My favorite places to visit are:
1 Venice (hands down) –best outdoor atmosphere
2 Florence – best culture, walkable and contains several of the best art and sculpture Galleries in the world and a great cathedral. If you like art or history you will fall in love.
3 Paris –culture and food and that je ne sais quoi
4 Sydney – beauty and warmth, light and lively not heavy in culture like Europe, but may be too much like Vancouver to give the contrast you want on a vacation – but a Vancouverite could live there comfortably better than any city in the world.
5 Thailand – several cities or places to choose from; some of which you can even take your wife/girl friend to – (elephant rides through the jungle anyone), other places that are a mans paradise – most friendly woman in the world – single men will not want to ever come home.
6 Hawaii –there is this limited access beach in Maui which is by virtue of access is totally uncrowned yet is a mile long and 500 feet deep with the worlds best sand mostly of crushed sea shells, and at the edges has a great reef with the most gorgeous small fish better than an aquarium.
7 Las Vegas –best nightlife and make pretend in the world but last on the list for extended vacations – if you can afford it though, take a side trip to the Grand Canyon by helicopter –magnificent views.
8 Salzburg Austria –where the “Sound of Music” was set –enchanted, visit it and you will be mesmerized.
9 India – its so different than what we expect, or any of the aforementioned places - ancient traditions, beauty, respect, a land of contrasts, where extreme poverty and wealth, old world and new world, sit side by side, provided the south is much poorer so more interesting to visit– everyone should visit once. My favorite is Kerala province in the south - spending a night on a covered riverboat with your own private cook, with just nature and the sound of birds is an experience unparalleled. Second is Goa with mixed Portuguese, Indian traditions, warmth and beaches and great cathedrals.
10 Jerusalem –ancient for sure controversial no doubt – 3 of the worlds largest religions still claim it and fight over it, the walled city is it is divided into 4 quarters each with distinct culture and traditions. Perhaps it should be number 1 on a place to visit but for many not a vacation to visit it but more of a passion, so maybe should be excluded. But you will be moved one way or another. –cheating as really a different site, but if you visit Jerusalem, make a side trip to Petra in Jordon (not far away the trick is crossing the border –cross at Eilat, in southern Israel and stay a couple of days here too, best diving site in the world) – remember Indians Jones – manmade carved of solid rock - unbelievable and unforgettable a bucket list experience
11 Rome – it could easily be number 3, and the Vatican is magnificent. I only left it out of top 10 as it too similar in culture and experience to my top 2.