Cities like Vienna need to be seen to be believed. Grand buildings loom on all corners in a symphony of Baroque and Neo-Classical construction. From the Hofburg – the onetime home of the Habsburgs – to the elegant Belvedere, the whole city is a sparkling tiara of eye-watering wonders dating back centuries. Add to that … Read more
Tokyo is the sprawling, seething, neon-hazed capital of Japan. A megacity of more than 37 million people, it’s a heady overload of ramen stalls and sizzling BBQ kitchens, manga emporiums and steel-dressed skyscrapers that sprout like a forest of trees across the midriff of Honshu Island. At least it’s a heady overload until you discover … Read more
Istanbul is an overload for the senses. One moment you’re dodging dangling copper lamps and silk saris in the Grand Bazaar. The next you’re gazing at the great domes of the Hagia Sophia. Then you’re lost in the historic court rooms of the Topkapi Palace, following in the footsteps of the Ottoman sultans. Then you’re … Read more
The powerhouse of the Renaissance and one of the world’s most artistic cities, Florence rarely fails to impress. Set in a wide valley over the uber-romantic Arno River in the northern reaches of Tuscany, it’s a handsome conglomeration of domes and terracotta spires and one particularly majestic Duomo. Most will come to seek out the … Read more
At once party-mad and uber-chilled, elegant and easy-going, grand and gritty, Berlin is the ultimate city of contrasts. It’s famed for its majestic Reichstag but also for its sleepless techno clubs. It flaunts chic pop-up eateries next to casual bratwurst stalls. You can tour the leafy gardens of the Tiergarten before strutting the boulevards under … Read more
Nice is one of the jewels in the sparkling tiara of the Cote d’Azur; a town of beautiful people and beautiful places that strings along the glinting pebbles of the Med-washed French shoreline. Stylish and chic, yet also historic to its core, this gorgeous town attracts sun seekers, A-listers, and anyone else in search of … Read more
A sea of honey-hued palazzos and red-brick squares greets visitors to rambunctious Bologna. It’s a welcome that heralds one of Italy’s culinary hubs – this is the home of mortadella and tortellini! It’s a ‘buongiorno‘to the oldest student city in the world, and a UNESCO site famed for leaning towers (move over Pisa!) and grand … Read more
Porto is a pretty picture of tile-fronted homes and red-tiled roofs, dropping like a waterfall down to meet the winding Douro River. The second-largest city in Portugal, it’s proudly different to the capital in Lisbon. Here, in the lush green lands of the north, the city flaunts fortified wines and comes hemmed in by surf-washed … Read more
Turin sits in the shadow of the Aosta Alps in the north-western corner of Italy. And if that sounds like a pretty position, just wait until you see the gorgeous boulevards and stately Art Nouveau architecture of the city itself. Famed across the planet as the home of the revered Shroud of Turin (a holy … Read more
Tucked deep into the base of its very own fjord at the southern end of Norway, Oslo is an astounding city that oozes Scandinavian culture and real urban cool. Sleek, steel-dressed buildings crowd its harbour. A cutting-edge opera house that mimics an iceberg glows in Carrara marble on the seafront. There’s even a ski jump … Read more
Millions upon millions of travelers are drawn to the vast metropolis of London every year. They come because of the iconic landmarks of the British state, from Buckingham Palace to the soaring Gothic spire of Big Ben and beyond. They come to seek out hearty pubs and fish-and-chip stalls, frothy ales and Michelin-starred bistros alike. … Read more
Singapore glimmers and shimmers like a jewel at the very tip of the Malay Peninsula. A breath of mechanised modernism in the midst of Southeast Asia, its heart is an uber-efficient banking and big-business hub that hits a zenith with the UFO-like skyscrapers of the Marina Bay. Swirling around that is a metropolis of epic … Read more
Paris steals the hearts of travelers like no other city on the globe. With its proud Haussmannian blocks and look-at-me palaces, its tree-lined boulevards and uber-romantic bistros, it oozes a style and pizzazz that other capitals can only dream of. Then you throw in the world-class museum exhibits of the Orsay and the Louvre (hello, … Read more
Verona hits the headlines on account of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It was between the marble-carved balconies and cobbled lanes of this old city that the great English bard chose to play out his tale of love and tragedy. But there’s also much more to it than that. With the Alps and the glistening waters … Read more