1. Boston [USA]

Boston is the largest city in New England, the capital of the state of Massachusetts, and one of the most historic, wealthy and influential cities in the United States of America.

The Back Bay is one of the few neighborhoods with streets organized on a grid. It is so named because it used to be mud flats on the river, until the city filled in the bay in a land-making project ending in 1862. It is now one of the higher-rent neighborhoods in the city.(more)

2. Brisbane [Australia]

Brisbane is the capital of the state of Queensland. It has a population of about 2 million people, and is the third-largest, and fastest growing, city in Australia.

For many thousands of years Aboriginal people have lived in what is now know as Brisbane. In 1823, John Oxley was the first English colonist to explore Brisbane, which was then selected by the colony of New South Wales as the location for a new gaol, intended to house dangerous prisoners in a remote location.(more)

3. Ellora Caves [India]

Ellora Caves are an impressive complex of rock shrines, representing the three different faiths of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, that were excavated between the 5th to the 13th centuries CE. The complex is located in Maharashtra State, about 24 km from Aurangabad.

The tourist attractions in Ajanta are undoubtedly the Ajanta and Ellora (link to Ellora page) caves, located near the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra and about 300 kilometres Northeast of the city of Mumbai.(more)

4. Florence [Italy]

Florence (Italian: Firenze) is the capital of the region of Tuscany in Italy, with a population of about 366,488. The city is considered a cultural, artistic and architectural gem. As elsewhere the price of Hotels in Florence has been climbing quickly in the last few years.

Florence is generally safe, but take precautions against the opportunistic thieves common to major tourist attractions - Pickpockets and purse snatchers.(more)

5. Guilin [China]

Guilin (桂林) is a city in Guangxi Region, China. Guilin is a scenic town and one of the best-known tourist destinations in China. The town center is surrounded by two rivers and four lakes and studded with shear sided karst mountains.

Guilin was founded as a trading post in the 1st century BC on the West bank of the Kuei River. During the Ming dynasty, a garrison was set up in Guilin and the surrounding area gradually civilised with the development of farmland.(more)

6. Istanbul [Turkey]

Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. Located on both sides of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, Istanbul bridges Asia and Europe both physically and culturally.

Istanbul is divided in three by the north-south Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Bogazi), the dividing line between Europe and Asia, the estuary of the Golden Horn (Haliç) bisecting the western part and the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) forming a boundary to the south.(more)

7. Mount Kinabalu [Malaysia]

Mount Kinabalu is located in Kinabalu Park in the Malaysian state of Sabah, some 80 km east of Kota Kinabalu. Mount Kinabalu is Borneo's tallest mountain. You can climb to the top of Low's Peak (4,095.2m or 13,435.7ft above sea level).

Mount Kinabalu is known to be one of the most accessible mountain's in the world. No specialized mountain climbing skills are required to ascend it. The trail that most tourists use is described as a 'trek and scramble'.(more)

8. Paris [France]

Paris has the reputation of being the most beautiful and romantic of all cities, brimming with historic associations and remaining vastly influential in the realms of culture, art, fashion, food and design. Dubbed the City of Light (la Ville Lumière), it is the most popular tourist destination in the world.

Although known as the fashion capital, Paris is actually quite conservative in dress. Dressing this way in certain Arrondissements, you may attract unwanted attention.(more)

9. Salamanca [Spain]

Salamanca is a town of around 150,000 inhabitants situated in western central Spain. It is the capital of Salamanca province, which is itself part of the autonomous region of Castile and Leon.

The city is not too big to see on foot, especially the main attractions, which are all quite close to one another. For slightly longer journeys there are taxis, and numerous bus routes - tickets are cheap, and you can buy them directly from the driver on board.(more)

10. Taipei [Taiwan]

Taipei (台北 or 臺北; Táiběi) is the national capital of the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan. It is located in the northern part of the island in a basin between the Yangming Mountains and the Central Mountains.

In order to cope with the influx of millions of mainland refugees, temporary housing estates sprang up all around the city. Later, these were replaced by Soviet-era style (or 'no-style') concrete apartment buildings.(more)