To me, the leisure enjoyed during the holiday season is a perfect time in which to plan future vacations. And so I've compiled a list of my own favorite destinations, of which there are 10:
 
1) Sanibel Island, Florida: Off the west coast of the Sunshine State, a few miles from Ft. Myers, is this idyllic haven of white-sand beaches, condos whose seafront apartments are available for weekly rentals, excellent restaurants, good shopping--and most important, the Ding Darling Nature Preserve, visited by thousands of birds of every species, who bask in the sun after diving for fish, and are one of the great natural sights of wildlife in America.
 
2) The Island of Bali, in Indonesia. A Hindu outpost in a Muslim nation, it is inhabited by some of the most gracious people on earth, who invite you to witness their religious processions, wedding ceremonies and joyous funerals. Making a base in the village of Ubud in the central highlands (which I greatly prefer to the beach areas of Bali, heavily visited by Australian surfers), I enjoy one of the cheapest vacations on earth, and yet one that is a profound cultural experience, supplemented by shopping expeditions to the arts and crafts shops of skilled artisans in the other central villages that surround Ubud.
 
3) Paris, France: I can never get enough of this glorious capital, whose beauty has been so well captured in Woody Allen's recent "Midnight in Paris" film. To me, Paris is on the frontier of virtually every subject I care about: cuisine (its restaurants and open-air markets are legendary), art (its museums and galleries are countless), theater (numerous playhouses and concert halls), life of the mind (its newspapers, colleges and forums are an endless source of new solutions), and history. Its residents, contrary to a popular misunderstanding, are actually quite friendly; and its prices are reasonable to the tourist who takes the time to research the options.
 
4) St. John in the U. S. Virgin Islands: One of the Caribbean's less developed islands (90% of it is a national park), it is also the site of Maho Bay Camps, a unique vacation complex of canvas-sided bungalows on a hillside overlooking a breathtaking ocean view. By comparison with most Caribbean resorts, Maho Bay is moderate in cost, patronized by unpretentious, intellectually-curious Americans, and open for the next two years (before its lease expires).
 
5) Cairo, Egypt: Though we will have to wait a while until the political discord of Egypt subsides, we will eventually return to the great sights of Cairo--the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum with its relics of Tut, the Nile and its river trips to Upper Egypt (Aswan, Luxor, Abu Simbel). These come as close to being indispensable destinations as any I know.
 
6) Bonaire, one of the "ABC" islands of the southern Caribbean: A scuba-diving capital. After taking a short "resort course", you will find yourself hanging weightless some 60 feet below the surface of the sea, viewing an enchanting sight of sealife and vegetation. And all this is enjoyed on a small, laid back and lightly-populated island, without the pressures and commerce of the better-known tropics.
 
7) Yachats, the Oregon Coast: A tiny seaside town, and yet with several gourmet restaurants (featuring Dungeness Crab at some), a number of small motel-like lodgings, and a good beach--in sum, the ideal spot for a stop in the course of a motoring trip along the breathtaking (and largely undeveloped) Oregon coast.
 
8) Chiang Rai, Thailand: A short ride from the better-known and much larger Chiang Mai, it houses a number of small travel agencies whose personnel will arrange a visit (on foot, by elephant, and by boat on the Mekong River) to the "Hill Tribes" in the mountainous "Golden Triangle" of Thailand, where Thailand meets Cambodia and Laos. The "Hill Tribes", living much as people did during the Stone Age, are fascinating to visit, and they will put you up for an overnight stay (or two nights) in their thatched huts on stilts.
 
9) New York City's Greenwich Village (and its Off-Broadway theaters): Many of the most important new trends and causes in America--the civil rights struggle, feminism, equal rights for gays, environmentalism,economic equality--all got their first hearing in these small theaters, which continue to perform a similar function today, exposing all of us to novel political and social ideas. Here's a remarkable chance to expand your consciousness.
 
10) Kenya. On an overland safari expedition from Nairobi into the Masai Mara and the Serengeti (without roads or power lines), you will see the world as it looked before human beings inhabited it. In Kenya, you are guaranteed of seeing tens of thousands of animals -- wildebeest, giraffes, lions, elephants, rhinoceros, and more) in a single day -- an exceptional experience.
 
Runners-up to my 10 best:  Copenhagen, St. Lucia in the Caribbean, Oxford, Mexico's San Miguel de Allende, and Rio.