Famed for its spectacular scenery and adrenaline-fuelled pursuits, Queenstown has now lifted its game further with world-class accommodation and wine to match.
The beaches are as magical as ever and the locals just as herbal, but the towns and countryside around Byron are also home to a host of ambitious new eating and drinking experiences (and some plush places to stay).
Margaret River has long been a place where fine wine meets coastline, but the latest wave of operators brings new breadth to the popular Western Australian region.
Grand architecture, a wealth of culture and brio to boot, do you need another reason to spend a couple of days in Italy’s forgotten city? Oh, it’s the birthplace of pizza.
Whistler Blackcomb is supersized – two mountains, twin resorts, hundreds of ski runs – but sometimes too much isn’t enough. David Matthews turns on his avalanche beacon and heads for the Canadian backcountry.
They don’t call it the City of Light because of how it looks in the daytime. From gilded cocktail lounges to late-night museums, the French capital is at its shimmering best when the sun goes down.
At a luxury lodge on a Northern Territory floodplain teeming with life, join predators and prey in pursuit of the fabled fighting fish – the barramundi.
For a fiesta in the sun Spanish-style head south to historic Andalucía where its stunning cities – Seville, Córdoba and Cádiz – will enchant even the most jaded traveller.
Looking for a quiet weekend getaway? Then steer clear of the Spanish capital, a city obsessed by seafood and soccer and ready to take on Barcelona for the title of Spain’s - perhaps even Europe's - hippest city.
