This was published 6 years ago
Travel tips: The 10 countries you should visit first to be a true traveller
By Ben Groundwater
Tropea, a beach town in Calabria, Italy.Credit: iStock
Matt Canavan has never been to Italy. That's the most shocking takeaway of this whole dual-citizenship debacle. That's the one thing people should be making noise about.
The Coalition senator, who was recently forced to resign from the cabinet after it was revealed his Italian-born mother had registered him for Italian citizenship without his knowledge, used as part of his defence the fact that he'd never even been to Italy. Fair enough, everyone thought, how would he know he was a citizen if he hadn't even been to the country?
But wait on a second: he's never been to Italy? A 36-year-old man with the means to travel and he had never felt the inkling to go and visit one of the most popular, important and enjoyable tourism destinations in the world? One in which he has close familial ties? What's that about?
It made me realise that, though everyone has bucket lists of exotic and unlikely destinations and experiences that they would one day like to tick off, there are also certain obvious places that everyone should take the time to visit. Places, in fact, that if you love travel and you have the means to do it, you should already have been to.
ITALY
Credit: iStock
Obviously. The ancient home of the Roman empire. The current home of carbonara and spaghetti alle vongole. A country that holds within its booty such touristy gems as Rome, Venice, Florence, Sicily, Cinque Terra, Verona, Bologna, Lecce; such world-famous historical staples as the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Bridge of Sighs, and, ah, pizza. WTF, Matt Canavan?
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Italy
UK
Credit: istock
Again, an obvious one, given so many of us have familial heritage in the United Kingdom, and share so many its cultural touchstones and quirks of personality. Cities such as London, Edinburgh and Manchester; scenic destinations such as the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Scottish Highlands; the whisky, the beer, the pubs that serve them – everyone should experience this stuff.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to the UK
SOUTH AFRICA
Credit: iStock
This is the natural jumping off point for Africa, the first experience many people have of this amazing continent, a country with history and culture, with cities and wilderness, with adventure and luxury. It's as easy to fly to Jo'burg as it is to Los Angeles, and as cheap, and yet so few people seem to have made the trip. If you're tossing up whether you really would enjoy South Africa, I can tell you now: yes. You would.
THAILAND
Credit: iStock
There's no excuse for not having been to Thailand already. It's cheap to get there, and it's cheap to be there. It's close, by Australian standards. It has a split of destination styles: flashy beach resorts to budget-friendly bungalows, party hotspots to quiet retreats, city buzz to rural bliss, culture to cuisine. Thailand is the best way to get to know South-East Asia, and to realise you want to see more.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Thailand
JAPAN
Credit: iStock
Travellers either love Japan with a passion, or they've never been there. If you fall into the latter category, open up a new tab in your browser and book a flight right now. Japan is the best. There's no other way to describe it. The people, the cities, the countryside, the restaurants, the shops, the bars, the … everything. It's so foreign and yet so approachable, so bizarre and yet so easy to immerse yourself. Go. Now.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Japan
FRANCE
Credit: iStock
Though it's had a bad run in the recent past due to security issues and terrorist attacks, France is still one of the world's great destinations, and a place anyone passionate about travel should already have visited. If you don't like the wine and the food, the beaches and the mountains, the big cities and the tiny villages, the chateaux and the villas, then we can't be friends.
See also: The 10 things you should never do in France
USA
Credit: iStock
This is one of those destinations that's so obvious that it almost seems too obvious. What's going to be surprising about the USA? You already know all about it. Plus there's the Trump factor. But this is the birthplace of so many of our cultural staples: jazz, blues and rock music; Hollywood movies; sports fanaticism; the hamburger. This stuff needs to be seen in its home.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to the USA
NEW ZEALAND
Credit: iStock
To people who haven't been there, New Zealand may just seem like a smaller version of Australia with more All Blacks fans, but that's selling the Shaky Isles a long way short. This is an amazing travel destination with a culture and a landscape all of its own. Just watch Lord of the Rings. No amount of CGI can top what's already on offer in New Zealand.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to New Zealand
CHINA
Credit: iStock
To have any sort of understanding of the modern world, you have to go to China. You have to see that this isn't the big homogenous baddie you read about in the news. There's a lot more going on here. This is a huge, multifaceted continent-within-a-country, a place you may never properly understand – but then, that's the point.
See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to China
CANADA
Credit: iStock
What's not to love about Canada? It's pretty much like Australia, only with more progressive politics, actual mountains (sorry Snowys), actual bears (sorry koalas), and a whole bunch of people who speak French. There's a part of Canada to fit the style of pretty much any traveller, from adventurers to gourmands, nature nuts to party animals. You should really check it out.
See also: 10 things Australians need to understand about Canadians
What do you think are the essential countries that every traveller should have visited by now?
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