Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World's Most Amazing Places

by National Geographic Society

National Geographic takes you on a photographic tour of the world’s most spectacular destinations, inspiring tangible ideas for your next trip. Hundreds of the most breathtaking locales—both natural and man-made—are illustrated with vivid images taken by the organization's world-class photographers. These images, coupled with evocative text, feature a plethora of visual wonders: ancient monoliths, scenic islands, stunning artwork, electric cityscapes, white-sand seashores, rain forests, ancient cobbled streets, and both classic and innovative architecture. Loaded with hard service information for each location, Places of a Lifetime has it all: when to go, where to eat, where to stay, and what to do to ensure the most enriching and authentic experience.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Photography, Coffee Table Books, Reference, Art, Adventure

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.

Reviews

[Audrey Coots · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I read a few pages every night right before bed and it was such an amazing and almost therapeutic way to get out of my own head.

Instead of browsing my phone and focusing on the worlds many problems or thinking of all the things I need to get done, this book allowed me to focus on a different incredible place in the world every night, or every couple of minutes if I chose to keep reading for awhile. It’s like a bedtime story for adults. It had such great facts and such interesting information, just enough to get me hooked and make me want to know more.

It was truly a great book. And the photos were INCREDIBLE. I absolutely loved this book, so much.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am one of those people who is quite happy at home. With neither the funds to travel, nor the time to do so, I do love reading about other places and destinations.

This book follows in National Geographic's tradition of superior photography and writing. If you love to travel, you may get some great ideas from this book for your next adventure. If you're a homebody like me, you'll love seeing what else is out there as you travel vicariously through this book.

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will give you more than enough ideas and inspirations to feed your wanderlust. National Geographic lives up to their reputation by giving you amazing destinations to visit broken down into categories of things to see around the world: nature unbound, hand of man, sea & shore, mountain majesty and town & country. As if that isn't enough, they also include their own version of top ten visits for all sorts of things, one of which is spectacular bookstores! The information is very helpful in determining when to travel and how to blend in when visiting each destination. Equally as impressive are the abundant and gorgeous pictures throughout. This book made me think about whether my passport was up to date and whether I had enough vacation time. Lovers of travel everywhere, beware this marvelous book!

Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Andrew Brennan]

In this book I learned that Hudson Valley is truely a beautiful place. In the fall in Hudson Valley the mountinside turns beautiful shades of orange and brown. Also there are many guest atracions such as observatories and restaurants. Hudson Valley is a very nice place to visit.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libby Kindle. Beautiful photography… of course… so many amazing places to visit and cultures to experience

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a nice break from your everyday routine and be come an armchair traveler all around the world. Where to? This book will give you more than enough ideas and inspirations to feed your wanderlust. National Geographic lives up to their reputation by giving you amazing destinations to visit broken down into categories of things to see around the world: nature unbound, hand of man, sea & shore, mountain majesty and town & country. As if that isn't enough, they also include their own version of top ten visits for all sorts of things, one of which is spectacular bookstores! The information is very helpful in determining when to travel and how to blend in when visiting each destination. Equally as impressive are the abundant and gorgeous pictures throughout. This book made me think about whether my passport was up to date and whether I had enough vacation time. Lovers of travel everywhere, beware this marvelous book!

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning photography! The "My Shot"photographs are amazing and the information about "My Shot" written by the photographer of that 'Shot' is fascinating. One photographer attached his camera to a kite and as the kite flew over the subject, he took the picture. Fantastic! Excellent travel book. 'Unforgettable Experiences' has information about the location pictured. 'Visit like a local' reveals where to go to get a great local meal or to drink the wine produced in that area because only a short supply can be produced. "Enjoy while you can" Also there is found 'Traveler's Notebook" which includes'When to go', 'Planning', and 'Websites'. A truly dynamite travel book that only National
Geographic Society could produce!!

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss traveling 😭

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photography and descriptions. I liked the categories. Some tips would be better in a travel guide than this coffee table style book, but since it’s focus is hybrid it’s understandable.

[Sulekha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am biased coz I got this as a birthday gift from my friends! :)

But it's really the perfect gift for someone who likes reading, photography and travel. Most of these places are on my bucketlist. I love the beautiful photos and the small details like info on the world's most scenic bookstores.

[Tim]

Om de een of andere gekke reden is dit boek ineens op de radar van Kosmos Uitgevers opgedoken en hebben ze daar besloten om het in vertaling uit te brengen - acht jaar na het origineel. Van laatkomers gesproken!

Maar om eerlijk te zijn: bijzonder veel hebben we er ook niet aan gemist tot nu toe. Natuurlijk is het op zich wel interessante informatie, een aangename lay-out heeft het ook en de meeste foto's zijn heel erg de moeite, maar een standaardwerk dat iedereen stante pede moet gelezen hebben, is dit ook zeker niet. Om de een of andere reden kon ik er ook maar moeilijk m'n gedachten bijhouden.

Er zijn een aantal fotografen van National Geographic die een van hun eigen favoriete foto's hebben geselecteerd om in het boek te plaatsen, en om eerlijk te zijn: over het algemeen vind ik die niet veel soeps. Vooral de laatste foto, met die twee kinderen op IJsland... Daar ben je als mogelijke toerist toch helemaal niks mee? Wat doet dat in een boek als dit? De meeste andere ('normale', zeg maar) foto's waren wel de moeite, al zaten er daar soms ook wel tussen waar ik moest fronsen.

De vertaling deed hier en daar trouwens nogal Hollands aan ook, soms, met bepaalde zinsconstructies of zo. En ik had ook de indruk dat ze nogal kromme zinnen hebben gemaakt, waarschijnlijk omdat ze niet te veel woorden mochten gebruiken zodat de opmaak gemakkelijk hanteerbaar bleef. Het gevolg daarvan is wel dat er nogal wat Engels klinkende dingen in staan.

Inhoudelijk staan er een aantal klassiekers in, waar ik over het algemeen wel tevreden over was. Een paar zaken waren nieuw voor mij en leken ook zeker de moeite om te leren kennen. Maar er stonden soms ook plekken in waarvan ik dacht, 'Is dat nu een van de 225 interessantste plekken ter wereld?' Dat zullen er een stuk of tien à vijftien geweest zijn, denk ik. Niet onoverkomelijk, dus, maar ik had ook wel het gevoel dat er een paar grote kleppers in de lijst ontbraken.

Dus ja. Niet slecht. Maar kon beter.

[Logan Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

National Geographics nonfiction book, titled Destinations of a Lifetime, dives into 225 of the world's most amazing places.

This book splits up the destinations by region and talks about places all over the globe. Each page of this book has different pictures to brighten your eyes. Some pages have one big shot of a landscape or something beautiful. Some destinations are so elegant and stunning looking at them you wouldn’t even think they are real. Lastly, this book shows you how to plan for a trip there and websites you can visit to learn more about your destination.

My personal opinion about this book is that I love it. This book helped me pick out places that are now on my bucket list to visit. I love destinations with pretty beaches and nice weather and this book hits that requirement and beyond. I also liked this book because it explains how to plan a trip there for future times. Lastly, this book really made me see how beautiful the world is and some of the places inside of it. National Geographic uses a very informative style of writing to explain what's going on in these places.

I would recommend this book for travelers around the world looking for nice places to visit and places that you can learn from. I also would recommend this book to people who wanna go on a vacation but don't know where to go and how to book a trip.

[Caffers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous coffee table book. Lovely photos of place from around the world for the armchair traveler. I got this book from the library and started out READING it, renewed it twice, but then it was due, so I ended up looking at the photos, reading the captions and returning it. I will get it again.
It's a little bit of an escape to places I'm sure I will never have the opportunity to visit but I really enjoyed seeing the photos and learning about them. Lots of eye candy.
Includes When To Go, Planning, and Further Info tips.
I gave it a 4 instead of a 5, mainly because many places I searched for in the index were not included.
I realize they can't include EVERYTHING, but some places I thought would be a given for a fabulous place to visit and should be included, were not.
Also because I wanted to know more about the building on the cover! There is a line inside the back cover giving the name of the building, and who took the photo, but there is no write up on it. How could they miss the opportunity to tell us about such an awesome looking place?!

[Gonçalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quite comprehensive guide that every globetrotter should own and proudly display on top of a coffee table for future travel endeavours.

From well-known places like Alhambra, Sagrada Familia, Bagan and Machu Picchu to more hidden gems such as Majlis al Jinn, Nyungwe Forest National Park or Yap Island, this tome is embezelled by stunning photography from National Geographic Society reputable photographers.

This visually attractive book adequately divided into six main categories which show the diversity of the 225 selected destinations:

*Nature Unbound
*Hand of Man
*Sea & Shore
*Mountain Majesty
*Town & Country
*My Shot (featuring Net Geo's picks from their immense catalogue and a brief descriptive memory)

[Mhd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, the photos are beautiful. It's 5-stars for how well it serves as a coffee table book. And, it's 5-star as an index inspiring a reader to find out more on all these places. Each one of them could easily have its own books...I wonder if any of these sites don't have dedicated books?? I've been to 9 of the 225 (with little chance to ever add more). There are also a few lists of other places in some of the sections of the book. In those lists, I added 5 more places but they don't count toward the 225. Given that choosing destinations is a very personal process, I can't fault the book's choices; where in doubt, they seemed to have given weight to remoteness. Maybe I'll make my own list?!

[BookStarRaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌎These last few years have been tough. Before COVID, I loved traveling both nationally and internationally. Suffice to say, it has been a long time since I’ve traveled too far from home.

🌍 Destinations of a Lifetime is a Beautiful book by National Geographic. Through the extraordinary pictures in this book I can travel to national treasures like the Blue Ridge Parkway to international rarities like the Galápagos Islands. While it’s not the same as travel, it still makes me happy to look and plan for when I can travel again.

🌏 I recommend this book to travel and photography lovers alike. It’s large size and beautiful picture make it a worthwhile purchase.

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved browsing through the pages though i had clearly high expectations from this book and i always wanted to lay my hands on this.. Its a bulky stuff and you need lot of time in your hands to slowly suck up the stuff that this book has to offer.. I must say its a must have in your collection if you are a travel buff. Overall i like to read this book again and again as it gives you insights everytime you open this book

[Mary Ann van Hartesveldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic photos!

I recommend this book to people love travel--even if only in their dreams. Stunning shots of destinations on every continent are here, with brief information on how to get there and see it for yourself. Some are exotic and some close to home--for me that's the mountains of North Georgia and the DEA Islands. Buy this. You won't regret it.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a coffee table book that took me to some places I’ve traveled to and many I’d love to go to! It has absolutely beautiful pictures and information on each destination! Oh to have the money to just travel the world to these places would be incredible as well! I highly recommend this one as it takes you away from the daily grind most of us live.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to let this go. The holiday is heating up and I will not be able to take the time that this book deserves. What I have enjoyed is the amazing oversize photographs and the information on each photo. Now I have even more places that I would like to see.

[Kathleen Messmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the images in this book are stunningly beautiful, a lot of them don’t invoke in me the desire to visit the destinations. However, there are a few I’ve never heard of and some tiny countries that do inspire me.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just Ok. great photography. Good table book. But i thought it would give me ideas for travel. All of the locations are hard to get to esoteric and not practical. Not exactly what I was expecting.

[Ana Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A travel teaser! This National Geographic beautiful illustrative account of beautiful places to visit around the World with travel details and site information incites my traveling bug. It is sectioned into wild & natural, man-made, water ways, mountains and towns. I have bookmarked many places!

[Kate Casserly · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book to keep and plan and dream

[Anne Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great. Very interesting.

[Les Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of really amazing places, and wonderful photography.

[S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read

This was nice to borrow from the library and read. Nothing really special or new, but interesting enough to look at.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Christmas present ever. I've bookmarked so many pages already.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atypical locales

Not the usual spots. Def some off the beaten path locations. You won’t find typical eifel tower or great wall recommendations.