Christmas Island’s narrow reef supports bountiful marine life, including 88 coral species and more than 600 species of fish. It’s an underwater wonderland for divers, with clear warm waters, coral reefs and spectacular wall dives. Soft corals, feather stars and gorgonian corals grow along vast walls which plunge into a seemingly bottomless abyss. The fish community is distinctive because the island is a meeting place for Indian and Pacific Ocean fish species. It’s one of the few locations in the world where you’ll see Indian and Pacific Ocean fish swimming side by side. Some of these species interbreed to produce hybrids. Christmas Island has more hybrid fish than anywhere else in the world, making it a marine hybridisation zone of international significance. In addition to the hundreds of species of tropical fish, dolphins inhabit the island’s waters and whale sharks regularly visit during the wet season. Whale sharks generally first appear when the red crabs are spawning at the start of the wet season — they converge to supplement their plankton diet with crab larvae. Locations like Flying Fish Cove, Ethel Beach, Dolly Beach, West White Beach and Winifred Beach offer scuba divers and snorkellers a rewarding marine experience. At Flying Fish Cove and Ethel Beach shore diving is possible depending on the time of the year. There is excellent fishing, with sailfish, tuna and wahoo among some of the fish to be caught. You’ll find boat ramps at Flying Fish Cove and Ethel Beach.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is a reconstruction of the original open-air theatre where playwright, William Shakespeare, first staged many of his famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. On the banks of the Thames, just a few hundred yards away from its original location, the Globe stages classic and modern interpretations of Shakespeare's works as well as of brand new plays. There is also an exhibition with audio guides available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese as well as expert guided tours.

The National Portrait Gallery in Central London harbours more than 195,000 portraits of famous men and women who have shaped British history from the 16th century to the present day. Painted by acclaimed artists such as Holbein, David Hockney, Cecil Beaton and Lucian Freud, sitters include kings, queens, film stars, politicians, musicians and many more. The gallery's rolling calendar of exhibitions is worth investigating as well, particularly the annual BP Portrait Awards.