Lucca, a Tuscan city surrounded by remarkably intact Renaissance walls, offers more than just postcard views. Known for its quiet streets and grand piazzas, Lucca stands apart with its circular street layout, still following the lines of a Roman amphitheater from centuries ago. The walls, now repurposed as a 4-kilometer tree-lined park, are a favorite route for locals and visitors who explore them on foot or by bike, passing old bastions and panoramic viewpoints along the way.

Mpumalanga is a province in northeastern South Africa, stretching from the grass-covered Highveld to the subtropical Lowveld along the border with Mozambique and Eswatini. Its name means “place where the sun rises” in siSwati. The province is known for contrasting landscapes, including the escarpment, mountain forests, rolling grasslands, citrus farms, and wildlife-rich bushveld.

An island in the Iisselmeer until 1957 when it was linked to the mainland by a dike. Its unique houses are painted deep green and built on stilts to protect them against the raging sea.

Aït Benhaddou, located in southern Morocco along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh, is one of the country’s most iconic historic sites. This fortified village, or ksar, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is admired for its striking earthen clay architecture that rises dramatically from the desert landscape.

Granada, Nicaragua, founded in 1524, is one of the oldest European-established cities on the mainland of the Americas where visitors can explore cobblestone streets lined with brightly painted facades. The mustard-yellow Granada Cathedral dominates the central park and provides an easy reference point for those navigating the city on foot or by traditional horse-drawn carriage.