Historic and modern, European and Asian — that's Istanbul. The city at the junction of two continents is home to ancient structures like the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in the Old City, as well as modern businesses, hotels, restaurants and nightlife in the New City.

Three of the world’s top sites beckon from this bustling and vibrant city in Uttar Pradesh, once the capital of the mighty Mughal empire.

This Red Sea resort town on the tip of the Sinai peninsula offers world-class diving with spectacular reefs, magnificent drop-offs and shipwrecks waiting to be explored.

Paphos, the capital of western Cyprus, has some serious historical clout. Site of the vast fourth-century BC Tombs of the Kings, set high on a cliff above the sparkling sea, as well as a dramatic Byzantine castle and fine mosaics, it's also known as the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite.