Travel posters have long been fodder for armchair explorers and given that travel is off the cards for many of us right now, there seems no better time to celebrate our favourites. From vibrant airline ads to romantic watercolours depicting world destinations, we share 30 of the most beautiful travel posters from across the decades.

Our whistle-stop tour of the world's great travel posters begins with this one from Cunard Line, a British-based cruise liner that's operated since the 19th century. Thought to date to the 1920s, the poster promotes Cunard's Europe to America voyages with a haze of sunset-streaked clouds and a Cunard ship framed in an orange sun.

The drama of the Grand Canyon, designated a national park in 1919, is captured in this abstract illustration from the 1930s. The promotional poster is the work of the US Department of the Interior and it does a stellar job of depicting the canyon's cloud-piercing rock forms and glorious rusty red hue.

From one iconic US national park to another: this artwork features one of America's great natural wonders, Old Faithful, the mighty Yellowstone geyser that can shoot water more than 100 feet (30m) into the air. Commissioned by the Northern Pacific Railway, the poster perfectly captures the geyser's iridescent colours and cloud-like burst of water. Take a look at photos of America's stunning natural wonders.

Mountains, palms and a wash of sapphire sea make up this pretty Imperial Airways poster, which dates to the late 1920s. Operating in the first half of the 20th century, Imperial Airways was once a principal British carrier, serving destinations like India, North Africa and the Mediterranean. Featured here is an illustration of the Short Calcutta (or G-EBVG) seaplane, touted as "the modern way" to travel.

The Australian National Travel Association was responsible for this evocative poster dating from the 1930s. Operating until the early Noughties, the association drew travellers Down Under with clever campaigns and breathtaking artwork capturing the beauty of Oz. Australia's hazy Blue Mountains – a magical area of peaks and forest that stretches for more than 2.5 million acres – star in this simple image.

Wales' snaking rivers, rippling peaks and rock forms are on full display in this nostalgic Great Western Railway poster – you can almost imagine you're walking right alongside the smattering of hikers braving the Welsh hills. According to the advert, travellers could enjoy this bucolic slice of Wales on summer rail excursions leaving from hubs like London.

Moving on to another epic train journey, this poster by Ireland's Great Southern Railways Company showcases an unspoiled pocket of the Irish wilderness. Killarney, long dubbed "Heaven's Reflex", is known for its expansive, peak-fringed lakes and wildlife-filled forests, all beautifully depicted in this romantic artwork.

A dreamy painting sure to inspire wanderlust, this artwork perfectly encapsulates the City of Water, with its glittering canal lined by traditional balconied buildings and topped with a gondola. The pretty poster was used to advertise package tours to Italy from America.

This beautiful scene couldn't get much more Swiss: jagged, snow-crowned peaks and a huddle of evergreen trees flank a vertiginous mountain pass. The poster, featuring a bright yellow bus pushing along a soaring road, promotes pleasure trips on Switzerland's Alpine Postal Motor Coaches. Discover the most wonderful views on Earth.

This promotional poster paints a fairy-tale picture of Norway, "the Land of the Midnight Sun". Dating from the 1930s, it's the work of Ivar Gull, an artist who produced plenty of charming Scandinavian travel posters throughout his career. This one depicts a pastoral swathe of Norway, complete with a pastel-washed fjord, bathed in golden light.

The hoodoos and horseback trails of Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park are brought into glorious focus here. This poster, from the Chicago and North Western Railway Company, promotes a summer expedition to a trio of southwestern parks: Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce. The sunset-orange rock contrasting with the vivid blue sky would have certainly turned heads.

Printed for the Government of India, this enchanting poster needs little explanation. "See India" is the bold call, though the dreamy imagery, with its eye-catching colours and perfect silhouettes, serves as encouragement enough. The landmark captured is Chattar Manzil, a royal palace located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Take a peek inside the world's most luxurious palaces.

There's something very dramatic indeed about this German travel poster with its bright primary colours, silhouetted landmarks and stark depiction of the sky-splicing Bavarian mountains. The poster, from the Reichsbahnzentrale für den Deutschen Reiseverkehr tourism organisation, was designed to promote Germany as perfect road-trip fodder, and we certainly think it does the job.

Now defunct, Pan American was one of the key players in the early days of commercial aviation and this captivating poster promises to whisk travellers away to the "Peru of the Incas" in three days. The hulking Pan American aircraft contrasts dramatically with the craggy peaks and Inca ruins below. Now discover these groundbreaking planes that changed air travel.

This pretty vintage poster is from the Japanese tourist board and Japanese Government Railways. Wild sika deer (like those the city of Nara is famous for), vermillion pavilion-style buildings and cascading wisteria fill the foreground, while a dramatic peak rises behind them.

There's nothing quite like a rail ride along the coast and this cheerful poster advertises hops between some of southern England's most popular resort towns, including Eastbourne, Worthing and Brighton. It promotes London Brighton and South Coast Railway's year-round services along England's shores and this bucolic scene was sure to draw in the punters.

The skyscraper-lined shores of Lake Michigan are abuzz with sun seekers in this fun poster, tipping Chicago as "The Vacation City". It served as an advert for the Illinois Central Railroad Company, which joined up the Windy City with destinations in the Midwest and South.

This dreamy poster offers a snapshot of a summery Scandinavian landscape – all still, mirror-like waters, towering bluffs and neat solitary houses. It's a promotion for Atlantis, a Royal Mail passenger liner which sailed to destinations such as Norway and Venice in the early 20th century.

America's backyard is endlessly diverse and this United States Travel Bureau poster from the 1930s celebrates the country's incredible cave system. A pair of explorers gaze upon the striking blue-tinged stalagmites and stalactites that surround them in this abstract artwork, appealing to travellers to "See America". Discover modern-day US underground attractions you didn't know existed.

We're back on the train with this charming poster and this time it's the Chemins de fer de l'État (France's state railways). Promoting rail journeys in Normandy, the artwork features the Château d'O in Mortrée, a majestic medieval pile surrounded by a moat and spring blossoms.

Harking back to the 1930s, this colourful poster entices travellers to explore the heady Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a US territory known for its sandy beaches, forests and the buzzy capital of San Juan. Tipped as the place "Where the Americas Meet", Puerto Rico is represented here by swaying palms and the distant outline of a fortress.

Yosemite National Park is captured in all its glory in this bright poster from United Airlines, still one of America's major carriers. In this dreamy illustration, hikers are dwarfed by the mighty peaks and trees of the Yosemite Valley, as an United Airlines plane soars overhead.

Take a look America's historic attractions in their heyday

This kaleidoscopic tourism poster dubs the South Island city of Christchurch, New Zealand, "the playground of the Pacific". Bright, abstract depictions of natural wonders – from mountains and glaciers to hot springs and sun-drenched lakes – sit alongside city landmarks like Christchurch cathedral.

Elegant Château Frontenac – the turreted, 19th-century Fairmont hotel that dominates Québec City – is the star of this promotional poster from the 1950s. Originally built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the lavish pile (pictured here in the background) sits on a perch above the Saint Lawrence River and has been visited by dignitaries from the world over during its long lifespan. These are the world's most historic hotels.

This fiery poster from Trans World Airlines (TWA), a major American airline in the 20th century, features the unmistakable "international orange" spans of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Created in the 1950s, the poster is the vision of American artist David Klein, whose kaleidoscopic artworks for TWA made him famous.

After the Second World War, TWA expanded to offer routes from the USA to Europe and beyond. This idyllic poster shows a TWA aircraft gliding above the terracotta landmarks of Florence, Italy. Spot the graceful arches of Ponte Vecchio and the Torre di Arnolfo.

Another eye-catching design by David Klein for TWA, this 1958 poster brings together some of the Big Smoke's best-known landmarks. Left to right, you can spot the Elizabeth Tower (home to famous bell Big Ben), Nelson's Column (in Trafalgar Square) and Westminster Abbey, all imbued with pretty pastel hues. Explore more of London's landmarks and neighbourhoods with our guide.

Commissioned by the French tourist and transport office in the 1950s, this vivid poster was illustrated by graphic artist Bernard Villemot, who was renowned for his imaginative advert designs. This one plugs winter sports in France and features brightly dressed skiers whipping down rolling slopes under a yellow sun.

American artist Rod Ruth is the brains behind this dreamy snapshot of New York on a summer's day. The 1960s poster stars Central Park, the Big Apple's "Green Lung", and you can just imagine sprawling out on the velvety grass, taking in the forest of skyscrapers reflected in the water. In true Central Park style, a model boat bobs on the pond's surface too. 

Now take a look at vintage photos of American summer vacations

The careful detail and clever concept earn this vintage London Underground poster a place on the list. Created by Richard T Cooper, it celebrates upgrades to the Big Smoke's famous underground rail service in the 1920s and includes the ghost-like forms of passengers from the 19th century too. It gets extra points for the bright, bold depictions of 1920s fashion.