Vibrant Cities

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.

It’s easy to lose yourself In Istanbul’s grandiose history, but modern Istanbul is a simmering metropolis, well worth a visit in its own right. The shopping is world-class and the nightlife pulsates around not one but several districts. Even though Istanbul is no longer the capital, it’s still the country’s business and cultural centre, still, the city where new trends are created.

Hectic, bustling, chaotic — Dhaka is an enormous city of endless possibilities with energy to spare. Though it can seem a bit overwhelming at first, visitors who take the time to explore will find the experience most rewarding. Delicious food, bustling markets, serene parks and gardens, lazy river cruises and death-defying rickshaw rides, fascinating museums, temples and mosques to ease the soul, and tantalising musical and dance performances; all this and more awaits the adventurous traveller who dares to venture into this unique city.

Capital of one the world's fastest-growing economies, Addis Ababa (also spelled Addis Abeba) is a city in motion, catching up to Ethiopia's zooming commercial development in stride. At times gauche and somewhat rough around the edges, it is nonetheless worth more than a single night in transit, if only for the country's finest dining, shopping and of-the-moment urban developments.

Named East Asia Culture City in 2018, Busan has recently risen to prominence internationally, with visitors now flocking to South Korea's second city even outside of the busy International Film Festival week each October. There is more to do and see than can fit in a space of a few days: traditional spas, local eats and endless shopping all leave but a little time to take in the rugged Busan coastline on seaside nature hikes.

The Palm Beaches are an exciting collection of 15 distinct districts with luxury resorts, hotels, innovative culinary landscapes, trendy shops and designer boutiques of world-wide fame, and where nightlife thrives year-round. Beautiful beaches stretching 47 miles along the Atlantic Ocean, lakes and Everglades coupled with year-round warm weather attract visitors from around the world, and recreational pursuits are unmatched.

Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is one of Asia's best-kept secrets. As the capital of the only predominantly Catholic country in the Orient, it presents a unique blend that feels slightly out of place, yet vibrantly infused with Latin American and Caribbean influences. Music and dancing are ubiquitous, and the city's warmth and enthusiasm can easily rival that of Bangkok. Manila's rich history, shaped by centuries under Spanish religious influence and decades of American consumerism, has led to the saying that the city spent "400 years in a convent and 50 in Hollywood".

Cape Verde's unique geographic location, tumultuous history of slavery and invasion, and fascinating mix of transatlantic cultures have given rise to a place unlike any other on the globe. A place as joyful as it is full of longing, a fact perhaps best reflected in Cape Verdean music and the hauntingly beautiful 'morna'. The sometimes harsh, drought-prone conditions of this mid-Atlantic scattering of islands have seen the flourishing of a fascinating Creole culture and the most stable democracy in Africa.