Lying just to the north of the central business district is the main diplomatic quarter where most of the international embassies are located. There are also several waterfront hotels, including the InterContinental, St Regis and, further out, the Grand Hyatt and Ritz Carlton. This up-and-coming area is where we find two more Doha’s visitor highlights, the new developments of Katara Cultural Village and The Pearl-Qatar.

The Great Grey Owl is a staggering 2.5 m tall Great Grey Owl, carved of wood. It was adopted as the symbol of Pajala in 1995. The owl was threatened with extinction in the early 1970s and the only nesting sites were to be found here in the Pajala commune.

The Mystic Lamb, or ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by the Van Eyck brothers, completed in 1432, is recognised worldwide as a great work of art, and one of the most influential paintings ever made. It is an absolute must-see on your weekend break to Ghent. A total of 18 panels form a magical evocation of scenes from the Bible, as well as a portrait of the church warden, Joos Vijd, who commissioned the altarpiece, and his wife Elisabeth Borluut. The monumental Mystic Lamb was painted on oak panels covered in thin layers of a mixture of chalk and animal glue. The figures were applied in several layers of oil paint. The combination of the painstaking work and transparent paint creates an extra dimension. Discover it for yourself as you stand in front of this masterpiece. You will see that an inner glow seems to radiate from the painting: the light of the divine. Hubert van Eyck painted part of the Ghent Altarpiece that includes the Mystic Lamb, but was never able to finish it. His younger brother Jan, an absolute master of the art of painting, is said to have finished this masterpiece a few years after Hubert’s death.

Vasikkavuoma is the largest haymaking mire in the Nordic countries, if not in Europe, covering approximately 250 acres. In its heyday, this expansive area was dotted with about 350 barns, a testament to the historical practice of harvesting sedge and horsetail for fodder by local farmers. Though the number has diminished to 70 remaining barns, Vasikkavuoma preserves the echoes of a bygone era and the agricultural traditions that once thrived in this unique landscape.