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.

South Beach, or SoBe, is Miami Beach's buzziest bit. The vibrant area, with its pastel-hued buildings, hip nightclubs, trendy shops and see-and-be-seen restaurants, attracts socialites and their satellites year-round.

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

Phuket offers a rainbow spectrum of spectacular vacation sights from blue lagoons and pink sunsets to orange-robed monks.