Rio de Janeiro vs Seattle and Portland

Rio's setting is unmatched — granite peaks rise directly from the city between Copacabana and Ipanema's beaches, with the Christ the Redeemer statue watching over it all from Corcovado mountain. Samba, Carnival, and a beach-centred daily culture define the city's rhythm, alongside favela communities that are an essential, complicated part of Rio's social fabric.

Two of the Pacific Northwest's most likable cities sit just three hours apart, framed by volcanoes, evergreen forests and waterfalls, which makes Seattle and Portland a natural pairing. Start in Seattle at Pike Place Market, where fishmongers toss salmon, flower stalls spill onto the cobblestones and the waterfront opens onto Elliott Bay. Ride the 1962 monorail to the Space Needle for views of Puget Sound and, on clear days, the snowy cone of Mount Rainier. Then go see that mountain up close on a day trip to Paradise, where summer wildflower meadows and glaciers line the trails. Board the Amtrak Cascades train or drive about three hours down I-5 to Portland, a city of bridges, bikes and coffee. Lose an hour or three in Powell's City of Books, hike the ferny Wildwood Trail in Forest Park and graze your way through the city's famous food cart pods. Finish in the Columbia River Gorge at Multnomah Falls, which needs a timed permit in summer. Longer trips can add Portland's gardens, the Oregon Coast, Mount Hood and Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Come July to September for the driest weather, and pack a rain jacket the rest of the year.