The buzzing Bairro Getsemani is, perhaps, Cartagena's most attractive neighbourhood, for both its well-preserved colonial architecture and vivid street life. Known as the nightlife hot spot of Cartagena, Getsemani stays up until late at night, with locals and visitors mingling in and around Plaza de la Trinidad over drinks and street food.

To get a good impression of how Dresden once used to look, head to Königstraße in the Neustadt Quarter and its rows of beautifully restored 18th-century houses. An abundance of restaurants and elegant boutiques are hidden in the inner courtyards.

Located in the Großer Garten, the Dresden Zoo is home to over 3,000 animals, representing more than 400 species, with special emphasis on Asian animals. Founded in 1861, it is one of Germany's oldest zoos, and remains a great pastime for the whole family.

Once the first free settlement in the Americas founded by those who escaped slavery during the colonial period, the town of San Basilio de Palenque still stands today, and with it the unique culture of its inhabitants. A portion of the population still speaks palenquero, a creole tongue that emerged from a mix of several European and African languages, now used almost exclusively in San Basilio de Palenque. Music and dance occupy a place of paramount importance in residents' lives, with the Drums and Cultural Expressions Festival held annually in October. The palenque cuisine deserves a separate mention — a culinary tradition upheld by inhabitants of a small Colombian village has garnered international acclaim, with a cookbook written in the town receiving the highest prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2014. If your schedule happens to be too tight for a dedicated day trip (which earns our highest recommendation), try some of the tropical fruit sold by palenqueras in downtown Cartagena. The village was named Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.