**************************

#1. PARIS, FRANCE

Our 'pecking order', so to speak, would be incomplete without the City of Lights and Love. Heck, we could come up with a completely separate list just featuring places to pucker up in Paris. Without besmirching the other classic places to be smooching, our favourite spot is Père Lachaise Cemetery, the final resting place of some of the most passionate people that ever lived. Steal a kiss at the apocryphal tombs of lovelorn Abelard and Heloise, and don't forget to visit Oscar Wilde's burial place to add your mark to the mosaic of fading lipstick ovals left by other admirers.

#2. BLARNEY, IRELAND

All those who seek the 'gift of gab' flock to Blarney Castle, near Cork, to get intimate with a celebrated chunk of bluestone. No one is quite certain how the tradition began but, according to legend, those who give the rock some lovin' will be rewarded with uncanny eloquence and the ability to flatter even the surliest characters. It's not that simple. To kiss the stone, visitors must lie on their back, arch their head back into a deep crevice, and kiss the stone upside-down while gripping two iron railings.

#3. KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA, USA

The home of Walt Disney World announces its smoochability via its name. Kissimmee attracts millions of tourists looking to re-enact an assortment of magical fables involving valiant princes waking their sleeping beauties with a delicate embrace, or would-be princesses planting kisses on a warty toad hoping he'll transform into their lover. Cinderella's castle, the hallmark of the Disney brand, sits at the centre of the theme park - this rambling fortress of twisting turrets is the perfect place for a fairytale kiss.

KISSING, GERMANY

The act of puckering up was invented here, in 1808. We jest, of course; Kissing is a quaint Bavarian hamlet decked with steeples and spires. The origin of this delightful moniker remains a mystery, although history first mentions the village in 1050, when it was a minor capital called Chissingin.

NEW YORK CITY, USA

New York's history is filled with memorable kisses. From 1892 to 1954 Ellis Island was the main entry point for immigrants entering the United States. During its prime, the checkpoint employees dubbed a baluster 'the kissing post', as it was here that freshly minted Americans would reunite with their estranged families. In 1945 tonsil tennis in Times Square was immortalised by Alfred Eisenstaedt's definitive photograph of an American sailor planting a wet one on a young woman. And in 1973 this gritty metropolis was home to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley when they formed the rock band KISS.

KIRIBATI

Island destinations are always a great choice for a romantic getaway, but this tiny nation of rugged atolls offers a little something extra. Kiribati's 33 isles are in the cerulean waters of the South Pacific, just west of the international dateline, making it the first place in the world to welcome the new day. If you ring in the New Year on one of Kiribati's Line Islands, you and your special someone could be the first people on earth to steal a kiss in 2009.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

'Tall and tan and young and lovely' pretty much describes every frolicking sun-aholic on scintillating Copacabana Beach. Antonio Carlos Jobim, a native of Rio, wrote the sultry The Girl from Ipanema, which perfectly captures the longing for a beachside romance under the tropical sun. Even when played as instrumental elevator Muzak, the heartbreaking bossa nova elicits a quixotic desire to immediately pack one's bags and head to Brazil, where a kiss on both cheeks comes with every friendly 'hello'.

The Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy

VENICE, ITALY

The charming canals of Venice have been synonymous with romance since long before Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Local legend maintains that lovers will find eternal happiness if they share a kiss while passing beneath the Bridge of Sighs on a sunset gondola ride. Many believe that the bridge was named for romantic exhalations, but the term was actually coined because the limestone overpass connected a courtroom and a prison, and criminals would often sigh as they took a final look at the beautiful city before being locked away.

HERSHEY, USA

Only in tiny Hershey, Pennsylvania, would the main thoroughfare be called Chocolate Avenue. This quiet township is home to the Hershey's factory, which produces the infamous Hershey's Kisses. Wrapped in silver foil, these delicate drops of chocolaty goodness have been responsible for over a century's worth of cavities. Travellers to Hershey can check out Chocolate World, the on-site visitor centre, and embark on a Willy Wonka-style adventure through the plant. There is a 3D musical show, a simulation ride, singing trolley tours and a tasting booth where you can steal all the kisses you want.

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO

'Kiss me, kiss me as if it were the last time' was just one of Ingrid Bergman's indelible phrases that catapulted the movie Casablanca to cult status, and forever gave the Moroccan metropolis a certain je ne sais quoi. Although Humphrey Bogart's smoky Café Americain was a figment of the writer's imagination, there are plenty of hectic hangouts to use as a backdrop for your own re-enactment. Gaze into your lover's eyes and whisper 'we'll always have Paris'.

This is an edited extract from LONELY PLANET'S BEST IN TRAVEL 2009 - Lonely Planet Publications, 2008. US$22.99.