Brussels travel guide

From its breathtaking medieval centre to its 21st-century temple to Surrealism, the new Magritte Museum, Brussels offers the visitor a great deal more than just beer and chocolate. Brussels's compact city centre is clustered with bars, restaurants and museums set along cobbled streets which open suddenly into the Grand-Place. With its ornate guild houses, impressive Town Hall and buzzing atmosphere, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful...

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Strasbourg travel guide

Situated on the Franco-German border, lovely Strasbourg has been passed back and forward between the two countries for years. The result is a city and people with a distinctive local identity, combining the reputed efficiency and energy of the Germans with the joie de vivre and sophistication of the French. Strasbourg is far enough away from the capital to be truly independent on a cultural level, with its own opera, France's only national theatre...

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Calgary travel guide

Calgary stands at the point where the vast Canadian prairie meets the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Its young, glittering skyscrapers rise out of older suburban neighbourhoods and seem oddly superimposed on this breathtakingly diverse western landscape, as though dropped from the sky onto the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers. Accordingly, the land is never far from the minds of the people of Calgary. The oil that lies...

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Durban travel guide

Located on South Africa's sublime Indian Ocean coast, Durban is a tropical, urban gem that has lost its reckless air in favour of a growing sophistication. The golden child of KwaZulu Natal is the country's third largest city. Its leafy north western suburbs offer upmarket guesthouses, trendy bars and stylish restaurants, while the city centre nonchalantly displays flamboyant colonial edifices and art deco delights. Durban's attractive, sweeping...

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Dubai travel guide

After the previous decade’s highs and lows, Dubai is finally maturing into a more orderly city. The crane-ridden skyline, characteristic of the boom years, has given way to a more measured and controlled pace of development following the global recession – a timely recovery as the United Arab Emirates Federation celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Nevertheless, this vibrant east-meets-west city retains its ability to build, surprise and...

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Toulouse travel guide

Toulouse, in the heart of southwest France, combines medieval architecture with bohemian music, delicious food and constant innovation. As the region’s largest city, Toulouse disguises both its size and cutting-edge aerospace industry with leafy green canals, tiny cobbled streets and some excellent cuisine. Fuelled by the energy of its student population, Toulouse’s calendar bursts with outdoor concerts, arts festivals and food markets. It’s the...

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Taipei travel guide

Formerly called 'Formosa' (Portuguese for 'beautiful'), Taiwan is relatively small, although its population numbers almost 23 million, making it the second most densely populated country in the world after Bangladesh. A gateway to the massive Chinese market, Taiwan has a strong relationship with the West. The political issue of its relationship with China has eased somewhat and direct flights to the mainland have been introduced. Taiwan has plenty...

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