If you’re after a winter sports holiday, you can’t find a more gorgeous place to do it than Interlaken, the popular Swiss resort town. There’s superlative skiing, toboggan rides, miles of sledding tracks (which, like the ski slopes, vary in difficulty), snowboarding… all with amazing views of the mountains. In summer, hike among the ibex at nearby Neiderhorn, or shop for watches in the town’s boutiques.

This Swiss winter wonderland is also a summer playground. Snow-frosted peaks tower above charming towns and villages like Interlaken. Its position, between lakes Thun and Brienz, makes it a perfect base for cable-car rides up Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, or for hikes from the traditional village of Grindelwald. Thun offers exciting summer diving and sailing. To the west, the glitzy resort town of Gstaad attracts Europe's wealthy. The Jungfrau Railway boasts Europe's highest station. The region is accessible by bus or car.

A magnet for skiers and hikers, these dramatic peaks – including the iconic Matterhorn – range from 3,000 to 15,000 feet and spread across three-fifths of the country. Abundant glaciers, scenic valleys and gorgeous alpine lakes add to the region's visual appeal. The Glacier Express train travels the 7.5-hour route through the Swiss Alps from Zermatt to St. Moritz, passing through fairy-tale villages and over 291 bridges along the way.

The majestic Austrian Alps stretch across the country, an awe-striking area of Ice Age valleys, verdant heaths and alluvial cones within Europe's largest national park, 700-square-mile Hohe Tauern. Taking in the dramatic cities of Salzburg and Innsbruck and the beautiful province of Tirol, home to spectacular skiing and hiking, as well as Gross Glockner, Austria's highest peak, and some of the world's best winter and summer sports playgrounds, the Austrian Alps are an outdoor lover's paradise.

Colmar is a photographer's dream, with its labyrinth of cobbled lanes, flower-lined canals, and timber-framed houses painted in a rainbow of pastel hues. It's the quintessential Alsatian town, brimming with traditional restaurants and surrounded by vineyards and medieval castles.

A popular budget holiday destination on the Costa Brava, the former fishing village of Lloret de Mar offers an appealing climate, great scenery and wealth of competitive accommodations. Visit the narrow streets of the Old Town and sites such as Can Xardo and Can Comadran, or take to the waves in Water World or sailing, parasailing or kayaking on the Mediterranean. A handful of excellent beaches round out the offerings of this Catalonian family resort, easily reached by car from Barcelona.

Clarksville, Tennessee, in Montgomery County, is a bustling city built by the tobacco trade. The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, in the city's historic district, was originally constructed as a US Post Office during the tobacco boom. Now it has been converted into art gallery, history center, and hands-on children's museum. Just outside of town is the Dunbar Cave State Park, where visitors can hike through caverns that were once mined for gun powder and used for big band concerts.