 18th-century aqueduct of 74 arches, the safest big city in Mexico.
Saguaro cacti in the Desert Botanical Garden and Camelback Mountain at dawn, before the heat.
Coral reefs on the Red Sea, the Underwater Observatory and the desert of Timna, at Israel's southern tip.
Cuba's first town, cut off until 1965: cacao, coconut cooking and the flat-topped El Yunque.
The gateway to Manuel Antonio: sloths and capuchins on the beach in the smallest national park.
Music City: the Grand Ole Opry, honky-tonks on Broadway and hot chicken.
A Crusader city under an Ottoman city: the Knights Halls, a Templar tunnel and hummus by the port.
A highland colonial town of Tzotzil markets, amber and the Sumidero canyon nearby.
Red rock buttes, vortex hikes and a Chapel built into the cliff, two hours from the Grand Canyon.
The cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Amna Suraka prison museum and the Zagros mountains.
The southern trading city, a Silk Road bazaar and the base for Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve.
Barbecue burnt ends, the jazz district at 18th and Vine and 200 fountains.
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