Just a 15 minute plane ride from Panama City, Contadora Island is a great escape with white sand beaches and calm blue waters. Contadora is also a good base for exploring the neighboring islands. Some of the activities include whale watching, snorkeling, kayaking and touring around the island by scooter. Contadora has an interesting history. In the days of the pirates, the island was used to store and count gold (hence the name) and later, in the 1960s, it became the place for Panamanian and international holiday homes, which can still be seen today lining the shore of the island.

The Hassan II Mosque commands a dramatic presence on a promontory overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Its vast prayer hall and 210-metre minaret make it one of Casablanca’s most recognisable sights. Join a guided tour to see the detailed woodwork, marble floors, and the small glass section set over the water, and take your time walking the esplanade outside for long views along the coast.

Adjacent to the court church you will find the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum which since 1929 has accumulated a fascinating collection of every day objects of rural, urban and aristocratic life in former days, when the Trentino area and the Ladin valleys of the Dolomites were still part of the Tyrol. Following extensive refurbishments in 2009, the collections – which range among the most beautiful and impressive in the Alpine region – can be viewed in new splendour.

Beamish Museum, a pioneer of living museums, invites visitors to touch objects, embodying the practice of interactive exhibits. It showcases everyday life in North East England during the peak of industrialisation in the early 1900s. Explore a recreated town with shops, houses, a pub, offices, and a sweets factory, all brought to life by costumed staff and set amidst countryside influenced by the industrial revolution from 1825.