Though it might get overlooked in favour of larger, more glamorous cities, like Riyadh or nearby Doha, the discerning traveller will not want to pass up the opportunity to visit Dammam. As if the stunning desert scenery alone was not enough to enchant visitors, the city also offers heaps of fine dining, great shopping, and some of the most pleasant green spaces, parks and seaside walkways you are likely to find at a desert destination.

Speaking of Parma, the first things that come to mind are probably the ham and Parmesan cheese. Indeed, Parma is one of the most important culinary centres of Italy — but this city is so much more than that. Parma was the capital of a very powerful duchy, which left a legacy of stunning monuments and palaces. In addition, the splendour of that period created fertile grounds for the flourishing of art. In fact, Parma became one of the main centres for opera, thanks to its amazing theatres and its fine citizen Giuseppe Verdi.

Turin, Italy's first capital, is a city awash with history, green parks and art, not to mention that it is a town with renowned food and even better drinks. Under the arcades of the city centre there are countless wine bars, grandiose continental cafés and lively bars and restaurants, all just steps away from luxury shopping streets. Even if it is mostly known abroad for Fiat and Juventus, Turin is a fascinating metropolis with its eyes set firmly on the future thanks to its young population and great universities.

The mythical birthplace of the goddess Hera, Samos is the greenest of the Aegean islands and surely deserves its divine reputation. Nature lovers and sun-seekers alike are attracted to its pebbled beaches, green landscapes, and impressive rocky cliffs. The island is also renowned for its vineyards and is home to the impressive ruins of the Temple of Hera, as well as the remarkable Tunnel of Eupalinos, a feat of ancient engineering that once supplied clean drinking water to the people of Pythagoreio.

The Tricity area consists of three different urban bodies linked by their unique location on Gdańsk Bay (Zatoka Gdańska) and separated from the rest of the world by post-glacial moraines. Gdańsk is a thousand years old, and is the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship with high architectural and cultural values, joined with Sopot, the most famous health resort and spa, which is located next to Gdynia, a modernistic, cutting-edge city.