San Diego is often called "America’s Finest City," and for good reason. The eighth-largest city in the U.S. offers heaps of attractions, cultural experiences, and an undeniable cosmopolitan vibe. Despite its size, San Diego maintains a laid-back ambiance that is emblematic of Southern California, embodied by its friendly locals and the city's famously perfect climate. With temperatures hovering around the mid-70s (21°C) year-round and abundant sunshine, there is never a bad time to explore its world-renowned museums, indulge in 5-star dining, bask on its internationally acclaimed beaches, and revel in its exceptional hospitality.

Golden domes and shimmering spires peek out from the wooded hills rising above the wide Dnipro River. Leafy-green Kyiv, with its traffic-packed boulevards, shopping malls, countless churches, brilliant music and lively nightlife, has embraced capitalism, yet held firmly to its heritage. The Caves Monastery is the spiritual heart of Ukraine, and nearby, a gigantic Brezhnev-era Motherland statue bearing sword and shield casts her all-encompassing eye over the city, the river, and its island beaches.

Speaking of Parma, the first things that come to mind are probably the ham and Parmesan cheese. Indeed, Parma is one of the most important culinary centres of Italy — but this city is so much more than that. Parma was the capital of a very powerful duchy, which left a legacy of stunning monuments and palaces. In addition, the splendour of that period created fertile grounds for the flourishing of art. In fact, Parma became one of the main centres for opera, thanks to its amazing theatres and its fine citizen Giuseppe Verdi.

As testified by epic movies like Shogun and Ran, Nagoya City is pure history, centred around Nagoya Castle. It was Expo 2005 that put Nagoya on the world map. Post-Expo, Nagoya is positioning itself both as a centre for hi-tech industries and as a tourist gateway. Toyota Cars, old and new famed ceramics, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, dolls and robots castles, feudal villas and farmhouses pearls, and a plethora of shopping and nightlife spots await you in this not-so-obvious choice of a Japanese destination.

With its rich natural landscape, stunning scenery, and distinctive seasons, Sapporo would satisfy the explorer in any one of us. The capital of Hokkaidō, the most northern and second-largest island of Japan, was established in 1868; its vast open wilderness backed by magnificent mountains was highly appealing to the early settlers back then, just as much as to any visitor today.