Spanning eleven time zones and twice the size of the USA, Russia is not a country that can be rushed. Many travellers go no further than Moscow, with its historic old city and lively nightlife, or follow the Volga boatmen along the waterways of the Czars to the baroque architecture of St Petersburg. This, however, […]

While the Table Mountains near Cape Town may have been the inspiration for Tolkein’s epic Lord of the Rings, it is the Matamata of New Zealand which provided the stunning backdrop for the 21st century films. Dramatic, snow-dusted peaks cast mirror images in crystal lakes, tapering to green, rolling foothills in the distance; gushing rivers […]

The Giant Bear of Russia has long been shrouded in mystery, but the city of Moscow feels somehow far more familiar. The imposing behemoth of the Kremlin and the view from Red Square in particular have become iconographic images of both the capital and the country as a whole. The association with the old Soviet […]

The Eiffel Tower may be the most iconic symbol of a country famed for its fine dining and sophisticated culture, but while Paris may be world-renowned there is far more to France than that. There are over twenty world heritage sites, the world’s best vineyards, an array of medieval forts and cathedrals, not to mention […]

One of the greenest in America, Austin also tops polls for the least stressful and most friendly city in the country. Southern hospitality meets a lively student culture, while Town Lake in particular is regularly host to top class performers as the city has styled itself the ‘live musical capital of the world’. The ‘Keep […]

Miami loves to flirt; but be careful with her, because this isn’t your regular date. Behind the gorgeous good looks flaunted shamelessly to the world there’s a catalogue of eccentrics that make this far more than just another seaside resort. There’s no doubting her credentials. Positioned at the southern tip of the Gold Coast, with […]

With the Yellowstone National Park as its back yard, and Glacier and Grand Teton as alternative playgrounds for the more energetic, Billings boasts an idyllic location at the heart of the northern US. It may have a population of barely 100,000 but it remains an important gateway for the Northern Rockies and Great Plains and […]

The stunning Alpine setting of Salzburg was the scene for the smash hit Sound of Music, but their most hallowed legacy is probably the work of its most famous son – for these are the hills that inspired Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The beautiful city centre is an aria of Baroque architecture and one of the […]

Arrive in Washington and it’s inevitable that you’ll soon be talking politics. Spend any length of time here and you’ll come to appreciate more than ever the world-changing dream upon which the nation is founded. It’s a city of bricks and mortar like any other but it’s also the most iconographic city in history, and […]

Like the heights of the Himalayas or the depths of the Pacific, Antarctica is one of the earth’s most challenging and inhospitable frontiers. Yet just as Mallory was drawn to Everest so thousands of scientists and adventurers are drawn to this haunting desert every year. Giant icebergs, contorting glaciers, labyrinthine caves and sparkling formations of […]

One of the world’s earliest parliamentary democracies and once the hub of a great trade empire, the Netherlands today remains one of the most liberal countries on the planet. One fifth lies beneath sea level, reclaimed by the famous dykes, while the area around Amsterdam is the most densely populated in Europe. A country of […]

A former colony of both Spain and the US, the Philippines today is an eclectic mix of east and west. It is the second largest archipelago in the world, with over 7,000 islands and a richly diversified marine fauna, making it ideal for exploration both above and below the surface. Its ancient heritage is comprised […]