Hattusas UNESCO site and Hittite Empire capital ● haunting medieval ruins of Ani with thousand church spires ● cliff-hanging Sumela Monastery in Pontic Mountains ● Lake Van boat excursion to Akdamar Island's Armenian church ● King Antiochus's audacious mountaintop monument at Nemrut Dag ● Göbeklitepe, the world's oldest temple complex predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years

Cliff-hanging Chozoviotissa Monastery above Amorgos's dramatic coastline ● ancient marble kouroi statues abandoned in Naxos quarries for 2,500 years ● traditional granite boulder village of Volax with handwoven basket artisans ● spectacular Imbros Gorge descent through towering limestone walls ● pristine Balos Lagoon with turquoise waters and Venetian fortress ruins ● authentic Greek cooking class featuring traditional island recipes

Albania: little visited & unknown ● Roman sites of Butrint and Appolonia ● Rugged mountain scenery ● Distinct culture, history ● Ohrid, North Macedonia - World Heritage Site

Mysterious Machu Picchu-a must see! ● Exploring Cuzco and the "Sacred Valley of the Incas" ● Colourful Chinchero & Pisac markets ● The Floating Islands of Puno ● Sacred island of the Sun

Cappadocia's fairy chimneys and cave churches with underground city of Derinkuyu ● Rose Valley and Ihlara Gorge walks through volcanic formations ● Lycian Way coastal sections from Kayaköy ghost village to Butterfly Valley ● UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Xanthos and Letoon ● Patara's ancient Lycian capital and 18-kilometre beach ● Chimera's eternal flames and Phaselis's three harbours

The Sistine Chapel at a pace that allows actual contemplation ● Michelangelo's David and the Uffizi without summer's crush ● Ravenna's Byzantine mosaics — the Western world's most spectacular outside Istanbul, and chronically underrated ● Giotto's revolutionary frescoes from Assisi to Padova — the arc of Western art's greatest turning point ● Cinque Terre by boat and on foot ● Siena's medieval lanes and San Gimignano's towers, unchanged since the 13th century ● Venice by vaporetto, on foot, and at the pace the city rewards

Helsinki's Temppeliaukio rock church and Suomenlinna fortress ● Stockholm's Vasa Museum and Nobel Prize halls ● overnight Baltic Sea ferries ● Copenhagen's Rosenborg Castle and canal cruise ● Oslo's Viking Ship Museum ● Flåm Railway and Nærøyfjord cruise ● Bergen's Hanseatic wharf

Sapporo city touring ● Ainu cultural experiences at Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Museum and hands-on cuisine ● Scenic countryside touring in Furano and Biei ● Relaxing at an onsen resort ● Exploring Jigokudani's geothermal wonders ● Riding the bullet train and visiting historic Hirosaki Castle

World-class whale watching in nutrient-rich Atlantic waters ● Emerald crater lakes and geothermal springs in volcanic calderas ● Madeira's ingeniously terraced mountainsides and subtropical "floating garden" ● Unique Guanche heritage blending with Spanish island culture ● Endemic flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth ● Dramatic volcanic panoramas from Teide's peaks to Lanzarote's lunar landscapes