Just forget where you are for a moment and try daydreaming. Escapism is good for you. So let’s pretend that a genie has suddenly appeared from this magazine and is offering you the chance to create your very own paradise. Shouldn’t be too hard. Just throw in as many good things as you can think of.

There should be some long, golden, empty beaches for starters. Plenty of mountains, of course. Spectacular forests. Gorgeous lakes. Heartstopping rivers. And a generous dollop of awesome desert – just to balance things out.

We’d need to sprinkle around a few cities, and they should be vibrant, exciting and dynamic, with amazing architecture, superb museums and fantastic shopping. Heck – let’s even make them near to the beach.

The sun will shine virtually every day, though we’ll arrange for a spot of rain, just so we don’t get bored with endless blue skies. And we’ll need some snow too, so we can go skiing and snowboarding in those mountains.

The food will range from the best burgers you’ve ever tasted to sophisticated dishes prepared by some of the world’s greatest chefs. The raw ingredients will be grown minutes or hours from the restaurant, so you can be sure your food will be fresh, and often organic. You’ll want to wash it down with a glass of chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon produced by some of the world’s most creative wine producers.

The natives will be warm and friendly, and the land will be called… well, that bit’s easy. It’s already got a name: California.

But the best part of this fantasyland made real is the excitement you experience in discovering it. Because even in your dreams, there will be things you couldn’t ever have imagined: the magnificence of natural wonders like Yosemite, Lake Tahoe or Lassen Volcanic National Park; the thrill of cycling through Death Valley or Mammoth Mountain’s Bike Park; the wonder of camping in Joshua Tree National Park or Sequoia National Park.

Why not explore the art galleries of Sacramento; listen to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall; savour the cultural gems of rural California, from the missions to the settlement forts, artisan cheesemakers to glassblowers; or take in the ballet in San Francisco?

But if it’s less cerebral activities you’re after, you could play a round of golf at world-famous courses such as Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines; shop not only on Los Angeles’ famous Rodeo Drive but also designer outlets around the state; dance the night away in one of LA’s famous clubs or bars; pamper yourself in one of the many hot springs; recapture your childhood spirit at one of Orange County’s theme parks; pick fruit straight from the tree in Central Valley – the salad bowl of California; or drink yourself sideways on a tour of one of the many wine regions, such as Napa, Sonoma and Temecula valleys.

You see, there’s a lot more to California than most people realise. And once you start to explore it, you’ll find there’s nothing like it.