History & culture destinations

Abu Simbel is a pair of rock temples cut for Ramesses II in the thirteenth century BC near the Sudanese border, fronted by four seated colossi over twenty metres high. The whole complex was cut apart and moved uphill in the 1960s to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser. Visits run by road convoy or short flight from Aswan.

Lisbon

A 16th-century fortress on the Tagus, symbol of Portugal's age of discovery.

Borobudur is a ninth-century Buddhist monument built as a stepped stone mandala, with more than 2,600 relief panels and 500 Buddha statues arranged over nine platforms. Visitors climb through the levels as a symbolic path, and access to the upper terraces is now capped and guided to protect the stone. Volcanoes stand on the horizon in every direction.

Cappadocia is a plateau of soft volcanic tuff eroded into valleys, cones and ridges, which people have carved into churches, houses and entire underground cities since Byzantine times. Balloon flights at dawn are the signature activity, weather permitting, and hiking between the valleys is free and straightforward. Göreme is the usual base.

Rome

The Flavian Amphitheatre, opened in AD 80. Timed tickets required; combine with the Roman Forum. Built under the Flavian emperors Vespasian and Titus, it held an estimated 50,000 spectators for gladiator games and public spectacles. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering Rome's historic centre, alongside the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.

Eger is a Baroque town in the hills of northern Hungary, known for the castle that held out against an Ottoman siege in 1552 and for the Egri Bikavér red blend. Cellars cut into the rock of the Szépasszony valley on the edge of town pour directly from the barrel. The centre is small, walkable and noticeably cheap.

Ephesus was one of the largest cities of the Roman east, and what survives includes a marble main street, the two-storey facade of the Library of Celsus and a theatre seating around 24,000. The terrace houses, under a separate cover and ticket, preserve mosaics and wall painting from wealthy homes. Shade is limited, so early or late visits are better.

Kyoto

Thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing Mount Inari. The full loop takes two hours. The head shrine of the Shinto god Inari is famous for thousands of vermilion torii gates covering the trails up Mount Inari. The gates are gifts from individuals and businesses. The full loop to the summit takes a few hours.

Gotland lies three hours by ferry from the mainland and holds Visby, a medieval Hanseatic port still enclosed by its 3.4-kilometre wall. Beyond the town, the island is farmland, limestone coast, sheep pasture and raukar sea stacks eroded into columns. Cycling is the usual way to cover it, and the season peaks sharply in July.

Bangkok

The royal complex and Wat Phra Kaew. Strict dress code: shoulders and knees covered.

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a millennium, and the evidence is spread across the modern town: grass-covered royal tombs in public parks, an eighth-century observatory, and temple complexes in the surrounding hills. Bulguksa temple and the Seokguram grotto above it are the major UNESCO sites. The town is flat and easy by bicycle.

Hallstatt is a lakeside village pressed between a steep salt mountain and the Hallstätter See, with houses stacked along a narrow shelf of land. Salt has been mined above it for more than 3,000 years, and the mine and its funicular are the main reason to go up. The village is very small and receives large day-trip numbers, so early morning or an overnight stay changes the experience completely.

Kinderdijk holds nineteen windmills built around 1740 to drain the polder below sea level, and they remain in their working landscape of dykes and reservoirs. Two mills are open as museums showing how millers lived, and a footpath and cycle route run the length of the canal between them. The waterbus from Rotterdam is the most direct approach.

Kutná Hora grew rich on silver in the Middle Ages and spent the money on a Gothic cathedral dedicated to the miners' patron saint. The town also holds the Sedlec ossuary, where the bones of about 40,000 people are arranged into chandeliers and coats of arms. Both sites plus the old town make a comfortable day from Prague.

Lamu is a Swahili town on an island off Kenya's northern coast, inhabited continuously since the twelfth century and built of coral stone with carved wooden doors. There are no cars: transport is by donkey or by dhow between the island villages. Shela beach, a walk or boat ride from the town, runs for twelve kilometres.

Cusco

The 15th-century Inca citadel above the Urubamba valley. Entry is by timed circuit and sells out weeks ahead.

Meteora is a cluster of sandstone pillars in central Greece topped by six working Orthodox monasteries, reachable by road and by footpaths between the rocks. Sunset from the western viewpoints is the signature moment, but walking the old monks' trails is the better way to see it. Kalambaka below has train connections from Athens and Thessaloniki.

A medieval abbey stacked on a tidal island off the Normandy coast, with a single spiral street climbing between houses to the church at the top. The bay has one of the largest tidal ranges in Europe, so the causeway, the light and the surrounding sand change completely through the day. Staying nearby lets you see it in early morning before the day groups arrive.

Ludwig II's nineteenth-century castle stands on a rock spur above the village of Hohenschwangau, facing the Alps and two lakes. The interior is visited only on timed guided tours booked ahead, and the classic view is from the Marienbrücke footbridge across the gorge behind it. It is a long day trip from Munich by train and bus.

Pamukkale is a hillside of white travertine terraces formed by calcium-rich hot springs, walked barefoot along a marked route to protect the surface. On the plateau above sits Hierapolis, a Greco-Roman spa city with a large theatre and a necropolis. The two are a single ticketed site and take half a day together.

The Middle Rhine between Bingen and Koblenz runs for 65 kilometres between terraced vineyards and some forty castles, and is listed by UNESCO for that combination. River ferries, a riverside rail line and the Rheinsteig hiking trail all follow the same corridor, so it can be travelled by boat, train or on foot. Bacharach and Sankt Goar are practical bases.

Cusco

Megalithic Inca walls on the hill above Cusco, included in the tourist ticket.

Tokyo

Tokyo's oldest temple, approached through the lantern-hung Nakamise shopping street in Asakusa. Free to enter and busiest mid-morning. Founded in the 7th century, Senso-ji is Tokyo's oldest temple. It is approached through the Kaminarimon gate and along Nakamise-dori, a street of traditional snack and souvenir stalls.

Sigiriya is a granite monolith rising 180 m out of the plain, with a 5th-century royal citadel on top, frescoes halfway up and water gardens at the base. The climb takes around ninety minutes with the crowds and is best started at opening. Pidurangala rock opposite gives the view back towards it for a fraction of the ticket price.

The Soča runs turquoise the whole way from the Julian Alps to the Italian border, and the valley around Bovec and Kobarid is the country's adventure centre: rafting, canyoning, kayaking and paragliding. It is also the ground of the Isonzo Front, and the Kobarid museum and outdoor trails explain the mountain war in detail. Roads over the Vršič pass connect it to Kranjska Gora in summer.

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal between 1632 and 1653, set in a formal charbagh garden on the Yamuna in Agra. Inlaid stone work covers the surfaces, and the symmetry only breaks at the emperor's own later tomb inside. It is closed on Fridays and busiest immediately after opening.

Tikal was one of the most powerful Maya cities, and its temple pyramids still rise above the rainforest canopy of the Petén. The site is large enough that walking between plazas takes real time, and the forest around it holds howler monkeys, toucans and coatis. Sunrise entry is sold separately and often means cloud rather than a clear view.

Rome

Twelve kilometres of galleries ending at the Sistine Chapel. Book the earliest slot. The collections, built up by popes over centuries, include the Raphael Rooms. The visit ends in the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgement. Modest dress is expected.

Zanzibar is an Indian Ocean island with a Swahili trading port at Stone Town, spice farms inland and white-sand beaches around the coast. Tides on the east coast are extreme, exposing wide flats at low water, while the north coast stays swimmable throughout. Ferries and short flights connect it with Dar es Salaam.