A fun way to spend a spare hour is walking over the beach side Comedy Carpet - a platform inscribed with various jokes and one-liners, some well-known classics, while others still perhaps able to draw a chuckle. The carpet is best viewed at a distance, from atop the Blackpool Tower.

Palace Square (Schlossplatz) is Stuttgart’s central gathering spot, framed by the New Palace and the Königsbau. At its centre stands the Jubilee Column, topped by the goddess Concordia, commemorating King Wilhelm I’s 25th year of rule. Once a military parade ground, the square was opened to the public in the 19th century and now hosts open-air concerts, festivals, and parts of the Christmas market.

One of Germany's most beautiful hiking trails runs along the banks of the Elbe to Blankenese. The former fishing village is now a prosperous suburb to the west of Hamburg, located right on the Elbe. Picturesque lanes, winding stairs and houses standing close together: with its Mediterranean feel, the Blankenese Treppenviertel is reminiscent of a resort on the Riviera. Blankeneser Bahnhofstraße is like a small city in itself, with its church, weekly market, many well-stocked shops, restaurants and ice cream parlours.

Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, brings the excitement of space exploration to life with interactive exhibits, real spacecraft, and hands-on experiences. Get up close with a moon rock, see spacesuits worn by astronauts, and explore the history of human spaceflight through engaging films and artifacts. Don’t miss the tram tour—it takes you behind the scenes to Mission Control, where NASA guided Apollo missions and still oversees the International Space Station. You’ll also stop by the Astronaut Training Facility and Rocket Park, home to a massive Saturn V rocket, one of the most powerful ever built.