World Travel – Top 1,000 Wish List

Top 1,000 Places to See in the World

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

United States

1.1 Northwest

Alaska

      1. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Denali National Park and Preserve
      3. Katmai National Park and Preserve
      4. Sitka National Historical Park

Washington

      1. Olympic National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Seattle
      3. Mount Rainier National Park
      4. North Cascades National Park

Oregon

      1. Crater Lake National Park
      2. Portland
      3. Oregon’s Pacific Coast
      4. Columbia River Gorge

Idaho

      1. Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
      2. Sawtooth National Recreation Area
      3. River of No Return
      4. Idaho Potato Country
      5. City of Arco and EBR-I (Experimental Breeder Reactor I Museum), Atomic City
      6. Nez Perce National Historical Park
      7. Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls

Montana

      • Glacier National Park (a World Heritage Site)
McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur Coast
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, California

1.2 Mid-Pacific

California

      1. Yosemite National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Redwood National and State Parks (a World Heritage Site)
      3. Sequoia National Park
      4. Kings Canyon National Park
      5. San Francisco (including San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and nearby Rosie The Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park; Golden Gate National Recreation Area – part of the Central California Current, which is on the World Heritage Tentative List)
      6. Death Valley National Park and Preserve
      7. Joshua Tree National Park
      8. Channel Islands National Park
      9. Los Angeles (including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House – part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
      10. Pinnacles National Park
      11. Big Sur Coast
      12. Monterey, Salinas, and California Mission Trail (including Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – part of the Central California Current, which is on the World Heritage Tentative List)
      13. Inland Empire and California’s portion of old Route 66

Hawaii

      1. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Haleakalā National Park
      3. Hana Highway
      4. Honolulu (Pearl Harbor – World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, ʻIolani Palace State Monument, Waikiki Beach and Waikiki Historic Trail, Diamond Head State Monument, and Polynesian Cultural Center)
      5. Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail

American Samoa

(U.S. Territory)

      1. National Park of American Samoa
      2. Marine Protected Areas of American Samoa (National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa – formerly known as the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument and Wildlife Refuge) – World Heritage Tentative List
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park

1.3 Rocky Mountains

Wyoming

      1. Yellowstone National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Grand Teton National Park
      3. Devils Tower National Monument

Colorado

      1. Mesa Verde National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Rocky Mountain National Park
      3. Dinosaur National Monument
      4. San Juan Mountains
      5. Colorado Ski Country

Utah

      1. Zion National Park
      2. Arches National Park
      3. Bryce Canyon National Park
      4. Great Salt Lake
      5. Salt Lake City
      6. Bonneville Salt Flats
      7. Capitol Reef National Park
      8. Canyonlands National Park
      9. Bears Ears National Monument

Nevada

      1. Las Vegas
      2. Great Basin National Park
      3. Hoover Dam
Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth
Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth

1.4 Southwest

Arizona

      1. Grand Canyon National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Saguaro National Park and Tombstone
      3. Petrified Forest National Park (World Heritage Tentative List)
      4. Monument Valley
      5. Antelope Canyon
      6. Sedona Red Rock Country
      7. The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

New Mexico

      1. Chaco Culture National Historical Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Taos Pueblo (a World Heritage Site)
      3. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      4. White Sands National Park (World Heritage Tentative List)
      5. Santa Fe (plus nearby Pecos National Historical Park)
      6. Roswell and the International UFO Museum

Texas

      1. San Antonio (San Antonio Missions National Historical Park – a World Heritage Site)
      2. Hill Country (Cowboy Capital of the World and Texas bluebonnets)
      3. Austin
      4. Dallas-Fort Worth
      5. TEXAS Outdoor Musical at Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Oklahoma

      1. Old Route 66
      2. Oklahoma City
Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park

1.5 Great Plains

North Dakota

South Dakota

      1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
      2. Badlands National Park
      3. Custer State Park 
      4. Wind Cave National Park
      5. Deadwood

Nebraska

      1. Chimney Rock National Historic Site
      2. Scotts Bluff National Monument
      3. Nebraska Sandhills

Kansas

      1. Monument Rocks-Kansas Badlands
      2. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
      3. Dodge City
      4. Santa Fe Trail Shortgrass Prairie

Iowa

      1. Amana Colonies
      2. Effigy Mounds National Monument
      3. Des Moines

Missouri

      1. Saint Louis – Gateway Arch National Park
      2. Kansas City
      3. Hannibal – Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
      4. Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park
Mackinac Bridge
Mackinac Bridge

1.6 Great Lakes

Michigan

      1. Mackinac
      2. Sleeping Bear Dunes Country
      3. Michigan Riviera
      4. Isle Royale National Park
      5. Detroit and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (MotorCities National Heritage Area)
      6. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
      7. Keweenaw National Historical Park
      8. Tahquamenon Falls Country

Wisconsin

Minnesota

      1. Minneapolis-Saint Paul
      2. Voyageurs National Park

Illinois

      1. Chicago (including: Chicago Early Skyscrapers – World Heritage Tentative List; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frederick C. Robie House and Unity Temple – part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
      2. Land of Lincoln sites
      3. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (a World Heritage Site)

Indiana

      1. Indiana Dunes National Park and State Park
      2. Parke County Covered Bridges
      3. Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Race – Racing Country

Ohio

      1. Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (World Heritage Tentative List)
      2. Serpent Mound State Memorial (World Heritage Tentative List) and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (World Heritage Tentative List)
      3. Cuyahoga Valley National Park
The Bubbles, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park
The Bubbles, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park

1.7 Northeast

Maine

      1. Baxter State Park
      2. Acadia National Park
      3. Penobscot Bay schooner sailing
      4. Maine Lobster Festival – Rockland

New Hampshire

      • Mount Washington

Vermont

      1. Lake Champlain
      2. Green Mountains
      3. Stowe

Massachusetts

      1. Boston (including Boston National Historical Park)
      2. Cape Cod National Seashore
      3. Pilgrim Memorial State Park
      4. Minute Man National Historical Park
      5. Salem
      6. Walden Pond State Reservation

Connecticut

      • Hartford (including the to be established Coltsville National Historical Park)

Rhode Island

      • Newport

New York

      1. New York City (including: Statue of Liberty – a World Heritage Site; Ellis Island – World Heritage Tentative List; Brooklyn Bridge – World Heritage Tentative List; Central Park – World Heritage Tentative List; and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
      2. Niagara Falls and Buffalo
      3. Adirondacks
      4. Erie Canal
Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

1.8 Mid-Atlantic

Pennsylvania

      1. Philadelphia (including Independence Hall, Independence National Historical Park – a World Heritage Site)
      2. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater (part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings World Heritage Site)
      3. Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country
      4. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Pocono Mountains

New Jersey

      1. Atlantic City
      2. Pine Barrens

Delaware

      • First State National Historical Park

Maryland

      1. Baltimore
      2. Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
      3. Assateague Island National Seashore
      4. Annapolis

Washington DC

Virginia

      1. George Washington’s Mount Vernon (World Heritage Tentative List)
      2. Colonial National Historical Park (Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown)
      3. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia (a World Heritage Site), plus Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest and the Virginia State Capitol (World Heritage Tentative List)
      4. Colonial Williamsburg
      5. Shenandoah National Park, plus nearby Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
      6. Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

West Virginia

      1. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
      2. New River Gorge Bridge
Ozark Bathhouse, Hot Springs National Park
Ozark Bathhouse, Hot Springs National Park

1.9 South Central

Kentucky

      1. Louisville and Bluegrass Country
      2. Mammoth Cave National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      3. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
      4. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

Tennessee

      1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Nashville
      3. Memphis

Arkansas

      1. Hot Springs National Park
      2. Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and Testament: The Little Rock Nine Monument

Louisiana

      1. New Orleans (including New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park)
      2. Bayous – such as the Barataria Preserve at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
      3. Poverty Point National Monument and State Historic Site (a World Heritage Site)
      4. Cane River Creole National Historical Park

Mississippi

      1. Natchez
      2. Natchez Trace Parkway
      3. Indian Mounds of Mississippi
      4. Vicksburg National Military Park

Alabama

      1. Civil Rights Movement Sites: Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery and 16th Street Baptist Church and Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham (World Heritage Tentative List)
      2. Mobile
      3. U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

1.10 Southeast

North Carolina

      1. Outer Banks
      2. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

South Carolina

      1. Charleston
      2. Congaree National Park
      3. Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
      4. Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor

Georgia

      1. Savannah
      2. Okefenokee Swamp (World Heritage Tentative List)
      3. Atlanta (including Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park)
      4. Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Florida

      1. Everglades National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Biscayne National Park
      3. Dry Tortugas National Park
      4. Florida Keys (including John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo and Key West)
      5. Miami
      6. Saint Augustine (Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and Fort Matanzas National Monument)

Puerto Rico

(U.S. Territory)

      1. San Juan: La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site – a World Heritage Site, and the rest of Old San Juan
      2. El Yunque National Forest

U.S. Virgin Islands

(U.S. Territory)

      1. Virgin Islands National Park
      2. Salt River Bay National Historical Park & Ecological Preserve
Château Frontenac, Quebec City
Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Quebec

Canada & North

2.1 Eastern Canada

Newfoundland & Labrador

      1. L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Gros Morne National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      3. Red Bay National Historic Site – Basque Whaling Station (a World Heritage Site)

Nova Scotia

      1. Old Town Lunenburg (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Halifax (provincial capital)

Prince Edward Island

      • Prince Edward Island National Park

New Brunswick

      1. Bay of Fundy
      2. Fundy National Park

Quebec

      1. Old Quebec City (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Old Montreal

CN Tower and Toronto Harbour, Toronto
CN Tower and Toronto Harbour, Toronto

2.2 Western Canada

Ontario

      1. Toronto – CN Tower
      2. Bruce Peninsula National Park
      3. Georgian Bay Islands National Park
      4. Ottawa

Manitoba

      • Polar Bears at Churchill

Saskatchewan

      • Farm fields and prairie along the Trans-Canada Highway

Alberta

      1. Canadian Rocky Mountains Parks (a World Heritage Site) – Banff and Jasper National Parks
      2. Calgary (largest city in province and fourth largest metro in nation) and the Calgary Stampede
      3. Dinosaur Provincial Park (a World Heritage Site)
      4. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (a World Heritage Site)
      5. Aisinai’pi/Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (World Heritage Tentative List)

British Columbia

      1. Vancouver
      2. Pacific Rim National Park
      3. Queen Charlotte Islands
        • SGang Gwaay (a World Heritage Site)
        • Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve (World Heritage Tentative List)
        • Haida Heritage Site
        • Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs (World Heritage Tentative List)

2.3 Northern Territories

Yukon

(Territory of Canada)

      • Klondike National Historic Site – Dawson City (World Heritage Tentative List)

Northwest Territories

(Territory of Canada)

      • Wood Buffalo National Park (a World Heritage Site) – listed here, but part of it is in Alberta

Nunavut

(Territory of Canada)

      • Quttinirpaaq National Park on Ellesmere Island (World Heritage Tentative List)

Greenland

Kalaallit Nunaat

(Autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark)

      1. Aurora Borealis – The Northern Lights
      2. Ilulissat: Ilulissat Icefjord – a World Heritage Site, Uunartoq Hot Springs, Sermermiut Eskimo Settlement, and the Ilulissat Museum
      3. Viking Ruins: Hvalsey Church, Eric the Red’s Brattahlíð, and more
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Photo: iso.500px.com)

Latin America

3.1 Andes Mountains

Peru

      1. Machu Picchu (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Cusco (a World Heritage Site)
      3. The Great Inka Trail “Qhapac Ñan” (a World Heritage Site)
      4. Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
      5. Lake Titicaca and the Uros Floating Islands (World Heritage Tentative List)
      6. Nazca Lines (a World Heritage Site)
      7. Arequipa “The White City” (a World Heritage Site)
      8. Colca Canyon
      9. Lima (national capital; a World Heritage Site)
      10. Sacred City of Caral-Supe (a World Heritage Site)
      11. Huascarán National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      12. Chavín de Huantar (a World Heritage Site)
      13. Chan Chan Ruins (a World Heritage Site)
      14. Manú National Park (a World Heritage Site)
      15. Río Abiseo National Park (a World Heritage Site)

Bolivia

      1. Salar de Uyuni and Isla Incahuasi
      2. Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon)
      3. Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon)
      4. Cerro Rico and Potosí (a World Heritage Site)
      5. Madidi National Park – Bolivian Amazon
      6. La Paz (executive and legislative national capital) – Witchcraft Market
      7. Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca (location of Inca ruins)
      8. Tiwanaku (a World Heritage Site)
      9. Santa Cruz
      10. Amboró National Park
      11. Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park (known for jaguars)
      12. Sucre (official and judicial national capital; a World Heritage Site)
      13. Carrasco National Park

Ecuador

      1. Galápagos Islands (a World Heritage Site)
      2. Quito (national capital; a World Heritage Site)

3.2 Mexico

Northern Mexico, Greater Bajio Mexico, Central Mexico, Pacific Coast Mexico, and Yucatán Peninsula Mexico

3.3 Greater Antilles

Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Haiti

3.4 Brazil

North Brazil, Northeast Brazil, Central-West Brazil, Southeast Brazil, and South Brazil

3.5 Southern Cone

Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay

3.6 Central America

Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama

3.7 Lesser Antilles

Barbados, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago

3.8 British Atlantic

Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Montserrat in the North Atlantic Ocean, with Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean, plus Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at the edge of the Southern Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean (all territories of the UK)

3.9 French & Dutch Caribbean

Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, and Saint Martin (all territories of France)
Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (all territories of the Netherlands)

3.10 Guiana Highlands

Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guinea (France)

Eiffel Tower, Paris (Photo: parisperfect.com)
Eiffel Tower, Paris (Photo: parisperfect.com)

Europe

4.1 British Isles

United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and Ireland

4.2. France & Benelux

France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Monaco

4.3. Italian Peninsula

Italy, Vatican City, and San Marino

4.4. Iberian Peninsula

Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar (UK)

4.5. Greek Peninsula

Greece, Malta, Albania, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK)

4.6. Black Sea Eurasia

Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Belarus

4.7 Germany & Alps

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein

4.8 Nordic Europe

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland

4.9 Balkans

Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova

4.10 Central Europe

Hungary, Czechia (Czech Republic), Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

Taj Mahal (Photo: gskpulsevolunteers.com)
Taj Mahal (Photo: gskpulsevolunteers.com)

Asia

5.1 Far East Asia

Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Philippines

5.2 South Asia

India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka

5.3 East Asia

China (including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, and Mongolia

5.4 Southeast Asia

Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos

5.5 East Indies

Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Timor-Leste

5.6 Russia

Russian Federation

5.7 Levant

Israel (including Palestine), Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria

5.8 Central Asia

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan

5.9 Arabian Peninsula

Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq

5.10 Middle Asia

Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

The Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramids of Giza (Photo: travelplanet.in)

Africa

6.1 Maghreb

Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and Western Sahara (including Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)

6.2 Northeast Africa

Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and South Sudan

6.3 Horn of Africa

Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia (including Somaliland)

6.4 East Africa

Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi

6.5 Zambezi Basin

Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe

6.6 Southern Africa

South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, and Angola

6.7 Indian Ocean Africa

Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion (France), Mayotte (France), French Southern and Antarctic Lands (France– no permanent population), Maldives, and British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago (UK – currently without a permanent population)

6.8 Francophone Equatorial Africa

Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, and Chad

6.9 Western Sahel

Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, Niger, and Burkina Faso

6.10 Guinea Coast

Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge
Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge (Photo: adventure2oz.wordpress.com)

Australasia

7.1 Australia

New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, and territories

7.2 Rapa Nui/Easter Island

Insular Chile/The Sporadic Islands (Chile)

7.3 American Samoa

American Samoa (U.S.)

7.4 French Pacific

French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna in Polynesia; plus New Caledonia in Melanesia and Clipperton Island (no permanent population) off the coast of Mexico (all territories of France)

7.5 New Zealand (Aotearoa)

New Zealand (Aotearoa), Cook Islands (state in free association with NZ), Niue (state in free association with NZ), Tokelau (NZ dependent territory), and Chatham Islands (NZ special territorial authority), plus New Zealand’s Outlying Islands (Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, and Subantarctic Islands – none with a permanent population)

7.6 Polynesian Countries

Tonga, Samoa, and Tuvalu, plus Kiribati and Nauru (both shared with Micronesia)

7.7 Pitcairn Islands

Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands (UK)

7.8 Melanesia

Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea

7.9 Micronesia

Guam and Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Territories), plus Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands (all three of these are countries in free association with the United States)

7.10 Antarctica

Claims: Adélie Land (France), Argentine Antarctica, Australian Antarctic Territory, British Antarctic Territory, Chilean Antarctic Territory, Queen Maud Land (Norway), and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand), plus Marie Byrd Land, which is unclaimed (none have a permanent population)