Gouverneur Beach unfolds like a pirate’s treasure map come to life — a broad U-shaped bay framed by high cliffs, where the only footprints in the white sand might be your own. Reach it via a steep, turtle-crossed road (watch your step!) that spills onto one of St Barts’ most undisturbed shores. The southwest-facing cove offers great snorkelling, while the eastern end sees naturists embracing the solitude. The lack of amenities means you have to pack some essentials, but reward comes in spades: picnic-perfect sands, cliffside views from nearby Santa Fe restaurant (try their grilled lobster), and whispers of buried pirate gold beneath your beach towel.

Casablanca's Old Medina, also known as Old Town or Ancienne Medina, is a maze-like quarter teeming with life and marked by buildings that harken back to the period before French rule. Vendors with carts offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices, while quaint antique shops and artisanal leather workshops line the constricted passageways. Amid the lively bargaining, outdoor cafés offer spaces for respite, serving both coffee and refreshing mint tea. Here, locals go about their daily routines while visitors can shop for an array of traditional goods.

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.

Housed in a former railway station, the Musée d'Orsay holds a mesmerising collection of mainly French paintings, sculptures, and photography, including the world's largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, with works from artists such as Van Gogh, Cézanne, Renoir, and Monet.