According to Conservation International, Ecuador is officially ‘megadiverse’; there are 1,600 bird species, 16,000 types of plant, 106 genera of reptiles and 6,000 varieties of butterfly, for a start. Nowhere can more be seen than the famous Galapagos Islands, off the country’s Pacific coast, described as ‘a living museum and showcase of evolution’ which inspired […]

Sun-kissed beaches, golden medieval castles and quaint seaside villages surrounded by olive groves; Portugal cultivates a rustic, hedonistic image. The vast forests and glistening rivers of the interior and the winding cobbled streets of Lisbon and Porto do little to dispel this picture. Timeless villages and fairy-tale towns trapped in centuries long past proliferate and […]

Few cities have collected as many names as Istanbul; Byzantium, New Rome and Constantinople to name but three. This was the capital of successive Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires and has had major influence both in the worlds of Islam and Christianity; it’s history alone could fill a small library. All of which makes it […]

Albuquerque is a charming and understated city where traditional south-western USA meets an underground alternative culture that’s full of rewards and surprises for those willing to scratch beyond the surface. There are strong Hispanic and Native American influences here, too, seen in the jewellery stores and the Mexican-inspired cuisine, while the annual film festival is […]

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, full of optimism and ripe with new business opportunities. Yet stroll a few minutes from the high towers of Mumbai or Kolkata and it’s like a different planet. Every corner turns up new surprises; nowhere else do such magnificent riches sit besides such abject […]

If you stop to look a while, you can almost see the ghosts of this once-beautiful city still trapped in the crumbling facades of its cobbled terraces. While Milan, Florence and Venice strut their stuff with wild abandon, Naples sighs at the margins, before embracing life with far more gusto than glamour. There’s much to […]

Christchurch is the most populous city on New Zealand’s southern island, located along the banks of the Avon estuary amid rolling green plains that stretch as far as the imposing, snow-capped Southern Alps to the north. It’s proximity to the mountain ski slopes make it a popular international stop off, not to mention its history […]

Once a race of feared warriors and intrepid seafarers, even after the Viking legacy the Swedes became a major world power in the era that followed the Renaissance, conquering almost half the Holy Roman Empire during the seventeenth century. Today it remains a deceptively large and powerful country, but the cultured neutrality and chic sophistication […]

So often forced to cede the limelight to the French capital, you would forgive the Lyonnais for feeling somewhat envious of their Parisian cousins. Yet ask them and they will invariably tell you that their city is truly the heart of France. Sandwiched between the world famous wine regions of Beaujolais and Côtes du Rhône […]

With a welcoming subtropical climate and a long strip of stunning, sandy and surprisingly clean beaches a stone’s throw from the city centre, its not hard to see why a thousand Australians a year are migrating to Brisbane. Yet as you stroll through the city’s sun-soaked streets you’ll find it harder to reconcile the small […]

Estonia is a small, sparsely populated country of wild forests and teeming wetlands. The convenient national parks are perfect for wild exploration during the summer months, while cross-country skiing is a popular sport during the winter. The capital Tallinn captivates with its blend of medieval and modern; cobbled back-streets and dizzy spires besides trendy bars, […]

With Hollywood studios arguably as important as the Whitehouse in everyday American lives, it was perhaps inevitable that L.A. should become the preserve of dreamers and immigrants, thousands who flock to the city each year for their own little bit of the cherry. There’s no doubting that it looks good, too, from the bleach blonde […]