USA Today has named off-the-radar cities to explore in 2018, putting Baku at the top of the list.

The list was recommended by Sal Lavallo who at 27 is one of the youngest Americans to have visited all 193 UN member states.

"This oil-rich capital city has invested billions in culture and modern architecture, making for a surprising stop in the Caucasus," says Lavallo.

“Walking around in the city is like an open-air museum. They have these ancient, ancient ruins and in the background are modern buildings. There’s also ballet, opera and caviar tastings. You can do quite a bougie trip in Baku," Lavallo adds.

Other off-the-radar cities to explore this year, according to Lavallo, are Dili (Timor-Leste), Abu Dhabi ( United Arab Emirates), Kigali (Rwanda), Skopje (Macedonia), Beirut (Lebanon), Mendoza (Argentina), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Asmara (Eritrea), Bagan (Myanmar), and Constantine (Algeria).

AZERTAC