Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is one of the world's most beautiful cities. From almost any vantage point, there's a mountain or an ocean in view and often both. The weather is notoriously fickle -- it's easy to experience four seasons in a day and some residents keep a jacket, an umbrella and a bathing suit in their cars all the time, to prepare for any eventuality.

But that just reminds of the variety of things to do. If it's too cloudy to hike on the mountain, then there's art galleries, wineries and beaches. Swim with a penguin, burrow deep into the city's history, or just walk along cobblestone streets and take it all in.

Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain’s flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum.

The airport code CPT Is closest For Cape Town.