Corniche Beach, La Teste-De-Buch, France: At 357 feet high, 1,640 feet wide, and 8,800 feet long, the pine forest–hugged Dune of Pilat is the highest in Europe and tumbles to Corniche Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. Climbing is okay, but go for views the birds brag about and hitch a 10-minute paraglide ride with Pyla Parapente over the geomorphic monument.

Photograph by Nicolas Thibaut, Getty Images