Cape Town is situated in one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the world. Caught between mountains and sea, cliffs and plateaus ? the city shelters in the shadow of the magnificent Table Mountain, and is licked by the surf of the Atlantic. This amazing concentration of different types of climate and terrain make for a huge wealth of flora and fauna, and is certainly one the best reasons to stay in the city.

Surely the most iconic sight; the most extraordinary ancient feat; the most beautiful and mysterious place on earth ? the pyramids of Giza are a staggering testament to the extraordinary engineering and cultural vibrancy of the ancient Egyptians, and draw a huge number of tourists to the country every year.

Vienna is the quintessential Christmas city. Aesthetically, Christmas was born in the 18th-century, when the northern European image of tannenbaum, chestnuts and gingerbreads became all the rage, finally cemented by Prince Albert?s presence in the British Royal household.

?Buena Pasqua? says the restaurateur warmly. It?s Easter Saturday in Pisa, and the streets are deserted. Rather unobservantly, we couldn?t understand why the whole city seemed to have deserted; leaving us wandering the streets wandering what apocalypse we had survived. Easter in Italy is a big deal.

Bankrupt Airlines

It seems that travelling today can be a rather risky business ? and not because you might break a leg skiing. Over the summer, we saw several airlines and travel agencies go bust, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded in foreign lands without a way of getting home.