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Its city center was the 20th century’s first urban complex classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Despite the complexities of life, a couple finds Wellfleet, Mass., to be just like it was before they had kids.
With a hired crew, a group of friends docked at the rugged, off-the-map places cruise ships couldn’t go.
Even with a tight focus on cuisine, this traveler finds one common ingredient in Taiwan: Drama with China.
An assortment of pubs that are big on personality but leave out the preciousness and pretentiousness.
In this dense Brazilian metropolis, you can laze on uncrowded white-sand beaches and trek lush forests.
Be a paleontologist for a day at one of North America’s most fertile sources of prehistoric fossils.
This snowbird combined skiing during the day with a chance to catch a live symphony or pro basketball game at night.
Colorful, lively, exotic: Miami’s exile enclave has more in common with La Habana than you might think.
In a state known for the stunning beauty of the Tetons and Yellowstone, Casper Mountain can be (unjustly) overlooked.
The Turneffe Atoll is a pristine paradise, but what lurks beneath the calm azure waters is a new kind of diving adventure.
Sonoma and Napa counties suffered minor damage in the October wildfires, with only a few attractions still closed.
The archipelago mixes the styles of past colonial powers with the colors and textures of the African culture.
A visitor treks to four national parks on this teeming island in three days. Iguanas and turtles and dolphins, oh my!
This clan has found the ideal mix of respite, natural beauty and activities for three generatons in the Tucson desert.
The Gainesville, Fla., park is teeming with wildlife — not only the iconic gators, but also bison, wild horses and cattle.
A survivor marks her “cancer graduation” by attempting to go from the South Rim to the North Rim and back.
The Greater World Community’s off-the-grid properties are the only Earthship Biotecture homes available for sleepovers.
After a daunting diagnosis, a writer gets past her aversion to yoga and learns what it means to relax.
The visitor’s experience at the city’s gleaming, high-tech observation tower is ultimately about looking forward.
The Silver Ball Museum has a trove of old, new and very rare machines on display — no quarters necessary.
Dublin is broadening its homey tea culture to embrace punchier varieties in sleek, new settings, all appealing to younger drinkers.
The city’s bike-share program offers a fun, manageable way to take in the city’s newly revived waterfront.
The wildlife park creates a (mostly) safe haven for nesting birds and a rare opportunity for their admirers.
From the Great Wall to the surreal Window of the World theme park, this visitor's experience reflected the complexity of the vast country.
Margate — and Dreamland, the newly reopened amusement park at its center — has undergone a resurgence in recent years.
Maggie Daley Park, the Virgin Hotel and the 606 bring fresh life, art and cheeky humor to the Windy City.
Welcome to Springfield, Illinois, where there are more Lincoln sites than anywhere else in the nation.
The author was afraid the views wouldn't live up to her childhood memories. But they awed her even more.
A Washington journalist is guided by the evocative memoir of an American who served in England in WWII.
Making the coveted dessert — called shave ice, not shaved — is a science and an art that draws long lines of tourists and locals.
A longtime visitor leaves the beaten path for three very different locales: Bad Schallerbach, Gmunden and Kaprun.
The Sunshine State is a relative newcomer to the boom, but its quality of hooch and hospitality captures many a patron.
After the daytime visitors have left, California Academy of Sciences reopens for the second shift of explorers.
While most of the 3 million annual visitors to the national park head in via busy Estes Park, I’ve found a sweet spot to the west.
Sarasota county’s 29,000-acre Myakka River State Park boasts birds, reptiles and one of the country’s few treetop walks.
For two extreme — and magical — weeks, 300 hardy souls make their separate ways across the Highlands.
In the village of San Juan La Laguna, female-owned co-ops are changing lives in families and the community.
Marking retirement with an epic, three-week, 983-mile bike ride through England, Wales and Scotland.
Far outside Beijing, a different view of the nation emerges along the less-polished segments of the famed wall.
In addition to its breathtaking natural beauty, the CT provides several opportunities to hitchhike to a fantastic IPA and a pizza.
The busy old bridge offers one of the most authentic New York City experiences I know — and it’s free.
Breezewood, a Pennsylvania crossroads town, isn’t known for long stays or luxe accommodations. But it has its charms.
The best dining in the Swedish capital includes pastries and unexpected uses of traditional ingredients.
France’s collection of art and artifacts illustrating the impact of new arrivals celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Seek out the singular marsupials at the country's national parks, conservation reserves and state forests.
With lakeside strolls, a sophisticated food scene and an open-air market, relaxing is easy in this trendy town.
Mannheim pulls out all of the stops as it remembers the inventor who came up with the forebear of the ubiquitous two-wheeler.
Chandi Chowk fills shopper’s bags with scarves, skirts, spices and much more. And don’t forget: haggle!
It's a great time to visit, as the region digs deeper into its history — and adds a modern twist.
Set within the 80-acre Frogner Park, Vigelandsanlegget attracts more than a million visitors a year.
Local consignment and vintage stores fill their racks with top labels at (sort of) affordable prices.
Two-hundred miles from Washington, this family-owned retreat features the most varied terrain and highest vertical drop in the state.
The Mütter Museum, while not for the squeamish, is a fascinating repository of all things anatomical.
An exploration of the country’s culinary tradition from Porto to Lisbon leads to a discovery of new flavors along the way.
Tour the castle where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria spent his last days before departing for Sarajevo.
Visitors can travel back in time to the day when President John F. Kennedy said “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
A sail to Russia’s historic showplace offers perspective on how things have changed since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
A weekend of gastronomic delights proves that a sweet tooth and a savory-foods lover can dine happily together.
A transcontinental train trip across the Great White North reveals all of the charms of the world’s second-largest country.
A new high-speed train from Tokyo makes Kanazawa — and its historic structures — much more accessible.
“Paddle the ice” tourism is not only a get-away-from-it-all proposition, but a get-it-while-you-can experience.
A multigenerational group of vacationers finds attractions for youngsters amid adult-only activities.
Meandering the Severn River without an itinerary, or a financial anchor to my own boat, on the Woodwind II.
An exploration of Teddy Roosevelt’s home, where bison now roam, and pronghorns and prairie dogs play.
France’s first floating hotel and the largest urban regeneration project since Baron Haussmann revolutionized Paris await visitors there.
Float here for a tiny paradise of peace. If you want excitement, or just good food, downtown Portland is 3 miles away.
Fans can savor Georgian splendor in the English city where the beloved novelist left a lasting impression.
Aigues-Mortes, the fortress built by Saint Louis on the Mediterranean, symbolized both piety and power.
This small town, 90 minutes away from Dublin, offers a glimpse of everyday life on the Emerald Isle.
A short train ride from Paris, visitors can enter a serene but spectacular Eden cultivated by the impressionist artist.
Conch becomes delectable (finally), mac-and-cheese is at its creamiest and cake takes a shot of rum on the “Bites of Nassau” walk.
Where pedals meet mettle: Expanding the definition of “Real Bicycle People” on a two-week tour Down Under.
The private nonprofit that owns the tiny island uses tourism to support protection of its stunning reef.
New Norcia, founded more than a century and a half ago, is one of the state’s most unlikely tourist destinations.
The Arizona Raft Adventures trip was the experience of a lifetime — and some of these lifetimes were pretty long.
Knitters aboard the J.& E. Riggin put down their needles long enough to raise the anchor and hoist the sails.
In unfamiliar and beautiful new surroundings, a family gets to know one another in entirely different ways.
Wild to mild: On a pristine barrier island off of Georgia, a family ends a camping trip with a stay at a luxury inn.
A harrowing trip by mule will take visitors to a place of heartbreaking history and staggering beauty.
In the “Melville Triangle,” visitors learn about the author’s life and work — and, of course, whales.
The ultimate university town’s idiosyncratic delights, from history to architecture to music. And the bells, bells, bells.
North Beach is the locals’ Miami: family-friendly and packed with cheap eats and lots to see and do.
The “Whaling Capital of the World,” is everything a travel destination should be: distinct, historic and just a little difficult to get to.
Visiting a son or daughter studying abroad is one of the great parent rituals of the college experience.
On the writer’s visit, there was no sun, but lots of color, on the Turkish side of this Mediterranean island.
Swill the real stuff in the picturesque town of Marion, Va., also home to the General Francis Marion Hotel.
The historic landmark now includes 30,000 square feet of new open space, including an outdoor pavilion.
We’re not celebrities. But we still got giant tortoises, coco de mer palms, and an exotic cultural mash-up.
Tha park is one of the few tourist destinations in the country that hasn’t been slathered in commercialism.
Bass fishing in its natural and man-made lakes is one of the Magic Kingdom’s lesser-known attractions.
A night at the theater with the Vagabond Players, 99 years old and counting, highlights a weekend getaway.
Exploring the New York town that started women on the road to political rights (and might have inspired a film classic).
In Australia’s most picturesque state, a 29-mile track takes in some of its most stunning coastline.
Word hasn’t yet gotten out about how easy it is to get to this island, which has black sand beaches and volcanoes.
Weird geology that forces you onto all fours is the lure at this remote spot in the northeast corner of the state.
In the English Channel, the tiny isles of Sark, Herm and Alderney go deep on history and high on wildlife.
After hiking and kayaking, Colorado’s natural soaks may have therapeutic benefits and help relieve stress.
On the 100th anniversary of the Dutch modern-art movement de Stijl, two museums put a renewed spotlight on a 20th-century master.
From the traditional rose cream to the newest bean-to-bar boutique, the city is rich with proper sweetshops.
It doesn’t have the big-city buzz of Stockholm, or even the gritty sprawl of Gothenburg, but it is older and more charming than both.
Portugal’s Madeira, off the North African coast, offers inn-to-inn hiking on remote, high-elevation paths.
Sure, you could get to Steel City in four hours from D.C. But the scenic way is as delicious as the destination.
Top features of the North Carolina town include tree-lined trails, tasty barbecue and truly nice folks.
Catching the giant, acrobatic tarpon on a fly rod weighing less than three ounces is fishing’s pinnacle.
Tourism is evolving in the Ecuadorian archipelago, as more visitors choose to immerse themselves in island life.
On a visit to his son in the Peace Corps, a father explores Salento in the country's coffee-growing region.
The geothermal activity in and around “Sulphur City” includes hot springs, prismatic pools and shooting geysers.
Janes Island State Park — only accessible by boat — preserves more than six miles of pristine beaches.
She may not have won the TV competition, but Nina Compton became an overnight celebrity on the island.
Mexico made us a little nervous, but this charming, surprisingly friendly coastal destination won our hearts.
The city has charm, canals and a piece of the Tour de France. And don’t forget its world-famous bunny.
Visitors flock to Kiruna, a small town in the Lapland region, hoping to see — or hear? — aurora borealis.
The area’s stunning variety of walks came with an unexpected bonus — surprisingly personal conversations with complete strangers.
Portillo, a resort favored by die-hard skiers, offers spectacular runs, a heated pool and Olympic company.
Before Mount Vernon: Sites from George Washington’s childhood and early life dot the state of Virginia.
Gorges. Trampolines. Bat Boy. Finding a re-created childhood, and Americana, in the West Virginia mountains.
Beyond the vroom of IndyCars, a vibrant arts and culture scene make for an energizing treasure hunt in Indiana’s capital city.
Today’s tourists aren’t just trudging through Civil War battlefields — they’re kayaking the James River’s rapids and sampling fare from a flourishing food scene.
The Gros Ventre River valley and its Goosewing dude ranch give visitors a mix of adrenaline and nature’s simple pleasures.
With revitalized neighborhoods and a ramped-up food culture, Alabama’s largest city boldly returns to the stage and sings to a bigger audience.
The country’s 15th largest city, chock full of creativity and innovation thanks to an influx of youthful residents, gives up its secrets.
In perhaps Nebraska’s most innovative and entrepreneurial city, the changes are balanced by the constants: music, art, cuisine — and, of course, Warren Buffett.
A sleepy North Carolina coastal town turned out to be the backdrop for cinema trivia and microbrew-fueled fun.
Two nature lodges nestled in the lush cloud forest of Ecuador offer a shot to see rare and threatened species.
The city celebrates Easter, but not so much that you can’t enjoy the culture that makes the city worthwhile to visit any time of year.
With a blend of small-town charm and big-city sophistication, the home of the University of Michigan is a study in attractive opposites.
Yes, potatoes lurk beneath the surface of everything, but Idaho’s capital city is so much more, blooming with artsy and independent delights.
Forget the reservations in this bikable capital city in the shadow of the Appalachians, full of creative chefs and artists — and devoid of teeming masses.
A Tennessee city firmly rooted in the past keeps moving on with new music in historical buildings, vintage guitars in a modern museum and a river’s unchanging beauty running through it.
Residents of this aging Southern mill town knew it still had life in it. It took decades of hard work, but today it surprises visitors with its low-key culture and high-wattage charm.
Wisconsin’s largest city welcomes visitors with lake views, stellar food, never-ending brews and a hearty dose of Midwestern niceness.
It may have a solid Old West legacy, but the future keeps bringing updates to the city — including walkable neighborhoods (with a streetcar on the way) and ever-changing public art — while it manages to maintain its strongest traditions.
This buried treasure in Arizona has all the accoutrements of modern living — sights, boutiques and fine foods — for when the coyotes and cactuses just aren’t enough.
Sniffing out the country’s dog-friendliest locale, the writer and her beagle consider the mountain town.
The Farallon Islands are teeming with wildlife, inlcuding at least 25 endangered and threatened species.
In ‘Happy Valley,’ two influences are impossible to miss — mountains and Mormons. It wouldn’t exist without the first, and its culture and cuisine wouldn’t be remotely the same without the second.
With two World Heritage sites, a cultural awakening and world-class cuisine, the city comes into its own.
This progressive point on the Research Triangle is brimming with public spaces full of art and a subtle sense of coolness.
Telling the stories of the English, Native American and African women who played key parts in Virginia’s founding.
Knepp Castle, once a hunting ground for Britain’s kings, is now a bustling attraction for ecotourists.
A chippy lover pinpoints the original shop (long gone) and samples many more, including a vegan option.
The site of royal burials and weddings also houses monuments to British greats from Chaucer to Hawking.
Yes, it gets some snow. Okay, a lot of it. But the newly hot city in Upstate New York — full of sports enthusiasts, restaurateurs and makers — knows exactly what to do with itself in any kind of weather.
While the city’s cable cars are more famous, its vintage streetcar line is one of the best ways to see the City by the Bay.
The bucolic Kentucky city is fiercely proud of its omnipresent horses and bourbon, but modernity is creeping in.
As a teen, she coveted its chunky silver jewelry. As an adult, she treated herself to a meal in its Instagram-friendly Blue Box Cafe.
Author Steve Dolinsky visited 185 restaurants during the year he spent researching the city’s best pizza.
The lake, which sits at the mouth of Cascade Canyon, attracts more visitors than any other part of the park.
In addition to studios, the eight-stop trail includes vistas that inspired Thomas Cole, Frederic Church and others.
In the Pacific Northwest, a capital city that long has marched to the beat of its own drum manages to maintain its groove amid plenty of changes.
As genealogy rises in popularity, more tourists are being inspired to explore their ancestral homelands.
Some of the best meals are found away from the excesses of the Strip, in the surrounding mini-malls.
A yearning for Provence inspires a surprisingly successful scavenger hunt for a Rochester transplant.
A historical hotel provides a link to the past and a base camp to explore the city’s charming present.
Locally sourced ice and other original touches distinguish the capital city’s burgeoning food scene.
Ceremonies, exhibits and events memorializing the American fallen are scheduled throughout the First World War’s centennial year.
The walkout at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville marked the start of the battle for equal education.
Hurricane Irma devastated much on land, but it did wonders for the undersea landscape in the Florida Keys.
A Scandinavian sense ties together a community and a city with a lot more to see than snow — and that woodchipper.
Neighborhoods where Catholics and Protestants clashed for decades are marked by barbed wire — and art.
Pick your point of entry: A visitor’s guide to events and attractions on and off the storied elevated park.
From sunburn to Gore-Tex on a nine-day wilderness hike across one of the island’s largest expanses of ice-free terrain.
Spain’s Cordoba, Seville and Granada showcase a striking blend of Moorish and Christian architecture.
Checking out Gulliver’s Gate, the NFL Experience, National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey and Spyscape.
The concise Colorado city certainly does things its own way. But it’s hard not to like a perpetually sunny place with open spaces for athleisure and a month dedicated to beer.
With quirky food creations, sprawling green parks, a City Museum unlike any other — and, of course, that Arch — the Gateway City is a fun place to play.
The history-rich Georgian mansion in Massachusetts was the setting for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name.
The island off the east coast of Africa is home to plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world.
The country’s charm proved timeless as I followed the Oum er Rbia river from the ocean to its source.
The city’s stunning new Musee de la Romanite is the latest addition to a city rife with Roman grandeur.
The city was named by the Marquis de Lafayette in the days of the Revolution because it reminded him of the port city in France.
Yes, the wealthy enclave has some places where you can afford to dine while watching out for millionaires — and restaurant investor Michael Jordan.
Sustainable wildlife tourism programs in South Africa raise funds and awareness for rhino conservation.
Along the state’s celebrated Highway 12, scenery, switchbacks and a restaurant worth a side trip to the middle of nowhere.
The influence of Mexico is impossible to miss, but its own quirks and charms in cuisine and culture set this border town apart.
The country’s only Thai Town offers plenty of regional takes on a oft-fiery, always flavorful cuisine.
A fan undertakes a Bowie-centric walking tour that begins in Manhattan and ends at the Brooklyn Museum exhibit.
A mother and daughter balance relaxing and exploring — and searching for George Clooney — at Italy’s famed vacation destination.
St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle is a familiar, and less grandiose, locale for the prince’s nuptials.
A Virginia city stuck in the middle is full of superlatives, with noted architecture, natural wonders (white water inside its confines!) and thriving scenes involving food and the arts.
A National Outdoor Leadership School course in the Marlborough Sounds combines adventure and education.
California’s capital emerges from a lengthy stretch of small stature to become a spotlight city where the gold nuggets aren’t hard to mine.
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About this project
Illustrations by Christopher DeLorenzo for The Washington Post. Design and development by Danielle Rindler, Matthew Callahan and Jason Bernert. Text by Andrea Sachs. Production by Alexa McMahon and Nicole Arthur.
Originally published May 17, 2018.
A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the location of an article about Northern Cyprus as Larnaca, Greece.
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