Shopper's Paradise

South African Durban has to be one of the continent’s most appealing cities, especially after the 2010 World Cup breathed new life into the area by revamping the waterfront; the splendid Moses Mabhida Stadium remains one of Durban’s primary attractions to-date. Durban moves to the beat of gqom, its own home-grown music genre, which is slowly making its way onto global charts from South Africa's sunny, tropical melting pot of eclectic cultural influences.

Geneva is nestled like a sparkling jewel on the shores of Lake Geneva. Here everything exudes luxury, quality, elegance and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. The place is buzzing with people from all corners of the world. The city has excellent restaurants, exclusive shops, beautiful parks, a vibrant cultural life and interesting museums. A practical aspect is that Geneva is geographically quite small. You can wander around the town in an hour, and it is easy to go on quick one-day excursions to the idyllic surroundings.

The small town of Haugesund offers a broad spectrum of natural beauty, ranging from a vast and wild coastline to snow-capped mountains with cascading waterfalls flowing into the fjords. It is known as the Homeland of the Vikings, as the area used to hold the royal seat of ancient Viking Kings. Today it is a prime travel destination that encapsulates everything Norway has to offer: fjords, waterfalls, mountains, rugged coasts, and an eclectic city culture full of fascinating history and a forward-thinking spirit.

Every year more than a million visitors come here to a area in Kronoberg and Kalmar counties in Småland that includes the municipalities of Emmaboda, Lessebo, Nybro and Uppvidinge. Many return time after time. It is easy to understand why. To watch red-hot molten glass being transformed into delicate crystal or sturdy bowls is a spectacle that one never tires of. Here you will find well-known glassworks and brands such as Orrefors, Kosta Boda, Skruf, Mats Jonasson Målerås to name a few. In additon, you can enjoy the nature of Småland in its prime with its forests, lakes, stone walls and many cultural sights. These include Vilhelm Moberg’s emigrant district.

It is easy to overlook this small island-nation, having, as it does, such powerful and flashy neighbours as Qatar and the Emirates, but to ignore Bahrain would be a huge mistake. It is an emerging power in the region, with all the luxury and worldliness of a cosmopolitan destination and all the charm and personality of a small island. Add to this the growing arts scene and burgeoning international cuisine in the country, and you have the newest prime travel destination in the region, and the most socially liberal one, to boot.

“Rio is a beauty. But São Paulo – São Paulo is a city,” said Marlene Dietrich about Brazil’s most cosmopolitan city. The city is Brazil’s cultural as well as financial powerhouse, complete with a vibrant music scene, top designer shopping and delicious fusion cuisine, not to mention museums and galleries on a par with any other world city. All this combined with the vibrant local life of Paulistanos, who will surely be easy to make friends with.

One of the oldest cities in China, Ningbo is the birthplace of the Hemudu culture, which dates back over seven thousand years. Translated from Mandarin as ''the Serene Waves'', Ningbo is located at the shores of Hangzhou Bay and is a long-established international port and trading post. With the Hangzhou Bridge, the longest trans-oceanic link in the world, Ningbo is now directly connected to Shanghai and has emerged as an important international hub in its own right.

Kerala’s first city, with its knotty official name of Thiruvananthapuram (often substituted by the shorter, more manageable Trivandrum), is an exhaustive introduction to southern India's urban and cultural life. Trivandrum tends to be unjustly overlooked en route to the state's beachside settlements, but easily warrants a few days of its own.