Famed throughout Asia for its heady mix of eastern cultures, Penang Island is Malaysia’s prime melting pot. Roadside vendors serve some of the world’s best street food; its national parks offer white-sand beaches and wildlife; and UNESCO-listed George Town is full of colorful heritage houses.

Miri is a terrific base for exploring Borneo’s spectacular rainforests and alpine meadows. Here you’ll find four National Parks, each with its own distinct drawing power: Gunung Mulu is teeming with caves and limestone formations; Niah was the discovery site of prehistoric human remains; Lambir Hills features stunning waterfalls and wildlife; and Loagan Bunut is ideal for hiking and birdwatching.

Having survived thousands of years of successive civilizations from the Egyptians, Greco-Romans, Muslims, Crusaders, Mongols, Ottomans and French to the modern Arab era, Damascus is one of the most resilient and historic cities on Earth. Its ruins lay up to 8 feet deep under its surface and the Old City is home to Roman era ramparts, gates, the Umayyad Mosque and legendary churches including the Chapel of St. Paul. Bab Sharqi and the Souk Medhat Pasha lay on a street dating to biblical times.

Belgrade's long and storied history is suggested by its architecture, which varies from Byzantine and Ottoman to neoclassic and romantic buildings in the older neighborhoods, and from Art Nouveau to brutalism and neo-Byzantine design in New Belgrade. The city's many theaters, museums, monuments and opera houses boast a deep and fissured cultural life while the beaches and rivers attract sunbathers, sports enthusiasts and partygoers on the popular floating river barges that serve as nightclubs.

Tallinn's atmospheric Old Town is an enthralling hotchpotch of medieval streets and spires. It's a small city, and the tourist areas are safe and easily explored on foot. Buy a Tallinn Card if you intend to use buses, trolleybuses or trams. For a look into Tallinn's past, visit Rocca-al-Mare Open Air Museum's typical rural Estonian taverns, windmills and watermills, see the onion-domed 1900 cathedral or join the bustle in historic Town Hall Square. St Olav's spire was once the tallest in the world.