ABERDEEN -- Scotland's third-largest city (pop. 187,000) is characterized by buildings of beautiful white granite. Set beside the North Sea, Aberdeen is both a university town and the capital of the Scottish oil boom. It is also one of Scotland's largest seaside resorts (though its appeal is confined to those who like their water well-chilled).

Sète is a lovely port city in southern France, often called the "Venice of Languedoc" because of its many canals. The old port area is full of history and charm, making it a great place to explore. Visitors can stroll along the canals while observing the daily activities of fishermen and admire the array of boats moored along the quays.

Known as "The City with Soul," Jackson is a popular hub for a variety of music genres, including jazz, gospel, and blues music. Highlights include the Jackson Zoo, the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

Punakha sits in one of Bhutan’s most fertile valleys, cradled where the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu rivers meet. For centuries it served as the kingdom’s capital and remains a place rich with stories woven through its fields, temples, and riverbanks. The city’s low elevation brings warmer weather than much of Bhutan’s highland regions, and rice paddies fill the landscape with vivid green during planting and golden hues at harvest.

Shanghai is a city where contrasting timelines meet at every corner. Once a small fishing village along the Huangpu River, it grew rapidly during the 19th century into a major trading port. Today, its skyline tells a story of that transformation. On one side, the Bund’s colonial-era buildings stand tall in limestone and granite; on the other, the futuristic towers of Pudong, like the Shanghai Tower and Jin Mao, stretch into the clouds.