National Geographic Traveler's Best Trips of 2013

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Highlights from National Geographic Traveler's Best Trips of 2013 list.

National Geographic Traveler (travel.nationalgeographic.com) recently compiled its list of the world's must-see travel destinations for 2013. We give you highlights from that list, starting with Bagan, Myanmar. Here, pilgrims visit an old Buddhist temple in the ancient city on Sept. 30, 2012.

Beale Street. Barbecue. The King. Memphis, a popular Southeast travel destination, already has many fans in the Atlanta area. Apparently, it won National Geographic Traveler editors' hearts, as well.

The Crimean Peninsula's Black Sea coast has "Riviera-grade vistas but without Riviera prices," according to National Geographic Traveler.

When the National Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (MuCEM) opens in May 2013, it "will be a bold symbol of Marseille’s reemergence as a flourishing pan-Mediterranean hub," according to National Geographic Traveler.

National Geographic Traveler said of Quito, Ecuador: "Though its Spanish colonial center has been enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1978, the area has more recently undergone a renaissance warranting longer stays."

According to National Geographic Traveler, the best way to experience Thessaloniki "is on foot, walking from the ruins of Ano Poli to Aristotelous Square on the waterfront."

Grenada is known for its stretches of sandy white beaches, warm tropical waters and restaurants to rival the best found in St. Bart's or Anguilla.

"Stacked high with faded mansions, 19th-century funiculars and battered cobblestones, Valparaiso stands in contrast to the glitzy Vina del Mar resort town to the north," according to National Geographic Traveler.

You won't have to travel too far to visit National Geographic Traveler's next pick – St. Augustine. Here is an exterior view of Castillo de San Marcos, a masonry fort completed in 1695.

National Geographic Traveler describes Kyoto as "tranquil, delicate, intricate and wildly mysterious."

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National Geographic Traveler (travel.nationalgeographic.com) recently compiled its list of the world's must-see travel destinations for 2013. We give you highlights from that list, starting with Bagan, Myanmar. Here, pilgrims visit an old Buddhist temple in the ancient city on Sept. 30, 2012.

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