Bangkok is a city to overload the senses. Streets are crowded by tuk-tuks (motorized tri-shaws) and the occasional elephant weaving through congested traffic.

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.

Culture-seekers will be charmed be La Isla's heritage and history, from Old San Juan's charms to folk art and festivals in the outlying towns.

Coveted by empires and republics throughout its history, Innsbruck was the seat of the imperial court of Maximilian I by the end of the 15th century.