Where: Córdoba, Andalucia, Spain.
What happened here: Way back in 852, an Andalusian Arab unwittingly paved the way for thousands of modern day thrill seekers by jumping off a tower, with only a cloak fixed up with wooden struts to save him. In doing so, Armen Firman became recognised as the first person to do a parachute jump.

If you travel here now: Surprisingly, no-one has tried to jump on an obvious marketing ploy and set up a skydiving school in Córdoba. The tower for the famed leap is also long gone, but visitors won’t be too disappointed with a trip to the city. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed centre is an absolute treasure.

Where: Córdoba, Andalucia, Spain
What happened here: Spurred on by seeing Armen Firman taking the first ever parachute jump 23 years previously, Abbas Ibn Firnas decided to go one better. At the incredible age of 65, the astronomer and poet decided to launch himself off a nearby mountain in a home-made glider. He survived with just a few broken bones, and became the first man to scientifically attempt to fly.

If you travel here now: The mountain Ibn Firnas took off from is not recorded by history, but it’s likely that it was either in the Hornachuelos or Subbetica mountain range, both of which are close to the city. Whilst taking leaps in either is not advised, both are fantastic for walking through.

Where: Paris, Île-de-France, France.
What happened here: The Montgolfier brothers, Josef and Etienne, gave humans the ability to fly for the first time in 1783. Their contraption, which used the theory of convection currents to lift a basket off the ground, was first tested in Paris by human guinea pigs Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. The pair volunteered to test the Montgolfiers’ balloon, wanting the honour of being the first humans to fly, although King Louis XVI had originally proposed using convicted criminals for the test run. After landing successfully, the pilots were given champagne to calm their nerves – a tradition that still continues to this day.

If you travel here today: Everyone has the chance to go ballooning over the French capital – go to www.franceballoons.com

Where: Satory, Île-de-France, France.
What happened here: The first ever manned, powered flight was not by the Wright brothers, as many believe, but by Frenchman Clement Ader. He managed to get his contraption, Avion III, to travel 300m through the air on October 14th, 1897. Given that it was little more than a bat-shaped glider with two propellers attached, this was quite an achievement. However, given that it was conducted in secrecy from a military base, the Wright brothers generally got the credit for being the first to go up in a proper flying machine.

If you travel here today: You’ll not get to see much: it’s still a military base. However, the fabulous palace of Versailles is close by.

Where: Muroc Army Air Field, California, USA.
What happened here: On October 14th, 1947, American Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to officially break the sound barrier. In his Bell X-1 plane, Yeager managed the first supersonic flight and lived to tell the tale.
If you travel here today: The facility is now known as the Edwards Air Force Base (www.edwards.af.mil/trip), and public tours are conducted twice a month. These take you round the airfield and the NASA Research Centre. However, the Air Force Flight Test Centre Museum is open all year round, and has more about Chuck Yeager than you could possibly wish for.

Where: Baikonur, Kazakhstan
What happened here: Amid much secrecy, the first ever manned space flight was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It’s the world’s oldest and biggest space launch facility, and its finest hour came in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin was sent into space from the well-hidden complex. It was also the place where the first artificial satellite – Sputnik 1 – was released.

If you travel here now: The base is still operational, and run by the Russians. Guided tours are available, but good luck getting through all the necessary paperwork. Go to www.kbtm.ru/english for more information. Alternatively, the Qyzylorda Province is not just a fabulous Scrabble score – it’s about as far off the beaten track as you can get, and the sort of place that only a fan of sprawling steppes could get excited about.