Southampton is the cruise capital of Northern Europe. With a cosmopolitan atmosphere borne from centuries of international trade, Southampton is one of the UK’s leading ports and liveliest cities, combining medieval walls and buildings, modern shopping and entertainment complexes, marinas, culture and nightlife. Explore the city’s rich culture and long history and try the wide range of leisure activities in the surrounding countryside before relaxing to recount the day in one of Southampton’s many harbour-side restaurants, cafés and bars.

With more than 425 wineries, miles of rugged Pacific coastline, towering redwood forests, and its close proximity to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Sonoma County is a traveler’s dream vacation spot in California. Discover more than 50 nature parks that offer travelers miles of hiking and cycling trails through the redwoods or oak-studded hills. Rivers entice visitors to kayak, canoe, or simply float along the cool waters. Breathtaking Highway 1 — Pacific Coast Highway — delights visitors with crashing waves, sea lions and amazing sunsets.

Places that stir all your senses and that pluck your heartstrings are extremely rare. These are the places that touch you deeply, yet whose secrets you can’t unlock completely. Bruges happens to be such a unique place. Cultural and artistic, cosmopolitan, unashamedly Burgundian, mysteriously medieval, and a Unesco World Heritage site to boot. Strolling along the narrow alleys, picturesque canals and verdant ramparts you cannot help but fall hopelessly in love with its elegant mysteriousness.

Built anew after the war, the capital of Belarus is a city embracing its own unique brand of modernity. A metropolis of nearly 2 million, Minsk is where nostalgia of Stalinist buildings and Soviet parks meets contemporary art galleries, stylish bars and excellent local eateries.

One of the oldest cities in China, Ningbo is the birthplace of the Hemudu culture, which dates back over seven thousand years. Translated from Mandarin as ''the Serene Waves'', Ningbo is located at the shores of Hangzhou Bay and is a long-established international port and trading post. With the Hangzhou Bridge, the longest trans-oceanic link in the world, Ningbo is now directly connected to Shanghai and has emerged as an important international hub in its own right.