The paradise-like Fraser Island is known first and foremost as a whale watching destination. The wider Fraser Coast region offers plenty of other amazing places and adventures. This picturesque area is centred around the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough. Check out the former gold mining town of Gympie and the beautiful natural surroundings, both on land and in the water. The warm and mild climate makes this region perfect to explore all year round.

Long known for its old-world charm, from the historic Faneuil Hall to the Freedom Trail that celebrates Boston’s preeminent role in the American Revolution, Boston has come a long way towards staking its claim in the 21st century. With the completion of the “Big Dig” that buried Boston’s vast network of highways underground, Boston has hit the new century running. Attractions span beautiful public libraries, fascinating museums and plenty of sports. Boston is destined to grow ever more beautiful as more and more of the ungainly elevated highways are replaced with lush parks.

As testified by epic movies like Shogun and Ran, Nagoya City is pure history, centred around Nagoya Castle. It was the Expo 2005 that put Nagoya on the world map. Post-Expo, Nagoya is positioning itself both as a centre for hi-tech industries and as a tourist gateway. Toyota Cars, old and new famed ceramics, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, dolls and robots castles, feudal villas and farmhouses pearls, and a plethora of shopping and nightlife spots await you in this not-so-obvious choice of a Japanese destination.

Nestled in the corner of rural south-west France stands Pau, the capital of the Béarn province, a bastion of history and culture. The town occupies a unique geographical position in the foothills of the Pyrenées. With its awe-inspiring views of the mountain range, Pau is only a few hundred kilometres from the major towns of Bordeaux and Toulouse and even closer to Spain and the Atlantic Ocean. In short, a springboard to sunny beaches and snow-capped mountains.