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The historic and modern center of the city, the Piazza del Duomo (the square surrounding the cathedral’s base) remains a popular meeting place, hangout and hub of Milanese life. Local vendors setup shop (selling fresh coconut in the summer, toys and tourist wares), kids run and play (free from traffic) and shoppers trickle in from the walking street surrounding the huge plaza. The statue of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy, is the best place to meet, sit, recharge and watch the city go by.

Known as The Blue City for its many homes painted to denote them as Brahmin residences, Jodhpur is a chaotic hodgepodge of blue blocks at the foot of mighty Mehrangarh Fort. Interspersed with the sacred color associated with Lord Shiva, the city projects a galaxy of shades ranging from the jewel-toned saris of traditional Rajasthani women to muted tones of the 16th-century wall that protected Jodhpur in medieval times. Long before Mark Zuckerberg used blue for its soothing effect on Facebook users, Jodhpur’s citizens apparently knew of its psychological impact on a city.

The Château Dufresne might not be high on most visitors’ lists of sights to see in Montréal, but as it is just across the street from both the city’s botanical garden and the Olympic Stadium, you may want to drop in if you are in the neighborhood. The mansion was constructed from 1915 to 1918 in the Beaux-Arts style popular in Montréal in those years. The 20,000-square-foot building is modeled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles and is actually two homes in one, as the brothers Oscar and Marius commissioned side-by-side mansions. The château served several different purposes after the Dufresne family lived there, first as a boarding school and later as the home of the Musée d’Art Contemporain. Today many of the rooms have been decorated with early 20th-century pieces, and a permanent exhibition provides an introduction of life in Montréal’s East End a century ago. Temporary exhibitions cover a range of topics, including some that highlight the collections of prominent Montréal patrons and others that focus on leading artists in the city.

No sight defines Danang more than its impressive “dragon bridge”. The structure, which spans the Han River, was built at great expense and opened to traffic in late 2013. It is an impressive sight at all times, but especially so on Saturday and Sunday nights at 9pm when the dragon breathes fire.

A journey to Son Tra Peninsula is a must for many reasons, not least the opportunity to visit Linh Ung Pagoda. The temple is the largest in Danang and is spectacularly located on a knoll with fantastic views back towards China Beach and the Marble Mountains. It is impossible to miss the pagoda as it is located right next door to the giant white Goddess of Mercy statue.

Hiking the French Valley is part of the W-trek through Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. It’s about 16 mi round-trip from Refugio Paine Grande to the French Valley Mirador, to see the French Glacier and the Paine Massif as close as you can get. The trail is diverse and only reaches a steep height at the last 5.5 km on the way there. You begin at Lago Pehoe and take grassy paths through the forested valley, on an terrain that the locals call “Patagonia flat,” i.e. an undulating up and down of several feet. On the way you’ll see tiny magenta--and edible--berries that taste just like apples; you’ll cross small glacial streams where you can fill up your water bottle with fresh, wild water. You’ll trek right by the Cuernos, or the “Horns,” another well-known set of peaks in Torres del Paine. Over the French River you go as you get deeper into the valley, over wobbly rope bridges. The final 5.5 km to the French Valley Mirador has you balancing on thousands of loose boulders on your way up. The very top of the trek feels like being in the middle of a Patagonian fishbowl: Paine Massif to your left, French Glacier in front, the Aleta de Tiburon (the Shark’s Fin) and the Cuernos to the right, and turquoise Lago Pehoe behind you.

Berlin is surrounded by lakes, and the star of the show is undoubtedly the Wannsee. Its waters lap at the Grunewald Forest and are dotted with yachting clubs and interesting cultural sights such as the House of the Wannsee Conference (where the Nazis planned the Final Solution) and the former villa of impressionist painter Max Liebermann, which exhibits his work and has a lovely garden café overlooking the lake. Nearby is the Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), a former royal playground that’s now a pleasant park accessible by ferry. The most popular destination in summer, though, is the Strandbad Wannsee, a half-mile-long sandy beach jam-packed with locals and visitors.

Stepping into the enormous main concourse of this landmarked architectural jewel—with its sweeping granite staircases, hulking columns and 38-meter (125-foot) ceilings painted with night-sky constellations—can be a jaw-dropping experience. What’s even more incredible, though, is the sheer number of people who use it as a commuter hub day in and day out (more than 750,000 train and subway passengers every weekday). Wander around the shops, head down to the basement food court for a bite and to marvel at the crowds hurrying by—and if you get jostled, don’t take it personally.

This 27-acre attraction in North Vancouver gets the heart racing with a suspension bridge that bounces 230 feet above a forested river gorge. Even more spectacular, however, is the Cliffwalk, a labyrinth of walkways along the granite flank of the valley. Get a bird’s-eye view of the area during the Treetops Adventure, a canopy expedition through the upper tiers of 250-year-old Douglas firs. The experience doesn’t come cheap at $46.95 per adult, but it does include free shuttle service from downtown and mini-tours that cover the flora, fauna, and First Nations involvement in the park. From late November to late January, Capilano strings holiday lights around the canyon and decorates the world’s tallest living Christmas tree.

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is worth a visit if only to stand under its magnificent glass dome. The family business has survived as a one-stop-shopping hub for five generations, thanks to steady innovation and an emphasis on high fashion and design. Shoppers appreciate its easy VAT refund policy. There are also multiple restaurants, a rooftop terrace with stunning city views and a cultural space for rotating art exhibitions.

The Ponte dei Sospiri was given its English name by part-time Venice resident Lord Byron, who wrote in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: “I stood in Venice on a Bridge of Sighs, a palace and a prison on each hand.” Byron’s travelogue nails it: When you stand on the famous crossing, the Doge’s Palace and a public prison are on either side. A local myth (that turned into the plot line for the film A Little Romance) says that lovers who kiss on a gondola at sunset beneath the Bridge of Sighs will be granted eternal love. Access to the bridge itself is through the Secret Itinerary tour of the Doge’s Palace.

Often described as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, this 10-mile-long Kauai valley is a kaleidoscopic array of scarlet earth, verdant valleys, and raw volcanic crags. Bands of color streak the corrugated landscape, each representing a different eruption and layer of lava. Waimea Canyon Drive has a series of lookouts; among the most popular is Waimea Canyon (past the Mile 10 marker on Highway 550), where a number of rivers once cascaded down the gently sloping shield volcano. When part of its flank collapsed, the rivers combined with dramatic results. Continue into the mountains to explore Koke’e State Park beyond. Its small, free museum contains a 3-D map, which sheds light on the canyon’s wild beauty, while the gift shop specializes in local art, crafts, and Niihau shell jewelry.

Petra flourished more than 2,000 years ago, trading with Rome as an equal before being abandoned after a series of earthquakes in the 4th and 6th centuries C.E. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when European explorers “rediscovered” it, that the ancient city returned to the public consciousness. Now, visitors can walk down the narrow canyon of the siq to the city entrance—as dramatic an approach as any to a tourist attraction on the planet. The canyon opens up onto the carved facade of the Treasury, Petra’s most iconic site. From there, you can explore the cliffside tombs with their colorful bands of sandstone, the Street of Facades, and the amphitheater hewn from living rock. The ancient center lies some distance off, along with the splendid old Monastery, which sits at the top of a steep but rewarding climb. Consider buying a three-day ticket and visiting at different times of day to enjoy the changing light—early in the morning is best for the Treasury, while late afternoon is better for the Royal Tombs.

The Tiergarten might be Berlin’s most famous park, but the sprawling, 7,400-acre Grunewald wins the prize for the city’s most impressive forest. Fringed by the Havel River to the west, it contains a multitude of pleasant hiking and cycling paths, lakes and sand dunes, and a surprising number of cultural, historical, and architectural sights as well. Besides the Teufelsberg man-made hill and adjacent Teufelssee Lake, there are great forest views from the Grunewaldturm, which also has a beer garden. Jagdschloss Grunewald, a 16th-century hunting lodge, has a café and a collection of old masters paintings. Close to the S-Bahn you can see a touching memorial to the deportation of the city’s Jews, who were sent from this station to death camps during World War II.

The second, and smaller, inhabited island of Îles des Saintes is Terre-de-Bas, reached by boat shuttles from Terre-de-Haut. There’s not much to do here other than explore nature in its wildest state, but one of the sights that makes it worthwhile is the only beach on the island: Grande Anse. It’s mostly undeveloped and rarely crowded, and offers nearly a mile of golden sand and blue bay water. You’ll find a local restaurant there for a plate of fresh seafood and rice, at cheaper prices than on Terre-de-Haut.