Краткое описание: Melbourne, like its famed city laneways, is many layered. Brainy and industrious, imaginative and creative; cool and cliquey, welcoming and generous; resolutely urbane and irrevocably suburban. Melbourne’s contradictions are worth uncovering.

It’s a city that’s prolific in architecture, performance, live music and the visual arts. Life buzzes in its beautifully designed interior spaces: “culture and recreation” (substitute the word fun if you like) is the city’s largest industry.

Краткое описание: One of the most rewarding things about travelling around Mediterranean Europe is the rich variety of cuisine, customs, architecture and history. The flipside of course is that you’ll encounter a number of very different languages. Most languages spoken in Mediterranean Europe belong to what’s known as the Indo-European language family, believed to have originally developed from one language spoken thousands of years ago. Luckily for English speakers, most of these languages also use Roman script.

Краткое описание: As diverse as it is beautiful, Mediterranean Europe is a region for all tastes. It boasts golden beaches and snow-capped mountains, volcanoes, lakes and forests; it’s home to some of the most famous buildings in the Western world and to a large chunk of its combined art collection; the food is great and the wine unbeatable. Whether you want to swim, ski, surf or bungee jump you’ll find somewhere to do it.

Краткое описание: Malta is a traveller-friendly country that provides holidays options for people on all budgets, and allows for more than just warm-weather, beach-going vacations - there’s a good deal of history, culture and tradition to explore too, so a long weekend here in the low season could constitute a cheap and fun city break. The country is so small you could cover most of the highlights in just a few days.

Краткое описание: As if you needed another reason to go, travel to Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles is exceptionally safe and easy. There are superb tourism infrastructures in each country, excellent planning resources online, a good level of English is spoken everywhere and the choice of activities, hotels and eating is hard to rival anywhere. Of course islands this beautiful are rarely free of crowds and development, so it’s important to read up on specific destinations to see if they’ll provide the kind of holiday you’re looking for - divers looking for social life and entertainment should avoid honeymooner magnets (and vice versa), while those looking to get away from crowds should steer clear of big resorts and head off the beaten path.

Краткое описание: Mallorca is a case of good things coming in small packages. Although largely perceived as a summer-only, sun-and-fun destination, there is much more to the place. The mountain trails of the Serra de Tramuntana can be walked throughout most of the year, and cyclists will also enjoy the back inland roads. Diving, sailing, sea kayaking and other sports are attractions for the sport-minded. The growing network of quality rural hotels makes for peaceful country holidays at any time of the year and Palma offers everything from culture to shopping for the short-break city-stopper.

Краткое описание: A country jealously guarding its cultural heritage and fragile ecology from the onslaughts of Western consumerism, the Maldives is almost exclusively a place for the package tourist. Despite most independent travellers’ worst fears, coming on a package offers the best value for money, the easiest organisation and generally promotes preferential treatment - this is the way the Maldives is set up and everyone from the government to the resorts prefers you to travel this way.

Краткое описание: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei have travel possibilities to suit all budgets. Getting around much of the region is a breeze thanks to its excellent transport infrastructure. You will only need to make more-detailed preparations for Malaysian Borneo because of the remoteness of certain locations and the cost and time involved in getting to these more remote locations.

Краткое описание: No city on earth is more alive than Madrid, a beguiling place whose sheer energy carries a simple message: this is one city which really knows how to live.

Madrid is a city that becomes truly great once you get to know its unique barrios. There you’ll discover that Madrid is an idea, a diverse city whose contradictory impulses are legion. Spain’s capital is a wonderful city year-round, but you’ll especially appreciate being here when the weather’s warm and the kaleidoscopic variety of life Madrid-style courses through the streets or takes up residence in the city’s plazas.

Краткое описание: They don’t make places like Madagascar any more - and they never did, for la Grande lie is like nowhere else on earth. Cast adrift from Africa about 165 million years ago, its cargo of strange animals and plants has been evolving in isolation ever since. Most famous are the acrobatic lemurs and bizarre chameleons, but the island’s extraordinary plants include forests of spiny “octopus” trees and bottle-shaped baobabs.