1. Santorini

Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubiform houses of its 2 principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to cliffs above an underwater caldera (crater). They overlook the sea, small islands to the west and beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.

Akrotiri, a Bronze Age settlement preserved under ash from the eruption, provides a frozen-in-time glimpse into Minoan life. The ruins of Ancient Thera lie on a dramatic bluff that drops to the sea on 3 sides. Fira, the island's commercial heart, has the Archaeological Museum of Thera and boutique shops. It also has a lively bar scene and tavernas serving local grilled seafood and dry white wine, made from the Assyrtiko grape. Oia is famous for sunsets over its old fortress.

2. Mykonos

Mykonos is an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. It's popularly known for its summer party atmosphere. Beaches such as Paradise and Super Paradise have bars that blare thumping music. Massive dance clubs attract world-renowned DJs and typically stay open well past dawn. Iconic landmarks include a row of 16th-century windmills, which sit on a hill above Mykonos town.

Chora, the local name for Mykonos town, is located in a sheltered bay on the west coast. Here, narrow, mazelike lanes are lined with white cubiform houses trimmed with bougainvillea and blue doors and shutters. Matoyianni Street is the heart of the retail scene, with chic, high-end shops, cafes and art galleries. The town's Little Venice quarter is filled with waterfront bars, seafood restaurants and houses with colorful balconies. Nearby, Panagia Paraportiani is a whitewashed church with a famously lumpy, lopsided shape.

3. Rhodes

Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, is known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The city of Rhodes has an Old Town featuring the medieval Street of the Knights and the castlelike Palace of the Grand Masters. Captured by the Ottomans and then held by the Italians, the palace is now a history museum.

The village of Lindos features traditional white stucco buildings, a wide beach and an ancient hilltop acropolis with sweeping vistas across the Aegean to the nearby coast of Turkey. Ancient Kamiros is an archaeological site protecting the ruins of a clifftop settlement. Ialysos has the hilltop Monastery of Filerimos, surrounded by gardens and woodland. Between Lindos and Rhodes City, Faliraki Beach is a lively strip with a wide range of water activities. Prasonisi, at the southern tip of Rhodes, is popular for windsurfing. The interior of the island is home to mountain villages and wooded valleys.

4. Naxos

Naxos is a Greek island in the South Aegean, the largest of the Cyclades island group. Its fertile landscape spans mountain villages, ancient ruins and long stretches of beach. The namesake capital (also called Hora or Chora) is a port town filled with whitewashed, cube-shaped houses and medieval Venetian mansions. Kastro, a hilltop castle dating to the 13th century, houses an archaeological museum.

On an islet near the Naxos city harbor is the immense marble gate of Portara, part of an unfinished temple from the 6th century B.C., dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. Back on the main island, beach areas like Agios Prokopios line the west coast. Mikri Vigla is a popular wind- and kitesurfing destination. Rising from the island’s hilly interior is Mount Zeus, the highest peak in the Cyclades. On the mountain’s lower slopes, the Tragea region features olive groves, Byzantine churches, Venetian-era monuments and historic villages including the old capital, Halki.

5. Heraklion

Heraklion, also known as Iraklio, is a port city and the capital of the Greek island of Crete. It’s known for the Palace of Knossos, just outside the city. The huge archaeological site dates back thousands of years to the Minoan civilization, and includes frescoes and baths. Guarding the city’s Venetian port is the 16th-century Koules fortress. Heraklion Archaeological Museum has a large collection of Minoan art.

The city has many Venetian and Turkish fountains, including the 17th-century Morosini Fountain, surrounded by sculpted lions. The nearby Venetian Loggia, dating from the 17th century, is an ornate, 2-level arcaded building. The huge Agios Minas Cathedral was built in the late 19th century and has 2 bell towers. Much of the old city walls are still intact, including the Martinengo Bastion, just south of the center. The bastion is also the burial site of acclaimed 20th-century writer Nikos Kazantzakis. East of the city, CretAquarium houses Mediterranean Sea creatures such as stingrays, sea turtles and sand tiger sharks.

1. Royal Palace of Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family at the city of Madrid, although now only used for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 square metres of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest functioning Royal Palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.

2. Museo Nacional del Prado

The Prado Museum, officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid.

The Prado Museum , officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to have one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez, are some of the highlights of the collection.

3. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

The City of Arts and Sciences is a cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.

The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned into a picturesque sunken park. Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project began the first stages of construction in July 1996, and was inaugurated on April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last major component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was inaugurated on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day.

4. Magic Fountain of Montjuïc

The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc is a fountain located at the head of Avinguda Maria Cristina in the Montjuïc neighborhood of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The fountain is situated below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuïc mountain and near the Plaça d'Espanya and Poble Espanyol de Barcelona.

5. Generalife

The Palacio de Generalife was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, now beside the city of Granada in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.

1. Neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico

Home to historic landmarks dating from as far back as the Aztec era, Centro Historico is the city's beating heart. Centered around the massive Zócalo plaza, the area draws tourists to museums and iconic buildings like the art nouveau Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Street vendors and basic taquerías exist in harmony with high-end restaurants along the bustling, pedestrian-only Calle Madero.

2. Xcaret Park

Historical landmark in Mexico

Xcaret Parkis a privately owned and operated theme park, resort and self-described ecotourism development located in the Riviera Maya, a portion of the Caribbean coastline of Mexico's state of Quintana Roo. It is part of Xcaret Experiencias Group which also owns the Xplor Park, Xel-Ha Park, and Xenses Park; as well as the Xichen, Xenotes, Xavage and Xoximilco tours and activities. It is situated approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Cancún, and 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) south of the nearest large settlement Playa del Carmen along Highway 307. It is named after the nearby archaeological site Xcaret, a settlement constructed by the pre-Columbian Maya some of whose structures lie within the boundaries of the park's 81 hectares (200 acres) of land holdings.

Did you know: Each year Xcaret puts on a four day event for the Day of the Dead.

3. Sistema Dos Ojos

Dos Ojos is part of a flooded cave system located north of Tulum, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The exploration of Dos Ojos began in 1987 and still continues.

Did you know: The name Dos Ojos means two eyes and refers to two neighboring cenotes which connect into a very large cavern zone shared betwen the two.

4. The Angel of Independence

The Angel of Independence, most commonly known by the shortened name El Ángel and officially known as Monumento a la Independencia, is a victory column on a roundabout on the major thoroughfare of Paseo de la Reforma in downtown Mexico City.

Did you know: El Ángel was built in 1910 during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz by architect Antonio Rivas Mercado, to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence.

5. Agua Azul Waterfalls

The Cascadas de Agua Azul are a series of waterfalls found on the Xanil River in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. They are located in the Municipality of Tumbalá, 69 kilometres from Palenque, near Mexican Federal Highway 199.

Did you know: El Ángel was built in 1910 during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz by architect Antonio Rivas Mercado, to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence.

1. Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park, in Arizona, is home to much of the immense Grand Canyon, with its layered bands of red rock revealing millions of years of geological history. Viewpoints include Mather Point, Yavapai Observation Station and architect Mary Colter’s Lookout Studio and her Desert View Watchtower. Lipan Point, with wide views of the canyon and Colorado River, is a popular, especially at sunrise and sunset.

2. Antelope Canyon

Canyon in Arizona

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is on Navajo land east of Page, Arizona. Antelope Canyon includes two separate, scenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as "Upper Antelope Canyon" or "The Crack"; and "Lower Antelope Canyon" or "The Corkscrew".

Did you know: Because the land is considered sacred, you cannot enter Antelope Canyon without a native Navajo guide.

3. Monument Valley

Monument Valley, a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border, is known for the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The park, frequently a filming location for Western movies, is accessed by the looping, 17-mile Valley Drive. The famous, steeply sloped Mittens buttes can be viewed from the road or from overlooks such as John Ford’s Point.

Did you know: Monument Valley is a wide expanse straddling the border of the U.S. states of Arizona and Utah.

4. Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge with a glass walkway at Eagle Point in Arizona near the Colorado River on the edge of a side canyon in the Grand Canyon West area of the main canyon.

Did you know: The Skywalk can hold a total weight of 71 million pounds, which would equate to around 71 fully loaded 747 aircrafts.

5. Havasu Falls

Havasu Falls is a waterfall of Havasu Creek, located in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. It is within Havasupai tribal lands.

Did you know: It's possible to swim behind Havasu Falls, where you can enter a small rock shelter.

1. Himachal Pradesh

With the snow starting to melt by March, the peak tourist season will last until October. Skiing continues in the hill station of Kufri until April, while Dalhousie, Shimla and Manali are other top places of visit. Featuring a fairyland landscape, Dharamshala and Spiti valley also invites Buddhist pilgrims during this time. River rafting is an important sport in Beas and Ravi as the ice begins to melt.

2. Ladakh

A paradise for adventure lovers and Buddhist pilgrims, Ladakh shines bright in spring. It is no more a cold desert instead spring expeditions here will be a memorable experience. The hot spots are Markha Valley, Apricot Valley and Zanskar Valley trek.

3. Valley of Flowers

Located high in the Himalayas, Valley of Flowers is an exotic destination for spring travel in Uttaranchal. With a height of 3,600 meters, the place is an acclaimed picnic spot with the advent of summer. There are at least 500 species of flowers blooming on the valley slopes from March-June. The Himalayan blue poppy is the show stealer. You can also see daisy, calendula and orchids. This 10 km long valley remains a grand spot until the end of August.

4. Goa beaches

A popular spring destination for beach lovers in western India, Goa is pleasant and tranquil especially in the southern region. Goa Carnival is also in swing in the spring months. You cannot miss being here!

5. Golden Triangle Tour of India

Delhi, Agra and Jaipur are considered the Golden Triangle cities of India and spring is the best time to be here in order to escape extreme humid and cold temperature. Rich heritage, colonial buildings, forts, palaces, monuments and museums mark these three cities.