AMAZING PLACE

Far from nature’s wonders but equally spectacular are the world’s greatest cityscapes, which can leave an equally compelling impression: perhaps hope or opportunity, in the case of New York City, or romance in Paris. “Parisians might be less obvious about it, but we all secretly love the Eiffel Tower,” says Paris-based blogger and travel guide Heather Stimmler-Hall of Secretsofparis.com. “Especially when it sparkles in the sun or peeks out on a foggy day.”

These days, amazing views are just a Google search away. Vacation photos from colleagues and friends fill our inbox, and both amateur snapshots and professional photography have saturated the web. Yet seeing a stunning landscape in the flesh is more than just a pretty picture—it stirs something within. Perhaps it’s a combination of the senses: the slow progression of a copper dawn spilling onto the Urubamba Valley in Peru, the sound of fluttering prayer flags in Bhutan’s Black Mountains, or the smell of roasting chicken in Paris’s 18th Arrondissement. These elements are part of the lasting effects of an experience that can’t be captured on film.