If you’re less into history, and more into futuristic metropolises, Dubai is the flashiest of them all. The city is home to the tallest building (Burj Khalifa), as well as the Dubai Mall, the largest of its kind in the world. Other features include amazing artificial islands and some of the best beaches around. When you consider that Dubai was a small tribal town until the 1970s, the current spectacle is mind-blowing.