Every few months, I get an irresistible urge to pack my backpack and send myself to a new environment.
Having grown up between multiple cultures and countries, travel awakens a part of my identity that stays dormant at my home base in New Jersey.
My love of travel has brought me to over 70 countries during my 33 years of life, and some places have really stuck with me. Here are five of my favorite cities around the world that I always tell my friends and family to visit.
Valletta, Malta, transported me to a fairy tale.
I visited Malta without knowing much about the country, and left with a new favorite European destination. Nestled between North Africa’s coast and Italy’s southern islands, I’ve found that Malta too often gets overlooked by tourists.
The capital, Valletta, is an enchanting seaside maze of cobblestone streets that transported me to the Baroque period. It was a great city to explore on foot.
I loved starting my mornings here with a coffee from Coffee Circus, a cozy café that looks like a cave. At the end of the day, I spent time watching the sunset from windswept clifftops in St. Elmo Bay.
Taipei, Taiwan, really comes alive at night.
As a former New Yorker, I thought I’d lived in the ultimate 24-hour city — until I visited Taipei. After the sun sets over the humid subtropical capital city of Taiwan, Taipei really comes alive.
The Ximending Walking District’s bustling neon-lit pedestrian-only streets are lined with restaurants, street performers, and stores. Strolling through Ximending, sipping on bubble tea, and grabbing street food became my nightly routine.
I loved spending time in beautiful Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Almaty’s walkable city center allowed me to hit multiple cultural landmarks with a single stroll around beautiful tree-lined streets.
The most memorable sites I visited were Ascension Cathedral, a colorful Russian Orthodox Church primarily built out of wood, and the Memorial of Glory, a powerful sculpture commemorating World War II (known locally as the Great Patriotic War).
But in my opinion, the best part about Almaty lies about an hour outside the city center at Shymbulak Mountain Resort. I visited in October and was blown away by the fall colors during the 20-minute scenic cable car ride to the resort base.
Ilulissat, Greenland, is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
“Ilulissat” means “icebergs” in Greenlandic, and as soon as I arrived and saw the massive iceberg-filled Disko Bay, I understood where the city gets its name.
On my first day in town, I ventured down three hiking trails, all of which were a short walk from the city center. On them, I found some of the most spectacular views of my life.
As I hiked, the Ilulissat Icefjord slowly revealed itself, until I reached the cliff edge where it felt like I witnessed two worlds meet — one a sheet of ice across the bay, and the other a lush moss vegetation that I stood on.
After my hike, I enjoyed local halibut and mussels at Inuit Café, a cute family-run restaurant.
In my opinion, Helsinki is the perfect summer destination.
If you’re looking to visit a place that just feels like vacation, summer in Helsinki is for you.
I may be biased, having spent my childhood summers in Finland, but in my opinion, nothing beats cycling under the near-constant sun, eating fresh berries, and enjoying a sauna.
After enduring the cold and dark winter months, Finns often take several weeks off work in the summer to make the most of the extra daylight.
My favorite part about about the city is how urban life exists in harmony with nature. In the same day, you can catch me hiking in Nuuksio National Park, located about 40 minutes outside Helsinki by car, and attending Helsinki Festival, an arts festival typically held between mid-August and early September.
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