Famous cities of the world. Paris, France Paris

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong is impressive from many angles—beneath the towering skyscrapers, or from a ferry crossing Victoria Harbour—but you can see its finest side from the air. As your flight approaches the city, it feels like the mist parts and reveals a modern paradise, where hilly islands surround a concrete jungle. Best. Skyline. Ever.

Jerusalem, Israel

Long a place of religious pilgrimage, Jerusalem is now drawing a different sort of pilgrim: the global traveler. The city's monuments of faith—like the Western Wall or the Dome of the Rock—are still spectacular, of course; but the influx of design hotels and buzzy restaurants in open-air markets are reinventing Jerusalem from the ground up. It's amazing how a city that dates to the fourth millennium B.C. still manages to surprise us.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

There are few places that better capture the grand soul of maritime Old Europe than Dubrovnik. The city played King's Landing in Game of Thrones, and was formerly the capital of the Maritime Republic of Ragusa, rival to Italy's Venice and Amalfi. Dubrovnik's crown jewel is the lovely old town of Stari Grad, whose convents, palaces, and fountains were cut from the same lightly colored stone.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Beloved for its endless green hills and fascinating history, Edinburgh looks great in all seasons. Aside from its beautiful Gothic buildings, cobblestoned Royal Mile, and 12th-century castle keeping watch on a hilltop, it also happens to have an extinct volcano within its parameters.

Hamburg, Germany

Love the canals of Amsterdam and Venice? Germany’s second largest city reportedly has more than both cities—combined. Float through the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district and past the 19th-century Town Hall, or stay on dry land to tour the 170,000-square-foot, $1 billion Elbphilharmonie concert venue.

Jaipur, India