Every year, coastal science professor Stephen Leatherman — also known as "Dr. Beach" — ranks the best beaches in the U.S.
At the top of the list for 2016: Hawaii's Hanauma Bay, on Oahu.
Leatherman, who is a professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, uses 50 criteria to rank the quality of public beaches.
Hanauma is a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring and located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oahu (just east of Honolulu) in the Hawaiian Islands.
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES/GALLO IMAGES
That includes everything from sand and water quality to environmental management and available amenities, and Leatherman has now added smoking bans to the criteria.
Hanauma Bay, one of the most popular tourist destinations on Oahu, took the top spot. In the past, the beach has struggled with influxes of tourists.
Hanauma Bay.
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES/AWL IMAGES RM
Hanauma Bay became a marine life conservation area and underwater park in 1967. In 1990, local officials formulated a plan to better protect the area. All first-time visitors who come to the popular snorkeling spot are required to watch an informational video that teaches them about preservation and conservation, as well as the safety rules for the bay. It's against the law to mistreat any marine life in the bay, and visitors are not allowed to touch or walk on the coral reefs.
Besides Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, California and New York were represented on the list.
Paris' hottest new hotel is a spindly 984-foot iron tower that may look a little familiar.
Vacation rental service HomeAway is giving away the chance to spend a night in the Eiffel Tower to four contestants in a company-run competition as part of its sponsorship of this summer's UEFA Euro cup.
The company is claiming that the winners will be the first to sleep inside the landmark in its 129-year history, a distinction that seems hard to definitively prove. A makeshift bedroom and living space will be set up in the tower's first floor for the occasion.
The overnight stay is part of a vacation package that also includes a three-night stay elsewhere in the city and round-trip transportation costs. Entrants have to address a writing prompt on what they plan to do with the accommodations for the benefit of a panel of judges.
HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples said he was initially a bit thrown when his marketing team brought him the idea, billing it as a splashy way for the company to spread the word about its sponsorship of the games.
The city of Paris may have been equally taken aback when HomeAway employees, upon receiving Sharples' blessing to give it a shot, broached the proposal with the French capital's authorities. "It was a very, very long process," Sharples told Mashable. "I can only imagine what it takes to convince the city of Paris to do that."
The city apparently decided the promotion could do enough for tourism to move forward.
IMAGE: NEALE CLARK / GETTY IMAGES
"Paris is promoting the Euro cup as well — this is a really big deal for them," Sharples said. "And they want tourists to flock to Paris and feel comfortable in Paris and obviously there have been some incidents in Paris that would cause them to really want to promote their brand as well."
HomeAway has been on something of an advertising blitz lately aimed in part at differentiating itself from rival Airbnb.
The Eiffel Tower contest is similar to Airbnb's "Night At" series, in which the short-term rental service offers "iconic spaces" for one-night stays. Those spaces have included a bedroom submerged in a shark tank in Paris, New York City's Ellis Island and Boston's Fenway Park.
Part of HomeAway's campaign is a commercial that mocks hotels and on-demand sharing services like Airbnb, with narration from Nick Offerman. A French-language version of that ad is currently running on television in France.
The European market is big for HomeAway; the company currently does 40% of its business there. As the continent's top vacation destination, France — and Paris in particular — accounts for an inordinate amount of that share.
"Europeans are more comfortable with vacation rental travel than they are in the United States or in markets like Asia where it's still emerging," Sharples said. "And in Europe, you'd be amazed at what percentage of the total vacation market is in France."
Indeed, Paris is the biggest city for Airbnb in the world, with an estimated 41,476 listings, according to independent source InsideAirbnb.
Winners will be announced June 10, and the actual stays will happen throughout the summer.
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There are some landmarks so iconic they appear on almost every traveler's bucket list.
From the Taj Mahal to Machu Picchu, a visit to these sites is the equivalent of a world history course.
Of the many spectacular sites that exist around the globe, TripAdvisor ranked 10 for the 2016 Travelers' Choice Awards, which were announced on Tuesday. The list is determined both by the quantity and quality of reviews over the past year.
“These landmarks attract millions of visitors each year and represent some of the world’s most impressive examples of human ingenuity,” said Barbara Messing, TripAdvisor's chief marketing officer, in a statement.
The only U.S. destination to make the worldwide list was the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C. (The top 10 American landmarks, meanwhile, included five in New York City.)
Whether you're looking for some travel inspiration or just a refresher on world history, here are the world's 10 most beloved landmarks to immediately add to your bucket list.
10. Milan Duomo — Italy
IMAGE: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Milan's Duomo is the second largest cathedral in Italy, right after the Vatican. It was built over a period of nearly 600 years, with construction officially starting in 1386 and lasting until 1965. The cathedral's roof offers fantastic views of Milan as well as close-ups of the elaborate buttresses that go undetected from the ground.
9. Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — U.S.
Barack Obama and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe depart from the Lincoln Memorial following a visit in 2015.
IMAGE: MANDEL NGAN / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
The Lincoln Memorial building and surrounding landscape is one of the most iconic sites in the American capital. It has important historical significance in the American Civil Rights Movement and is visited by about 6 million people every year.
8. The Alhambra — Spain
IMAGE: JORGE GUERRERO / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
The most-visited monument in Spain is a magnificent medieval fortress and palace nestled on Granada's highest peaks. The stunning Moorish complex looks out over the city through a maze of perfectly-manicured gardens, elaborate architecture and reflecting pools.
7. Church of the Savior on Spilt Blood — Russia
IMAGE: LUCAS SCHIFRES / GETTY IMAGES
The multicolored cathedral in Saint Petersburg is translated into many different names: the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the Church of the Savior on Blood and the Church on Spilt Blood. It sits on the execution site of Emperor Alexander II and was built in his memory from 1883 to 1907.
6. Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba — Spain
IMAGE: JTB PHOTO / UIG / GETTY IMAGES
Throughout its history, Córdoba has been occupied by many different groups: Roman, Visigoth, Islamic, Jewish and Christian empires all left their mark. For hundreds of years, the city's fantastic mosque-cathedral went back and forth between Catholic church and mosque, including a brief period when the two religions split the building. Today, it is regarded as the apotheosis of Moorish architecture.
5. Taj Mahal – India
The Taj Mahal.
IMAGE: HERMES IMAGES / UIG / GETTY IMAGES
Arguably the most famous mausoleum in the world, Taj Mahal in Agra was ordered by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife. The immense structure is considered the crowning jewel of Indo-Islamic architecture and took 17 years to complete.
4. St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican City
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The papal basilica is the cornerstone of the Catholic empire. It is an ornate and intimidating home to some of the world's finest treasures, including the tombs of more than 100 saints and emperors and Michelangelo's La Pietà .
3. Angkor Wat – Cambodia
A young monk sits in front of the Angkor Wat temple reflected on a lake in Siem Riep, Cambodia.
IMAGE: XAUME OLLEROS / GETTY IMAGES
Angkor was the center of the Khmer Empire, which ruled from the 9th to 15th centuries. The megacity stretches over 250 square miles and was an impressive feat of urban planning. The main draw of the megacity remains the spectacular and elaborate Angkor Wat temple.
2. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center – United Arab Emirates
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is seen in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
IMAGE: ALI HASSAN / ANADOLU AGENCY / GETTY IMAGES
Abu Dhabi's iconic landmark is comprised of 82 pure white domes. The mosque, named after the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, took over 10 years to build and is considered an architectural marvel for its blend of classic and modern Islamic styles.
1. Machu Picchu — Peru
IMAGE: DE AGOSTINI / GETTY IMAGES
Nearly one million tourists visit Peru's 15th-century Incan citadel every year. It was considered a lost city that was abandoned during the Spanish Conquest, but Machu Picchu gained attention and became a tourist destination after 1912, when an American explorer led an excavation to the site. The former imperial estate is now universally considered to be one of the new seven wonders of the world.
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