Riccione is sun-soaked and stylish, an ancient Italian settlement with modern, global flair. Located in the heart of the Eastern Riviera, this coastal destination is the perfect place to sip a cocktail while lounging on golden sands. At night, party people spill from the open-air discos onto the beach, creating a surreal sort of everlasting outdoor party. Zip down a slide at a water park, spin it up on a guided cycling tour, or visit the nearby Misano World Circuit racetrack for an unforgettable getaway.

Independent Black Forest locales dating back to medieval times, in 1971, Titisee and Neustadt (along with Rudenberg) banded together to form Titisee-Neustadt. (A few years later, nearby towns Langenordnach, Schwärzenbach and Waldau also joined the union.) Long known as a spa town, Titisee sits on the banks of the lake of the same name. Legend says the name came from Roman Emperor Titus, who was so taken by its beauty that he named it after himself. The area is great for hiking and winter sports.

For wine lovers, Reims is an essential stop on France’s Champagne trail, with big-name bubbly houses headquartered here among wide boulevards and well-preserved medieval churches. There’s plenty to toast to at Reims Cathedral, a coronation site for centuries of French monarchs.

If Aalborg were a house, the real estate agent would sell it as "loaded with potential." The 1,000-year-old city is Denmark’s fourth largest, and boasts a Viking past, over 300 restaurants, a casino, lively nightlife and great shopping. The zoo breeds rare Siberian Tigers, and the Waterland and Tivoliland make it a great place for families to visit. Aalborg isn’t a hotspot for foreigners, yet. But we’ll watch as the waterfront of this busy port continues to gentrify, with expectations it will be one in the future.

Stunning coral reefs and turquoise waters perfect for windsurfing have made Hurghada, on Egypt's Red Sea Coast, a busy resort town. Within easy reach of the stunning Giftun Islands and the Eastern Arabian Desert, Hurghada has seen enormous amounts of development in the past decade—and yes, it does seem overrun with tourists at times. But it’s a relatively easy beach escape for Europeans, and some of the world's best diving and snorkeling sites are just offshore. Walk or catch a cab to explore the old quarter, El Dahar.

Designated the capital city of Kazakhstan in the late 1990s, Nur-Sultan boasts a landscape glittering with new architecture and construction projects as the government infrastructure continues to be built. Old and new quarters of the city are divided by the Ishim River, with older, Soviet era structures on the north side while the governmental quarter and monuments like the monolithic Bayterek Tower spread out to the south. The central Avenue of the Republic is a hub of entertainment and business.