United States

Stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the United States is less a single destination than a collection of very different worlds. New York, Washington, Boston and Chicago offer world-class museums such as the Metropolitan and the Museum of Modern Art, landmark skyscraper architecture and a serious dining scene, while Las Vegas, set in the Nevada desert, runs on its own rhythm of shows, restaurants and casinos.

California brings Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Santa Barbara coast; Florida, in the south-east, has Miami and Palm Beach. Some 4,000 km out in the Pacific lie the Hawaiian Islands, volcanic and green, with beaches, rainforest and warmth all year. In Colorado’s Rocky Mountains sit the country’s best-known ski resorts: Aspen, Snowmass, Vail and Beaver Creek.

Timing depends on the region. The mountain resorts ski from roughly late November to April, Florida is at its best in winter and spring, Hawaii and California work in any month, and the cities shine in spring and autumn. A dense network of domestic flights makes it easy to combine a city, an ocean and the mountains in one journey, so the country suits couples, families with children and active travellers alike.