Denver, Colorado, known as the “Mile High City” for its elevation exactly 5,280 feet above sea level, offers far more than a mountain backdrop. It’s a city where old saloons, Victorian homes, and vintage brick warehouses sit beside sleek skyscrapers and buzzing food halls. While the nearby Rocky Mountains are visible from almost anywhere in the city, places like City Park and Washington Park offer wide green spaces right in town.

This coastal town in southwestern Namibia is known for its German colonial buildings, including the art nouveau Goerke Haus, built into the rock face on Diamond Hill. Nearby, Felsenkirche is a hilltop church with panoramic bay views stretching around to Robert Harbor. The Lüderitz Museum has displays about the town’s diamond mining past as well as local and natural history.

Crazy Horse Memorial stands in the Black Hills of South Dakota, between Custer and Hill City, where a massive mountain carving is being created to honor the Lakota leader Crazy Horse and the cultures of Native American peoples. The sculpture is cut directly into Thunderhead Mountain and is designed to depict Crazy Horse on horseback, pointing toward his ancestral lands

Oman stands among the oldest independent states in the Arab world, with evidence of human habitation stretching back over 100,000 years. Its capital, Muscat, rises gently against limestone hills with no skyscrapers to interrupt its skyline. Visitors find broad avenues lined with stunning buildings leading to landmarks like the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and the Royal Opera House, both offering glimpses into Omani artistry and modern elegance.

Guimarães is a historic city in northern Portugal closely associated with the origins of the Portuguese nation. Known as the “Cradle of Portugal,” it developed around a medieval settlement whose historic center remains exceptionally well preserved. Narrow streets, granite buildings, arcaded squares, and traditional houses give the old town a distinctive architectural character.