Italian cuisine needs no introduction — you've tasted it and loved it countless times. Milan is the perfect place to take one of the many cooking classes with a trained chef or an average (if there is such a thing) nonna. Most classes can teach you how to make your own pasta, pizza and dessert, but you can ask for something that speaks to you personally. Of course, you get to taste your own masterpiece afterwards.

Just north of Sharm (roughly 35 kilometres), this protected area mixes desert, mangroves, and coral reef into one quiet stretch of coastline. You’ll spot mangrove trees growing straight out of the sea, and if you’re lucky, herons, foxes, or even a gazelle in the dunes. The offshore reef is solid for snorkelling, and the seagrass beds sometimes attract turtles.

Tyulenovo is a picturesque small village located near the Romanian border in northern Bulgaria. While it’s not accessible by public transport from Varna, its breathtaking cliffs and mesmerising sunsets make it well worth the effort to visit. Don’t miss the chance to visit the Shabla Lighthouse, a historic landmark situated about 6 kilometres north of Tyulenovo.

Located in the car park of Grand Mall, Retro Museum transports visitors back to the 1944-1989 socialist period. The centrepiece is a collection of over 50 impeccably restored cars, including Volgas, Moskvichs, Trabants and Škodas, alongside Simson and Balkan motorbikes. The undisputed star is the Chaika GAZ-13 limousine, once the vehicle of choice for Communist Party Politburo members. Beyond the vehicles, the exhibits paint a fuller picture of everyday socialist life: East German household goods, Polish cosmetics, filterless Bulgarian cigarettes and Soviet vacuum cleaners all feature. A wax figure section adds Todor Zhivkov, Leonid Brezhnev and Fidel Castro to the mix, alongside beloved Bulgarian cultural figures. For anyone who grew up in that era, it is a trip straight back to childhood; for everyone else, a window into a world that has largely disappeared.