Bangkok may be the economic heartbeat of the nation, but Chiang Mai is the culture centre of a more authentic Thailand. Older than the capital and littered with ancient pagodas and golden temples, this is also the place to shop for handcrafted goods or explore Thai traditions past and present. Chiang Mai is at its […]

Cambodia is a country of misty mountains, ancient pagodas, tropical sanctuaries and long-abandoned cave temples. It has also seen one of the bloodiest genocides of the twentieth century. After emerging from 30 years of turmoil in the late 1980s Cambodia has made great progress, but the legacy of the Khmer Rouge still lingers and it […]

A busy, bustling, booming San Marco Piazza welcomes you off the boat and throws you in the deep end of this liquid land. The stunning Saint Mark’s Basilica looms across Andrea Tirali’s pavement as you stroll across the plaza, before losing yourself in the narrow, steep-sided maze of Venice’s ancient streets and bridges. Gondolas flow […]

The sight of half ton trucks and bands of ice fisherman parked in the middle of Lake Harriet at 6am on a winter’s morning can seem bizarre at first, but it’s quintessential Minneapolis in its demonstration of simpler pleasures; most of the fish that get caught are thrown straight back in. One end of the […]

The winding cobbled streets lined with ancient looking patios, where stylish Quebecois sip coffee and play chess with their compatriots, have a distinctly rustic feel by day; by night, the soft amber glow of the gorgeous city lights feel like a scene from a Van Gogh. Quebec City is a delightful slice of the Old […]

Havana was once described as a cemetery of cinemas; not to mention bookshops, theatres, markets and much more. At the forefront of Latin Culture, the cultural scene was once a rival for New York and Paris, yet the advent of Communism saw much slide into decline. Today it us undergoing something of a quiet revolution; […]

For the sheer romance of the Renaissance, it is hard to look beyond this sumptuously stylish city; if this were a beauty pageant, meet the new Miss World. Florence’ wealth was built on the fortune and stewardship of the Medici dynasty, who commissioned the likes of Michaelangelo, Botticelli and Leonardo to sculpt a landscape of […]

It’s hard to know which is the more iconographic image of Rio; that of the 40m statue of Christ the Redeemer, arms outstretched as he gazes out over the cidade maravilhosa, or that of the scantily-clad carnival-goers shaking their stuff with unashamed exuberance through the Samba City. Perhaps you think of the canary-clad creativity of […]

Famous for watches and chocolate, there is in fact much more to Switzerland. A landlocked country with four official languages, it has a diverse culture to match, and whether you fancy dining German, Italian or French you are in for a treat. This is also the country where people first skied for fun and the […]

A Caribbean archipelago comprised of two main islands and several smaller siblings, the Republic of Cuba looms large in the imagination despite its diminutive size. Known for its cigars and smooth-sipping rum, not to mention international political figures such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, it is perhaps most paradoxically seen as a symbol of […]

Israel is a long-contested land that was born of political compromise after the end of World War II, but its roots go back as far as the biblical state of Zion. Jerusalem at its heart attracts millions in pilgrimage every year, yet Israel is far from a backwater theocracy but a pulsing modern nation with […]

The great Aztec City of Tenochtitlan once stood on this antiquated lake bed, but after suffering widespread destruction during a 16th century Spanish siege it was rebuilt according to colonial standards. The name Mexico City became official in 1585 and it has served as the national administrative, economic and cultural capital ever since. A kaleidoscopic […]