If watching the sunrise from atop a 10,000-foot volcano, swimming under waterfalls, hiking through craters and luxuriating on white-, red- and even black-sand beaches sounds like paradise, then Maui awaits.

Venice makes you a believer in fairy tales. Cars are banned, so the only way to get around the 1,500-year-old city is by foot or by water.

Glamorous Santorini, in the southern Aegean's Cyclades islands, curves round a giant lagoon, a caldera left by a volcanic eruption.

The Disney influence is everywhere in the city that was reborn in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland. Formerly a sleepy suburban town, Anaheim today is a vibrant tourist center with fine dining, shopping, festivals, myriad attractions and a range of accommodations.