Visit Shymkent

Visit Almaty, the former capital and largest city of Kazakhstan. Explore the Central State Museum (showcasing Kazakh history and culture, including the Golden Man archaeological find), ride the cable car to Kok-Tobe Hill (offering panoramic views of the city and the Tian Shan mountains), and stroll through Panfilov Park (home to the colorful Zenkov Cathedral, a wooden Russian Orthodox church built without nails).

The mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Timur's unfinished masterpiece and Kazakhstan's holiest site.

The world's largest car-free old city.

Hokkaido's southern port: the night view from Mount Hakodate, red-brick warehouses and the morning fish market.

The Seomun night market, a medicine-herb street and the Haeinsa temple with its 80,000 printing blocks nearby.

Flemish gables, the Grand Place and the Braderie, Europe's biggest flea market, every first weekend of September.

Cezanne's town of fountains and plane trees, with Mont Sainte-Victoire on the horizon he painted sixty times.

The fiery city of the Meuse: Montagne de Bueren's 374 steps, the Sunday Batte market and Liege waffles.