In Munich there is so much more than just the Oktoberfest or Lederhosen. The beautiful bavarian capital has much more to offer. A mixture of exclusive shopping, art, culture, indulgence and tradition makes this city unmistakable. Moreover, Germany’s most cheerful residents live here.

The southernmost and largest of the Channel Islands - Jersey - has much to offer with its fine blend of English and French influences. Quaint fishing villages dot the island's coastline: St Aubin, for example, boasts marvellous sandy beaches and a collection of dramatic craggy coastal walks. Festivals play a big a part in island life and barely a month goes by without a local seasonal event being celebrated. The capital is St Helier and whilst small, it is a cosmopolitan harbour town.

”Mother Prague has clutches,” Franz Kafka wrote nearly one hundred years ago. Prague’s convoluted streets may keep you in those clutches loving every second of it. Anyone who has wandered around the city's cobbled streets and Gothic alleyways and seen the moon hover behind the towers and pinnacles of Europe’s most beautiful capital will definitely come back.

Cartagena is the undisputed queen of Colombia's Caribbean coast and easily the most attractive city in the region – this given its apparent shortage of attractions in the classical sense of the word. Instead, what draws travelers in is the city itself: a microcosm of the Caribbean, walled-in by defensive ramparts built to ward off unwelcome visitors, the likes of Sir Francis Drake, who held Cartagena de Indias captive for months during his 16th century raids on the Spanish New World. Cumbia music fills the air in Cartagena's absurdly beautiful Old Town, while locals enjoy leisurely chats in inviting town squares, street vendors peddle their wares (look out for the incredibly photogenic palenqueras!), and vacationers explore streets lined with well-preserved colonial buildings, their balconies deluged with striking fuchsia-colored veranera. The first free town in the Americas founded by slave trade escapees – San Basilio de Palenque – is just an hour's drive from here.

The Greeks and Romans did it, as did rich lords, film stars, artists and thousands of tourists. They were just going to pass by, but instead remained in Nice and along the Riviera. Some for just a few weeks, others for months and years. They were too captivated by the light, enchanted by the scents and charmed by the taste of olives, wine and succulent vegetables. All this with a chance to dabble their toes in a turquoise sea! In addition to this, a Nice Nouveau has evolved – a sassy Mediterranean metropolis with pulsating nightlife, new avant-garde hotels and daring art galleries. The most fashionable street, the Promenade des Anglais, is the Champs-Elysées of the whole Riviera. Have you already bought your return ticket?