California, USA

Few places summon quite as many daydreams as California. The Golden State is a land of big adventures and big fantasies, with no end of soul-satisfying possibilities for travellers. Its diversity is understated but its large size lends itself perfectly for variety. The Hollywood glamour of Los Angeles needs no introduction as the home of the Californian dream and neither does San Francisco’s rust-red icon, the Golden Gate Bridge. Elsewhere along the coast, San Diego expertly practises la dolce vita and the pounding surf has left Big Sur wonderfully raw and rugged.

Inland, there’s no limit to California’s box of treasures. Chief among them are the gargantuan granite faces and towering sequoias of Yosemite National Park, a rich wilderness you simply have to wander. Nearby lie the vast Mammoth Lakes, dramatic Lake Tahoe and the desolate desert of Death Valley. Big landscapes aside, there’s silver screen charm in Palm Springs and the superb wine regions of Napa and Sonoma.

California is a place where you can be skiing on the peaks in the morning and sipping a sundowner on the beach come the late afternoon. Its huge size means it’s worth considering a road trip to fit as many of its big-ticket sights in one go.