Eye-poppingly beautiful, Florence – or Firenze as the Italians know it – is rich with unforgettable architecture and beautiful scenery. The city features historic works of art including Michelangelo’s David and the birth of Venus in the world – renowned Uffizi gallery. Perfect for couple, you can take a stroll through the stunning Boboli Gardens, enjoy a late-night walk along the Arno River and see the Golden Bridge before a romantic meal at one of the city’s many top restaurants.

To be bored of Italy is to be bored of bliss. Whether pouring that second glass of prosecco on the edge of a glistening Lake Como, sampling pistachio gelato outside the Colliseum or stealing another forkful of tomato laden fresh pasta in a Tuscan ristorante, there really is no destination more reliably decadent and delicious new world of Italian splendour still to be discovered. Discover the magical hidden villages just beyond the beaten track.  Pack a bag, grab your passport and start your next adventure with one of these gorgeous unspoilt hideaways.

There is only one horse race in the world that can be won without a rider, but not without a headdress. Steeped in rich, often bizarre tradition, this July dash around Siena’s Piazza del Campo is a unique experience. Unless you go to the one in August as well, that is. If you go to either, you will join a throng of 50,000 sardines packed into the middle of the square to witness 75 seconds of chaotic, heart-palpitating action.

The ‘Spice of the Caribbean’, Grenada offers the chance to dive among coral, venture into lush rainforest and relax with the sun on your skin as aromatic scents fill the air.  From the cocoa fields a Belmont to Grand Etang National Park, from the white sandy beaches on the Caribbean side of the island to the rugged Atlantic coast, Grenada is all about adventure and relaxation-whatever kind of holiday you’re looking for.

Samoa has one of the South Pacific’s most beautiful and varied coast-lines, complemented by a lush mountainous interior. An ideal island getaway, visitors here can pick and choose between paddling round kiddie pool lagoons of vast breadth but knee-high depth, to catching the spray off gargantuan waves crashing into craggy sea cliffs. Or both, because more often than not such lazy lagoons and hard-pounded precipices are just a few minutes’ drive apart, and surrounded on all sided by waterfalls, swimming holes, cave pools, white sand beaches and rainforest trails.

When diplomat and author Sir Harold Nicolson landed in Singapore in 1957 he was stunned. “It is about the greenest place I have ever seen”, he writes in his travel memoir Journey to Java. “It is like entering Dartmouth on a muggy August afternoon.” Aboard a cruise ship on a last hurrah to the era of cruise ship travel, Nicolson saw the island before it blossomed into the Singapore we know today. The transition from a little more than a fishing village to a futuristic first world country all happened within just 50 years.

If ever proof was needed that Spanish festivals are the craziest and biggest, Las Fallas in Valencia is it. The concept of setting the city alight for a four-day celebration seems insane, but the result is an amazing visual spectacle. Guy Fawkes has nothing on these Spaniards!
The festival of Las Fallas, which means ‘fire torch’ in Spanish, dates back to the 18th century and pays tribute to St Joseph – the patron saint of carpenters.

Looking for some where to go for the weekend? Have you thought of Kotor? This small hideaway off the coast of Montenegro is an up and coming area that was only on the conversation list.  With the influence of billionaires bucks the area is changing attracting a new crowed while keeping the old - It's history and scenery minus the crowds.  This is an amazing corner of the world that’s about to change forever – make the most of it while you can.

The Thai island of Koh Samui is a little slice of paradise – offering everything from water sports to blissful relaxation.  From secret Buddha gardens to hidden beaches, world class hotels to backpacker chic, sizzling street food to world-class cuisine, Koh Samui has established itself as one of the most diverse and alluring destinations on the planet.  For those of us who prefer sun to snow this winter – and who wouldn’t? – This 15km-wide paradise island in Thailand’s Chumphon archipelago takes some beating.

Upon first inspection, Dubai lives up to its reputation as a millionaires’ playground; it is chock-full of business folk impeccably turned out in Arab thawbs or designer labels, driving huge cars from one gleaming, gargantuan mall to the next. But while this futuristic city in the middle of the desert is great fun for those with money, it is also ideally set up for kids.