24 Most Beautiful Places in the World to Add to Your Bucket List

We all may have a different definition of beauty but these destinations are the most beautiful ones that would take your breath away.

Jaipur-India

The rose-colored buildings that comprise Rajasthan’s capital city, either built from natural red sandstone or painted to look so, have earned Jaipur its nickname as “The Pink City.” The Mogul architecture is mesmerizing, especially the Royal City Palace and its most famous section known as Hawa Mahal, or “Palace of the Winds”—a facade of 953 windows built so royal women could look down on street life unseen.

St. Lucia

Of all the Caribbean islands, none capture photographers’ imaginations quite so much as St. Lucia, whose southern city Soufrière seduces with its ancient plantations and secluded beaches and whose most luxurious hotels claim postcard-perfect views of the breathtaking Pitons.

Santorini-Greece

This crescent-shaped volcanic island in the Aegean Sea is honeymoon gold. Why? We chalk it up to those fabulous black-pebble and red-sand beaches, iconic whitewashed buildings that cling to precipitous rocks overlooking the underwater caldera, that iconic blue-domed monastery (and Instagram mecca), and those legendary sunsets from its main town of Oia.

Na Pali Coast-Kauai

Despite being the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai remains one of its least developed, dominated by raw, wild landscapes that have evolved over the centuries due to weather and erosion. Its most famous landmark: Na Pali, a velvety 15-mile coastline of sheer cliffs that fold in and out like a handheld fan. That the area is impenetrable except by catamaran or a challenging 22-mile roundtrip hike (or glimpsed by helicopter) adds to its mystique.

Petra-Jordan

To think this ancient city was carved, by hand, into a cliffside as early as 312 BC is mind-blowing. Even more so considering it wasn’t discovered by the western world until the 1800s.

Cappadocia-Turkey

Of all the Caribbean islands, none capture photographers’ imaginations quite so much as St. Lucia, whose southern city Soufrière seduces with its ancient plantations and secluded beaches and whose most luxurious hotels claim postcard-perfect views of the breathtaking Pitons.

Marrakech-Morocco

This labyrinthine city at the foot of the Atlas Mountains is a world all its own—a colorful cacophony of alleyways, souks, gardens, and riads famous for their painted wood and tilework. At its center is Djemaa el-Fna square, where vendors, musicians, and snake charmers all vie for your attention.

Okavango Delta-Botswana

Of all the Caribbean islands, none capture photographers’ imaginations quite so much as St. Lucia, whose southern city Soufrière seduces with its ancient plantations and secluded beaches and whose most luxurious hotels claim postcard-perfect views of the breathtaking Pitons.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Pictures fail to capture the true scope of the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Measuring a mile deep, 10 miles across, and 277 miles in length, these tributary canyons that make up America’s second most-visited national park (it welcomed an estimated 6 million visitors in 2016) were carved by the powerful currents of the Colorado River and reveal hundreds of millions of years of rock erosion dating back to Precambrian times.

Torres del Paine National Park-Chile

Of all the Caribbean islands, none capture photographers’ imaginations quite so much as St. Lucia, whose southern city Soufrière seduces with its ancient plantations and secluded beaches and whose most luxurious hotels claim postcard-perfect views of the breathtaking Pitons.

Banff National Park, Canada

There might not be a bluer lake in the world than Lake Louise. Banff, Canada’s first national park, is an outdoorsmen’s utopia—think natural hot springs, extensive cave systems, ancient mountains framing glacier-fed lakes, and miles of trails crisscrossing the Canadian Rockies. Its other claim to fame: some of Canada’s most luxurious hotels, including the landmark Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

Cape Town, South Africa

Golden beaches, world-class restaurants and art, a buzzing harbor, glamorous seaside neighborhoods occupied by a mash-up of cultures from around Africa and the globe—all capped by the steep slopes and cloud-covered peaks of the Twelve Apostles and imposing Table Mountain? This city on the edge of the world is a stunner.

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Pastel-colored cities cascading over cliffs rising from the Mediterranean Sea. The scent of olive groves. Endless limoncello. From legendary Positano to hilltop Ravello, the enthralling beauty and unabashed glamour of Italy’s Amalfi Coast has not waned for centuries.

Paris, France

The nicknames “The City of Love” and “The City of Lights” are no mistake. Paris seduces at every turn, from its oh-so-charming curb-side cafés to its gloriously wide boulevards lined with ornate mansions and balconied townhouses, all a mash-up of Haussmann, Renaissance, Neoclassical, and Art Nouveau architectural styles. Even landmarks like the Louvre and Notre Dameare beloved as much for their exteriors as what lies inside them. The best way to soak it all in is to stroll, aimlessly, in any direction.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

No, it isn’t a Salvador Dalí painting. At 4,086 square miles, this is the world’s largest salt mine and, thanks to an overall elevation that varies less than a single meter, the flattest place on Earth. Its mirror-image reflection will have you wondering where the horizon ends and the sky begins.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Despite its tiny size, Slovenia packs a serious punch when it comes to scenery. The image you’ll want to come away with is a mountainside view of glacial Lake Bled and its fairytale-like central island, home to a single Gothic church built in the 1400s—all set against a backdrop of the distant (and sometimes snow-covered, depending on the season) Julian Alps.

The Maldives

Only 200 of this tiny nation’s 1,190 coral islands (lush, palm tree-fringed isles ringed by turquoise lagoons) are inhabited, making it the pure definition of castaway island paradise—real estate gold for the world’s top-tier hotel groups (Cheval Blanc; One&Only; COMO) whose stilted bungalow retreats are considered some of the most romantic stays in the world.

Antarctica

The coldest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth is a land of extremes, and remains inhospitable to all but the most resilient of animal and plant species. Those that do survive here—mostly flying birds, penguins, and moss and lichen—are blessed with spectacular landscapes dominated by blue ice, snow, and raging seas.