๐AlgarvePortugal. The country's southernmost region, with Faro as its capital and Atlantic beaches below cliffs.
๐๏ธAlhambraSpain. A palace and fortress of the Nasrid emirs on a hill above Granada, begun in 1238.
๐Amalfi CoastItaly. Cliffside towns such as Positano and Ravello, listed as a World Heritage Site in 1997.
๐๏ธAmsterdamNetherlands. The 17th-century canal ring has been a World Heritage Site since 2010.
๐๏ธAthensGreece. The Parthenon, the most famous of its ancient monuments, stands on the Acropolis.
๐๏ธAzoresPortugal. Nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic, about 1,400 km west of Lisbon.
๐๏ธBarcelonaSpain. Gaudรญ's buildings, among them the unfinished Sagrada Famรญlia, are a World Heritage Site.
๐Bay of KotorMontenegro. A winding Adriatic bay under steep mountains; the Kotor area is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธBergenNorway. Bryggen, the old Hanseatic wharf, is a World Heritage Site, and seven mountains ring the town.
๐๏ธBerlinGermany. A wall split the city from 1961 to 1989, and Museum Island is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธBrugesBelgium. The medieval centre, threaded with canals, has been a World Heritage Site since 2000.
๐๏ธBudapestHungary. Buda and Pest, on opposite banks of the Danube, became one city in 1873.
Show all 300 places (288 more)
Europe, continued
๐๏ธCapriItaly. An island in the Gulf of Naples known for the Blue Grotto, a sea cave lit from below.
๐๏ธฤeskรฝ KrumlovCzechia. A castle town in a loop of the Vltava, and a World Heritage Site since 1992.
๐๏ธChamonixFrance. At the foot of Mont Blanc, and host of the first Winter Olympics in 1924.
๐Cinque TerreItaly. Five villages on a terraced Ligurian cliff coast, linked by footpaths, boats and trains.
๐Cliffs of MoherIreland. Sea cliffs that run for about 14 km and reach 214 m near O'Brien's Tower.
๐๏ธCopenhagenDenmark. Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in the middle of town, opened in 1843.
๐CornwallUnited Kingdom. A peninsula that ends at Land's End, with surf beaches on its north coast.
๐๏ธCorsicaFrance. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio in 1769, and the GR 20 trail crosses the mountains.
๐บ๏ธCotswoldsUnited Kingdom. Villages of golden limestone in rolling hills, protected as a landscape since 1966.
๐๏ธCreteGreece. The country's largest island, and the home of the Minoan palace of Knossos.
๐๏ธDolomitesItaly. Pale limestone peaks in the north-east; Marmolada is the highest at 3,343 m.
๐บ๏ธDouro ValleyPortugal. Grapes for port grow on terraced slopes in a wine region first marked out in 1756.
๐๏ธDublinIreland. Trinity College, founded in 1592, keeps the Book of Kells.
๐๏ธDubrovnikCroatia. Stone walls ring the old town, a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธEdinburghUnited Kingdom. The medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town together make one World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธEryri (Snowdonia)United Kingdom. Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon, is the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085 m.
๐บ๏ธFinnish LaplandFinland. The country's northernmost region, with Rovaniemi as its capital.
๐๏ธFlorenceItaly. Birthplace of the Renaissance, with the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio in its old centre.
๐๏ธGeirangerfjordNorway. A 15 km fjord with the Seven Sisters waterfall, on the World Heritage list since 2005.
๐๏ธGiant's CausewayUnited Kingdom. About 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the coast of County Antrim.
๐๏ธHallstattAustria. A lakeside salt-mining village that gave its name to the Iron Age Hallstatt culture.
๐๏ธรingvellir National ParkIceland. The Althing, the national parliament, met in this rift valley from 930; World Heritage since 2004.
๐๏ธIsle of SkyeUnited Kingdom. The largest island of the Inner Hebrides, with the Cuillin hills at its centre.
๐๏ธIstanbulTurkey. It straddles the Bosphorus, so part is in Europe and part in Asia, and was once Constantinople.
๐๏ธKinderdijkNetherlands. Nineteen windmills built around 1740 to drain a polder, a World Heritage Site since 1997.
๐๏ธKrakรณwPoland. The Old Town was on the very first World Heritage list in 1978, and Wawel Castle stands over it.
๐บ๏ธLake BledSlovenia. A lake in the Julian Alps with a church on an island and a castle on the cliff above.
๐บ๏ธLake ComoItaly. A glacial lake shaped like an upside-down Y and more than 400 m deep.
๐๏ธLake DistrictUnited Kingdom. Holds Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain, and Windermere, its largest lake.
๐๏ธLauterbrunnenSwitzerland. A valley named for its many waterfalls; the Staubbach Falls drop 297 m beside the village.
๐๏ธLisbonPortugal. Built on hills above the Tagus, and largely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755.
๐๏ธLofotenNorway. An archipelago north of the Arctic Circle, where mountains rise straight out of the sea.
๐บ๏ธLoire ValleyFrance. Chรขteaux such as Chambord and Chenonceau line the river, a World Heritage Site since 2000.
๐๏ธLondonUnited Kingdom. Four World Heritage Sites in one city: the Tower, Kew Gardens, Westminster and Greenwich.
๐๏ธMadridSpain. The Prado, the Reina Sofรญa and the Thyssen-Bornemisza make up its Golden Triangle of Art.
๐๏ธMallorcaSpain. The largest of the Balearic Islands; its Serra de Tramuntana range is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธMateraItaly. The Sassi, cave dwellings cut into a ravine, have been a World Heritage Site since 1993.
๐๏ธMeteoraGreece. Monasteries built on top of rock pillars; six of the original 24 are still in use.
๐๏ธMont-Saint-MichelFrance. An abbey on a tidal island off the coast of Normandy, a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธMosque-Cathedral of CรณrdobaSpain. A mosque begun in 785, with a cathedral nave set into its middle in the 16th century.
๐๏ธNeuschwanstein CastleGermany. Ludwig II of Bavaria began this hilltop castle in 1869 and never saw it finished.
๐๏ธParisFrance. Twenty arrondissements spiral clockwise out from the centre, with the Seine through the middle.
๐๏ธPlitvice LakesCroatia. Sixteen lakes joined by waterfalls, in a national park founded in 1949.
๐๏ธPompeiiItaly. A Roman town buried under ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
๐๏ธPortoPortugal. Port wine takes its name from the city, and the old centre by the Douro is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธPragueCzechia. Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava below a castle that dates from the 9th century.
๐บ๏ธProvenceFrance. Roman monuments at Arles and Orange, the papal palace at Avignon, and fields of lavender.
๐๏ธReykjavikIceland. The most northerly capital of any sovereign state, at 64 degrees north.
๐๏ธRomeItaly. Legend dates its founding to 753 BC, and Vatican City, a separate state, sits inside it.
๐๏ธSalzburgAustria. Mozart was born here, and the baroque old town has been a World Heritage Site since 1996.
๐๏ธSan SebastiรกnSpain. La Concha, a bay shaped like a shell, is the town beach.
๐๏ธSantoriniGreece. The rim of a volcano that blew apart in the Minoan eruption, about 3,600 years ago.
๐๏ธSardiniaItaly. The second-largest island in the Mediterranean, dotted with Bronze Age towers called nuraghi.
๐บ๏ธScottish HighlandsUnited Kingdom. Ben Nevis, the British Isles' highest mountain, stands here.
๐๏ธSevilleSpain. The Alcรกzar, the cathedral and the Archive of the Indies form one World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธSicilyItaly. The largest island in the Mediterranean, with Mount Etna, an active volcano, in the east.
๐๏ธSintraPortugal. The hilltop Pena Palace is the best-known part of a World Heritage landscape listed in 1995.
๐๏ธStockholmSweden. Spread over 14 islands where Lake Mรคlaren meets the Baltic, with Gamla stan as its old town.
๐๏ธStonehengeUnited Kingdom. A ring of standing stones on Salisbury Plain, built in phases between about 3100 and 1600 BC.
๐บ๏ธTuscanyItaly. Chianti vineyards and hill towns between Florence, Siena and Pisa.
๐๏ธVallettaMalta. Built by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565, and a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธVatnajรถkull National ParkIceland. Built around the country's largest ice cap, and a World Heritage Site since 2019.
๐๏ธVeniceItaly. Built on small islands in a shallow lagoon, with canals for streets and bridges between them.
๐๏ธViennaAustria. Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert all worked here, and Schรถnbrunn was the Habsburg summer palace.
๐๏ธZermattSwitzerland. A car-free village at the foot of the Matterhorn.
Asia 65
๐๏ธAngkor WatCambodia. A 12th-century temple built for King Suryavarman II, and pictured on the national flag.
๐๏ธAyutthayaThailand. Ruins of the Siamese capital that a Burmese army destroyed in 1767.
๐๏ธBaliIndonesia. A mostly Hindu island whose subak rice-terrace irrigation system is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธBangkokThailand. The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun stand along the Chao Phraya River.
๐๏ธBeijingChina. The Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace are all here.
๐๏ธBoracayPhilippines. A small island whose White Beach runs about 4 km down the west side.
๐๏ธBorobudurIndonesia. A 9th-century Buddhist temple with 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 relief panels.
๐๏ธBukharaUzbekistan. A Silk Road city whose historic centre has been a World Heritage Site since 1993.
๐บ๏ธCappadociaTurkey. Rock cones called fairy chimneys, with homes and churches carved into the soft stone.
๐๏ธChiang MaiThailand. Founded in 1296 as capital of the Lan Na kingdom, with a moat around the old city.
๐๏ธChitwan National ParkNepal. The country's first national park, set up in 1973, and home to one-horned rhinoceroses.
๐๏ธEphesusTurkey. An ancient Greek and Roman city with the Library of Celsus, a World Heritage Site since 2015.
๐๏ธFansipanVietnam. The country's tallest mountain, at 3,147 m, with a cable car to the top from near Sa Pa.
๐๏ธGalle FortSri Lanka. The Portuguese began the fort in 1588 and the Dutch fortified it in the 17th century.
๐๏ธGeorge TownMalaysia. A colonial trading port on Penang Island, listed with Malacca as a World Heritage Site in 2008.
๐GoaIndia. Portuguese until 1961; the churches and convents of Old Goa are a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธGreat Wall of ChinaChina. The Ming-era walls alone measure 8,850 km; a World Heritage Site since 1987.
๐๏ธGyeongjuSouth Korea. Capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a thousand years.
๐๏ธHa Long BayVietnam. A bay of limestone islands and islets, a World Heritage Site since 1994.
๐๏ธHampiIndia. Ruins of the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, a World Heritage Site since 1986.
๐๏ธHanoiVietnam. First made the capital in 1010 as Thฤng Long, with an Old Quarter beside Hoร n Kiแบฟm Lake.
๐๏ธHimeji CastleJapan. A white hilltop castle of 83 buildings, among the country's first World Heritage Sites in 1993.
๐๏ธHoi AnVietnam. A trading port from the 15th to 19th centuries, with a Japanese covered bridge.
๐๏ธHokkaidoJapan. The country's second-largest island and its northernmost prefecture, with Sapporo as capital.
๐๏ธHong KongHong Kong. Victoria Harbour lies between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula.
๐๏ธHuangshanChina. Granite peaks and twisted pines; Lotus Peak is the highest at 1,864 m.
๐๏ธItsukushima ShrineJapan. Its torii gate stands in the sea and seems to float at high tide.
๐๏ธJaipurIndia. The Pink City, founded in 1727 by Jai Singh II, and a World Heritage Site since 2019.
๐๏ธJeju IslandSouth Korea. A volcanic island; Hallasan, at its centre, is the country's highest mountain.
๐๏ธJiuzhaigouChina. A valley of coloured lakes and waterfalls in Sichuan, a World Heritage Site since 1992.
๐๏ธKandySri Lanka. Home of the Temple of the Tooth, and a World Heritage Site since 1988.
๐๏ธKathmanduNepal. The capital, home to several World Heritage Sites, among them Durbar Square, Swayambhu and Boudhanath.
๐บ๏ธKerala backwatersIndia. Lagoons, lakes and canals behind the Arabian Sea coast, toured by houseboat.
๐๏ธKinabalu ParkMalaysia. Mount Kinabalu rises to 4,095 m in the country's first World Heritage Site, listed in 2000.
๐๏ธKomodo National ParkIndonesia. Set up in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, and a World Heritage Site since 1991.
๐๏ธKuala LumpurMalaysia. The Petronas Towers here are the tallest twin towers in the world.
๐๏ธKyotoJapan. The seat of the imperial court from 794, founded as the planned city of Heian-kyล.
๐๏ธLadakhIndia. A high, dry region between the Karakoram and the Himalayas, with Leh as its largest town.
๐๏ธLangkawiMalaysia. An archipelago of 99 islands off the coast of Kedah, and a UNESCO Global Geopark.
๐บ๏ธLi RiverChina. Flows 164 km through Guangxi between karst hills, past Guilin and Yangshuo.
๐๏ธLuang PrabangLaos. A town of Buddhist temples and a former royal palace on the Mekong, a World Heritage Site since 1995.
๐๏ธMaldivesMaldives. A chain of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, and the lowest-lying country in the world.
๐๏ธMount BromoIndonesia. An active volcano, 2,329 m high, inside the Tengger caldera in East Java.
๐๏ธMount FujiJapan. The country's highest mountain at 3,776 m, and a cultural World Heritage Site since 2013.
๐๏ธNaraJapan. The national capital from 710 to 784, where tame deer roam Nara Park.
๐๏ธOkinawa IslandJapan. The largest of the Ryukyu Islands, once the seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
๐๏ธOsakaJapan. Osaka Castle, the Dลtonbori district and the Tsลซtenkaku tower are among its best-known sights.
๐๏ธPalawanPhilippines. Home of the Puerto Princesa underground river, a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธPamukkaleTurkey. White travertine terraces below the ruins of the ancient spa town of Hierapolis.
๐๏ธPhi Phi IslandsThailand. Six islands between Phuket and the mainland; Maya Bay is on the smaller Phi Phi Le.
๐๏ธPhuketThailand. The country's largest island, joined to the mainland by a bridge.
๐๏ธRanthambore National ParkIndia. A tiger reserve since 1974 and a national park since 1980, around a hilltop fort in Rajasthan.
๐๏ธRice Terraces of the Philippine CordillerasPhilippines. Five clusters of Ifugao rice terraces on Luzon, Batad among them, listed in 1995.
๐๏ธSagarmatha National ParkNepal. The Nepali side of Mount Everest, and a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธSamarkandUzbekistan. Timur's capital, with the Registan square, the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum and the Bibi-Khanym Mosque.
๐๏ธSeoulSouth Korea. Five grand palaces of the Joseon dynasty stand in a capital split by the Han River.
๐๏ธShanghaiChina. The Bund faces the towers of Pudong across the Huangpu River.
๐๏ธShirakawa-goJapan. Mountain villages of steep thatched gasshล-zukuri farmhouses, listed in 1995.
๐๏ธSigiriyaSri Lanka. A granite column about 180 m high; King Kashyapa, who ruled 477 to 495, built his palace on top.
๐๏ธSingaporeSingapore. A city-state on an island; its Botanic Gardens are a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธTaj MahalIndia. A white marble tomb that Shah Jahan commissioned in 1631 for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
๐๏ธTerracotta ArmyChina. More than 8,000 clay soldiers buried with the first emperor, found by farmers in 1974.
๐๏ธTokyoJapan. Called Edo until 1868, when the imperial capital moved here from Kyoto.
๐๏ธVaranasiIndia. Pilgrims bathe from stone steps called ghats along the Ganges.
๐๏ธZhangjiajie National Forest ParkChina. Tall sandstone pillars in what became the country's first national forest park in 1982.
North America 48
๐๏ธAcadia National ParkUnited States. On the coast of Maine, mostly on Mount Desert Island, with Cadillac Mountain at its top.
๐๏ธAntigua GuatemalaGuatemala. The colonial capital until earthquakes ruined it in 1773; a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธArches National ParkUnited States. In Utah, with more than 2,000 natural stone arches, Delicate Arch among them.
๐๏ธArenal VolcanoCosta Rica. A cone-shaped volcano that erupted without warning in 1968 and stayed active until 2010.
๐๏ธBanff National ParkCanada. The country's first national park, set up in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta.
๐Bay of FundyCanada. Between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with the highest tidal range in the world, about 16 m.
๐Big SurUnited States. A stretch of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise straight from the Pacific.
๐๏ธChicagoUnited States. On the shore of Lake Michigan, where the first steel-framed skyscraper went up in 1885.
๐๏ธChichen ItzaMexico. A Maya city in Yucatรกn; the stepped pyramid El Castillo stands at its centre.
๐๏ธDenali National ParkUnited States. In Alaska, around the highest mountain in North America, which stands 20,310 ft tall.
๐๏ธEverglades National ParkUnited States. A subtropical wetland at the tip of Florida, and a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธExumaBahamas. A district of more than 365 islands and cays.
๐๏ธFlorida KeysUnited States. A chain of coral islands linked by the Overseas Highway, ending at Key West.
๐๏ธGlacier National ParkUnited States. In Montana on the Canadian border, crossed by the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
๐๏ธGrand Canyon National ParkUnited States. All in Arizona; the park takes in 278 miles of the Colorado River and a canyon a mile deep.
๐๏ธGreat Smoky Mountains National ParkUnited States. On the ridge between Tennessee and North Carolina, and a World Heritage Site since 1983.
๐๏ธGros Morne National ParkCanada. Fjords and exposed mantle rock on the west coast of Newfoundland, listed in 1987.
๐๏ธGuanajuatoMexico. A silver-mining city in a narrow valley, with streets that run through tunnels.
๐๏ธJasper National ParkCanada. The largest national park in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, reached by the Icefields Parkway.
๐บ๏ธLake AtitlรกnGuatemala. The deepest lake in Central America, at 340 m, with three volcanoes on its southern shore.
๐บ๏ธLake TahoeUnited States. A lake in the Sierra Nevada on the line between California and Nevada, 1,645 ft deep.
๐๏ธManuel Antonio National ParkCosta Rica. A small park on the Pacific coast, set up in 1972, where sloths and three kinds of monkey live.
๐๏ธMexico CityMexico. Built on the Aztec island city of Tenochtitlan, at 2,240 m above sea level.
๐๏ธMiami BeachUnited States. A barrier-island city; its Art Deco Historic District was listed in 1979.
๐บ๏ธMonteverdeCosta Rica. A mountain district known for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
๐๏ธMontrealCanada. On an island in the St Lawrence River, and named after Mount Royal, the hill at its centre.
๐บ๏ธMonument ValleyUnited States. Sandstone buttes up to 1,000 ft tall on Navajo Nation land at the Arizona and Utah line.
๐NegrilJamaica. A resort town at the island's far western end, known for its Seven Mile Beach.
๐๏ธNew OrleansUnited States. Founded by the French in 1718, and the birthplace of jazz.
๐๏ธNew York CityUnited States. Five boroughs, with Central Park in the middle of Manhattan.
๐บ๏ธNiagara FallsCanada and the United States. Three waterfalls on the Niagara River: Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil.
๐๏ธOaxacaMexico. The city and the Zapotec ruins of Monte Albรกn above it are one World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธPalenqueMexico. A Maya city in the forest of Chiapas, with the tomb of Pakal in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
๐๏ธPanama CityPanama. Beside the Panama Canal's Pacific entrance; the old quarter is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธPrince Edward IslandCanada. The country's smallest province, joined to the mainland by the Confederation Bridge.
๐๏ธQuebec CityCanada. Founded by Champlain in 1608; the walls around Old Quebec still stand.
๐๏ธSan Blas IslandsPanama. About 365 islands and cays, 49 of them lived on, home to the Guna people.
๐๏ธSan FranciscoUnited States. Cable cars climb its hills, and the Golden Gate Bridge crosses the mouth of the bay.
๐๏ธSanto DomingoDominican Republic. Founded in 1496; its Colonial City holds the first cathedral in the Americas.
๐๏ธTeotihuacanMexico. The Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon stand along the Avenue of the Dead.
๐๏ธTikalGuatemala. A Maya city in the rainforest of Petรฉn, and a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธTorontoCanada. On the shore of Lake Ontario, under the 553 m CN Tower.
๐TulumMexico. A walled Maya port on 12 m cliffs above the Caribbean.
๐๏ธVancouverCanada. A Pacific port between the sea and the mountains, with Stanley Park beside its downtown.
๐๏ธWashington, D.C.United States. The National Mall runs from the Capitol past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.
๐๏ธYellowstone National ParkUnited States. Set up in 1872, mostly in Wyoming, with Old Faithful among its geysers.
๐๏ธYosemite National ParkUnited States. In California's Sierra Nevada, with El Capitan, Half Dome and giant sequoia groves.
๐๏ธZion National ParkUnited States. In Utah; the Virgin River cut Zion Canyon through red and tan Navajo Sandstone.
South America 38
๐๏ธAconcaguaArgentina. The highest mountain in the Americas, in Mendoza Province.
๐๏ธArequipaPeru. Built of sillar, a white volcanic stone; the centre has been a World Heritage Site since 2000.
๐บ๏ธAtacama DesertChile. The driest desert on Earth outside the poles, and home to the ALMA and Very Large Telescope observatories.
๐๏ธBogotรกColombia. Founded in 1538 and about 2,640 m up, the world's third-highest capital.
๐๏ธBuenos AiresArgentina. The birthplace of tango, with the Teatro Colรณn opera house.
๐๏ธCartagenaColombia. A Caribbean port founded in 1533; its walls and fortress are a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธChiloรฉ IslandChile. The country's second-largest island, with more than 150 wooden churches, 16 of them World Heritage.
๐บ๏ธColca CanyonPeru. Among the world's deepest canyons, where Andean condors ride the updrafts.
๐๏ธColonia del SacramentoUruguay. Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, across the Rรญo de la Plata from Buenos Aires.
๐๏ธCotopaxiEcuador. An active volcano in the Andes, 5,897 m high, south of Quito.
๐๏ธCuscoPeru. The capital of the Inca Empire, at about 3,400 m, and a World Heritage Site since 1983.
๐๏ธFernando de NoronhaBrazil. An archipelago of 21 islands and islets, 354 km off the mainland coast.
๐๏ธGalรกpagos IslandsEcuador. Volcanic islands about 1,000 km west of the mainland that Darwin visited in 1835.
๐๏ธHuascarรกn National ParkPeru. Holds Huascarรกn, the country's highest peak at 6,768 m; a World Heritage Site since 1985.
๐๏ธIguazu FallsArgentina, on the border with Brazil. About 275 drops along 2.7 km of the Iguazu River.
๐๏ธLa PazBolivia. At about 3,650 m, with a cable car network, Mi Telefรฉrico, as public transport.
๐บ๏ธLake TiticacaBolivia and Peru. At 3,812 m in the Andes, and often named the world's highest navigable lake.
๐๏ธLenรงรณis MaranhensesBrazil. White sand dunes with freshwater lagoons between them in the rainy season.
๐๏ธMachu PicchuPeru. A 15th-century Inca citadel on a ridge 2,430 m up, and a World Heritage Site since 1983.
๐๏ธMedellรญnColombia. Called the City of the Eternal Spring, in the Aburrรก Valley of the Andes.
๐๏ธMontevideoUruguay. Founded in 1726 on the Rรญo de la Plata; a wall ringed its Ciudad Vieja until 1829.
๐๏ธNazca LinesPeru. Huge figures scratched into the desert between 500 BC and AD 500, listed in 1994.
๐๏ธOuro PretoBrazil. A gold-rush town of baroque churches in the mountains, and a World Heritage Site since 1980.
๐บ๏ธPantanalBrazil. The largest tropical wetland in the world, mostly in Mato Grosso do Sul, a state of Brazil.
๐๏ธParatyBrazil. A colonial port between the mountains and the sea, and a World Heritage Site since 2019.
๐๏ธPenรญnsula ValdรฉsArgentina. A breeding ground for southern right whales, and a World Heritage Site since 1999.
๐๏ธPerito Moreno GlacierArgentina. A glacier 30 km long and 5 km wide in Los Glaciares National Park.
๐๏ธQuebrada de HumahuacaArgentina. A mountain valley about 155 km long in Jujuy, and a World Heritage Site since 2003.
๐๏ธQuitoEcuador. At 2,850 m in the Andes; its old centre was among the first World Heritage Sites listed, in 1978.
๐๏ธRio de JaneiroBrazil. Christ the Redeemer looks down from Corcovado on Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.
๐บ๏ธSacred ValleyPeru. The valley of the Urubamba River, with Inca sites at Pisac and Ollantaytambo.
๐บ๏ธSalar de UyuniBolivia. The largest salt flat in the world, at 3,656 m above sea level.
๐๏ธSalvadorBrazil. The country's first capital, founded in 1549; the Pelourinho quarter is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธSantiagoChile. Founded in 1541 between the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range, on a grid around the Plaza de Armas.
๐๏ธTayrona National ParkColombia. Caribbean beaches at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
๐๏ธTorres del Paine National ParkChile. Named after three granite towers in Chilean Patagonia; a park since 1959.
๐๏ธUshuaiaArgentina. On the Beagle Channel, and widely called the southernmost city in the world.
๐๏ธValparaรญsoChile. A port city of steep hills served by funiculars, and a World Heritage Site since 2003.
Africa 41
๐๏ธAbu SimbelEgypt. Two temples of Ramesses II, cut out and moved in 1968 to escape the rising Lake Nasser.
๐๏ธAccraGhana. On the Gulf of Guinea; capital of the British Gold Coast from 1877, with a lighthouse at Jamestown.
๐บ๏ธAvenue of the BaobabsMadagascar. Grandidier's baobabs about 30 m tall line a 260 m stretch of dirt road.
๐๏ธCairoEgypt. On the Nile; Islamic Cairo, its medieval core, has been a World Heritage Site since 1979.
๐๏ธCape TownSouth Africa. Founded in 1652 below the flat top of Table Mountain.
๐๏ธChefchaouenMorocco. A town in the Rif mountains founded in 1471, known for its blue-washed walls.
๐๏ธChobe National ParkBotswana. The country's first national park, from 1967, known for its elephants.
๐Diani BeachKenya. A beach on the Indian Ocean about 30 km south of Mombasa.
๐๏ธDrakensbergSouth Africa. The eastern Great Escarpment, up to 3,482 m, with San rock paintings and a World Heritage park.
๐บ๏ธErg ChebbiMorocco. A sea of Saharan sand dunes up to 150 m high, beside the village of Merzouga.
๐๏ธEssaouiraMorocco. A fortified Atlantic port once called Mogador, and a World Heritage Site since 2001.
๐๏ธEtosha National ParkNamibia. Built around the Etosha pan, a salt pan of 4,760 square km; proclaimed in 1907.
๐๏ธFesMorocco. The University of al-Qarawiyyin here was founded in 859, inside a walled medina.
๐บ๏ธFish River CanyonNamibia. Africa's largest canyon: some 160 km in length, 27 km across at its widest, and 550 m deep.
๐Garden RouteSouth Africa. About 300 km of coast from Mossel Bay to the Storms River.
๐๏ธGiza pyramidsEgypt. The Great Pyramid, the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, and the Great Sphinx.
๐๏ธGreat ZimbabweZimbabwe. The stone ruins of a city built from the 11th century, and a World Heritage Site since 1986.
๐๏ธiSimangaliso Wetland ParkSouth Africa. About 280 km of KwaZulu-Natal coast around Lake St Lucia, a World Heritage Site since 1999.
๐๏ธJohannesburgSouth Africa. Established in 1886 after gold was found on the Witwatersrand, 1,753 m above the sea.
๐๏ธKruger National ParkSouth Africa. The country's first national park, from 1926, and home to the Big Five.
๐๏ธLa DigueSeychelles. The country's fourth-largest granite island, where Anse Source d'Argent beach is.
๐๏ธLamuKenya. Listed in 2001 as East Africa's oldest and best-kept Swahili settlement.
๐๏ธLanzaroteSpain. Eruptions from 1730 to 1736 made the lava fields of Timanfaya National Park.
๐๏ธLe Morne BrabantMauritius. A basalt mountain 556 m high where escaped slaves took shelter, listed in 2008.
๐๏ธLuxorEgypt. On the site of ancient Thebes, with Karnak in town and the Valley of the Kings across the Nile.
๐บ๏ธMaasai MaraKenya. A game reserve next to the Serengeti; wildebeest herds cross into it each year.
๐๏ธMadeiraPortugal. Its laurel forest, the laurisilva, is a World Heritage Site, and Funchal is the capital.
๐๏ธMarrakechMorocco. Founded around 1070; the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and the medina are a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธMount KilimanjaroTanzania. A dormant volcano and the highest mountain in Africa, at 5,895 m.
๐๏ธNgorongoro CraterTanzania. A volcanic caldera 610 m deep with a floor of 260 square km, full of wildlife.
๐๏ธOkavango DeltaBotswana. An inland delta whose water never reaches the sea; the 1,000th World Heritage Site, in 2014.
๐๏ธRobben IslandSouth Africa. Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 prison years here; a World Heritage Site since 1999.
๐๏ธSerengeti National ParkTanzania. More than 1.5 million wildebeest migrate through it; a World Heritage Site since 1981.
๐บ๏ธSossusvleiNamibia. A salt and clay pan ringed by tall red dunes in Namib-Naukluft National Park.
๐๏ธTenerifeSpain. Mount Teide, at 3,715 m, is the country's highest mountain; its park is a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธToubkalMorocco. The highest peak in the Atlas Mountains and in North Africa, at 4,167 m.
๐๏ธTsingy de BemarahaMadagascar. A forest of sharp limestone needles called tsingy, part of a World Heritage Site.
๐๏ธVallรฉe de MaiSeychelles. A palm forest on Praslin where the coco de mer grows, a World Heritage Site since 1983.
๐๏ธVictoria FallsZambia and Zimbabwe. The Zambezi drops 108 m over a lip 1,708 m wide.
๐๏ธVolcanoes National ParkRwanda. Home of mountain gorillas, and the base of the researcher Dian Fossey.
๐๏ธZanzibarTanzania. Islands in the Indian Ocean known for spices; Stone Town is a World Heritage Site.
Oceania 31
๐๏ธAbel Tasman National ParkNew Zealand. The country's smallest national park, founded in 1942, with a coast track along golden beaches.
๐๏ธAoraki / Mount Cook National ParkNew Zealand. Named after the country's highest mountain, Aoraki / Mount Cook, which stands inside it.
๐๏ธAucklandNew Zealand. On a narrow isthmus between two harbours, among the 53 centres of the Auckland Volcanic Field.
๐Bay of IslandsNew Zealand. 144 islands in the far north; the Treaty of Waitangi got its first signatures nearby in 1840.
๐๏ธBlue MountainsAustralia. Sandstone plateaus west of Sydney, with the Three Sisters rock formation at Katoomba.
๐๏ธBora BoraFrench Polynesia. An island ringed by a lagoon and a barrier reef; Mount Otemanu, at its centre, is 727 m.
๐๏ธCradle MountainAustralia. In the highlands of Tasmania, where walks along the Overland Track usually begin.
๐บ๏ธDaintree RainforestAustralia. About 1,200 square km of tropical rainforest that runs down to the sea in Queensland.
๐๏ธEaster IslandChile. Nearly 1,000 moai statues carved by the Rapa Nui people, in a park listed in 1995.
๐๏ธFiordland National ParkNew Zealand. The country's largest national park, with Milford Sound among its fiords.
๐๏ธGreat Barrier ReefAustralia. More than 2,900 reefs and 900 islands stretched over 2,300 km off Queensland.
๐Great Ocean RoadAustralia. A 240 km road that returned soldiers built from 1919 to 1932, past the Twelve Apostles.
๐๏ธHawaiสปi Volcanoes National ParkUnited States. Holds Kฤซlauea and Mauna Loa, two active volcanoes; a World Heritage Site since 1987.
๐๏ธHonoluluUnited States. The capital of Hawaii, on Oahu, with Waikฤซkฤซ beach below Diamond Head.
๐๏ธK'gariAustralia. The largest sand island in the world, 123 km long; a World Heritage Site since 1992.
๐๏ธKakadu National ParkAustralia. Wetlands and Aboriginal rock art in the Northern Territory, in a World Heritage park.
๐๏ธKauaiUnited States. Hawaii's Garden Isle, with Waimea Canyon and the Nฤ Pali Coast.
๐๏ธMamanuca IslandsFiji. A chain of about 20 islands west of Nadi; about seven are covered by the sea at high tide.
๐๏ธMauiUnited States. The second-largest Hawaiian island, topped by the volcano Haleakalฤ.
๐๏ธMelbourneAustralia. Known for its laneways and for the world's largest urban tram network.
๐๏ธQueenstownNew Zealand. A resort town on Lake Wakatipu, under a range called The Remarkables.
๐๏ธRarotongaCook Islands. The largest and most populous of the islands, 32 km around, with Te Manga at 658 m.
๐๏ธRotoruaNew Zealand. Known for geysers and hot mud pools, and for Mฤori culture.
๐๏ธRottnest IslandAustralia. An island 18 km west of Fremantle, and the home of the quokka.
๐๏ธSydneyAustralia. The Sydney Opera House, a World Heritage Site, stands on the harbour beside the Harbour Bridge.
๐๏ธTahitiFrench Polynesia. The highest and largest island of the territory; Mont Orohena rises to 2,241 m.
๐๏ธTongariro National ParkNew Zealand. The country's oldest national park, around the volcanoes Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.
๐๏ธUluruAustralia. A sandstone rock 348 m high that is sacred to the Anangu, in a World Heritage park.
๐บ๏ธWaitomo CavesNew Zealand. Caves lit by glowworms of a species found nowhere else.
๐๏ธWellingtonNew Zealand. Capital since 1865, on Cook Strait; no sovereign state has a capital farther south.
๐๏ธWhitsunday IslandsAustralia. 74 islands off the coast of Queensland, with Whitehaven Beach on the largest.
How this list was compiled: A list of 300 well-known places to travel to, written for this site. How the rows were chosen: places a traveller can name and book a trip around, spread over six continents (at least 25 cards each), at most 25 cards for any one country, at most 100 cities, 78 countries and territories in all. The continent follows where the ground is, not the flag: the Canary Islands, off the north-west coast of Africa, and Madeira, which its article places on the African plate, 520 km west of Morocco, are under Africa; Hawaii and Easter Island, both in Polynesia, are under Oceania; Istanbul, founded on the European side of the Bosphorus, is under Europe; the Azores stay under Europe and the Galรกpagos under South America. Each card's line was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article named in the card's x.src, read through the MediaWiki API (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php, prop=revisions and prop=coordinates); every number, date and superlative on a card had to appear in that article, and a claim that did not was cut. Two distances are unit conversions of the article's own figures: Fernando de Noronha, 191 nautical miles to 354 km, and Fish River Canyon, 100 miles to 160 km. Coordinates are the article's primary coordinates; ten articles carry none, and those come from the Wikidata item (P625), https://www.wikidata.org/ , checked 2026-09-19. Grand Canyon National Park's line is from the US National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm , and the other ten US national parks were also read against their nps.gov pages (yell, yose, zion, glac, grsm, acad, arch, ever, dena, havo); Banff, Jasper and Gros Morne were read against Parks Canada, https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff , https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper and https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne ; all checked 2026-09-19. World Heritage status is as stated in the article's UNESCO infobox or lead on that date. The Philippine terraces card is the World Heritage property of five clusters inscribed in 1995, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Terraces_of_the_Philippine_Cordilleras ; that article and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banaue_Rice_Terraces both say the Banaue terraces are not part of it, so the card is no longer titled Banaue. Chiloรฉ Island's 16 World Heritage churches are from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Chilo%C3%A9 ; both checked 2026-09-19. A rule of the list, not advice: on 2026-09-19 no card was in a country that the Government of Canada's travel advisories page, https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories , listed at 'Avoid non-essential travel' or 'Avoid all travel' for the whole country, and no card was inside a regional advisory at either of those levels on the country's own page, https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/ plus the country name, read that day for each of the 27 countries on the list that the advisories page marks 'with regional advisories'. Seven cards left the list on that screen: Havana, Trinidad and Viรฑales Valley (Cuba), Petra and Wadi Rum (Jordan) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates), whose countries stood at 'Avoid non-essential travel', and Copper Canyon, inside the regional advisory for the state of Chihuahua, which leaves out Chihuahua City only. Seven city cards took their places: Santiago, Montevideo, Bogotรก, Accra, Johannesburg, Auckland and Wellington. A place that an advisory names as left out keeps its card (Palenque, Lamu, Ladakh). An advisory for named neighbourhoods of a city, as in Rio de Janeiro, does not remove the city. Iguazu Falls is carried as an Argentine card: Brazil's page advises against non-essential travel within 20 km of its border with Paraguay and Argentina's page has no advisory for the area. Erg Chebbi stays: Morocco's page advises against all travel within 20 km of the Algerian border, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merzouga (checked 2026-09-19) puts the village beside the dunes about 50 km from that border. The screen, regional pages included, is run again at every refresh of the list. The list holds no prices, flight times, visa rules, safety ratings or best-month claims. Licence: own work (selection, kinds, trip types and wording); facts checked against Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0, facts only, no text copied), nps.gov and parks.canada.ca
How it works
This random travel destination generator deals three places from a checked list of 300: cities, islands, parks, heritage sites and coasts on six continents. Keep the one nobody argues about: take the other two away with ร and press again.
Read the full guide
A random travel destination picker for a group vote
Three cards make a ballot: take the losers away with ร and the next press replaces them. The Any trip dropdown narrows the pool, and More filters adds Continent, Kind and Country. Beach plus Oceania leaves 9 places, Mountains plus Africa 3. City break alone is a random city generator for vacation weekends: 49 cities, Porto and Hanoi among them. Your choices stay in the address, so a shared link opens on the same pool.
What a card leaves out
Each fact was read against the place's Wikipedia article or park service page in September 2026. There are no prices, flight times, visa rules or best months: a list checked once cannot keep those right. Victoria Falls is one card, though Zambia and Zimbabwe share it.
For a surprise trip, take away all but one card with ร and read only the fact aloud.
A random destination picker is fair only when nobody steers it: agree on the filters, then let one person press.
Set Show to 10 and the random travel generator deals a longlist to print and cross out until three are left.
Questions and answers
Why is Tenerife under Africa and Honolulu under Oceania?
A place is filed by where its ground lies, whatever flag flies there. Tenerife, Lanzarote and Madeira lie off north-west Africa. Honolulu and Easter Island are Polynesian, so they sit under Oceania. Istanbul is under Europe, the side of the Bosphorus where it was founded.
Is this a random country vacation generator or a city one?
Both. A random country generator for holiday plans stops at Japan; this list goes on to Kyoto, Nara and eight more places there. Its 300 cards cover 78 countries and territories and 91 are cities, so it doubles as a random city travel generator.
Does a card mean the place is safe to visit now?
No, and the list gives no advice. One screen is run at every refresh: on 19 September 2026 no card sat in a country or region where the Government of Canada advised against non-essential or all travel. Read your own government's advice before booking.