Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, sits in the Baltic Sea and feels like a world of its own. Its main town, Visby, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Northern Europe. Surrounded by a 3.5-kilometer stone wall with original towers still intact, Visby once served as a key Hanseatic trading hub. Visitors can walk along cobbled streets lined with rose-covered cottages, explore Gothic church ruins, and climb up the city wall for views over the harbor.

Stewart Island, known in Māori as Rakiura, lies off the southern coast of New Zealand and is the country’s third-largest island.

Chiang Dao is a mountain district in Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand, known for its limestone peaks, cave systems, and quiet agricultural valleys. The town sits beneath Doi Luang Chiang Dao, one of the highest mountains in Thailand, which shapes the landscape and daily life of the area.

Eigg is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, lying south of Skye and forming one of the four Small Isles. About five miles long and three miles wide, it combines a compact crofting landscape with beaches, moorland, woodland, cliffs, and volcanic formations. The island is community owned through the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, following a community buyout that placed its future under local control.

Home to Stirling Castle, Sterling, is a picturesque and historical town located in the heart of Scotland.