Düsseldorf, Germany
The Rhineland city is a true cultural powerhouse. The artist Gerhard Richter lived and studied there. It’s the hometown of Kraftwerk, and hence a sacred destination for fans of electronica. Only it’s not. Düsseldorf is not Ibiza; it’s not even Hamburg, even if there is a modestly revamped Docklands area. Its best friends wouldn’t call agreeable, bourgeois, historic Düsseldorf “hip”. And that is an excellent argument for going there. There’s a lot of contemporary art packed into a small space: my recommendation is the Kunstpalast. To visit the places associated with Kraftwerk, sign up to the Sound of Düsseldorf or a similar tour. The Wellem, a Hyatt property, is the classiest place to stay.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul had its moment in the global spotlight with the hit song and video Gangnam Style. But that was in 2012. It’s now back where it was: hugely important in the region, but not really a destination for any international traveller lacking the pretext of work, study or family. Which is a shame, as it’s actually about ten destinations: among them, the arty city (Hannam-dong), the urban village (Buk-chon) and — sigh — the urban and hipster hotspot (Hongdae). The Starfield Library in the Coex shopping mall is an extraordinary skyscraper of books in a temple to materialism. Ryse is the funkiest place to stay, and for a gastronomic escape, try Soseoul.
Darwin, Australia
Darwin was comprehensively flattened by a cyclone in 1974. It was successfully rebuilt: only they forgot to construct any kind of identity. But now — and suitably for a city named after Charles Darwin — one is evolving at last. It’s the most multicultural and most Asian city in Australia. It’s either hot and wet or hot and slightly less wet. It has a fine museum, a terrific beach market with pop-up restaurants and it’s an easy gateway to the land of crocodiles. The Walk Darwin tours offer an introduction to the city’s short but action-packed history. Open from April to October, the Mindil Beach Sunset Market is great fun. Darwin is crying out for a great little hotel: the Mindil Beach Casino Resort isn’t that, but you get a room with the swim-up terrace if that’s your thing.
Osaka, Japan
Japan’s second city makes Tokyo look low-key. As its rival to the east became more dominant politically in the Shogun period between the 12th and 19th centuries, the port city of Osaka decided to become brasher and louder, with dirtier jokes and spicier pancakes. It came equal tenth in a 2023 survey of liveable cities in The Economist. Tokyo didn’t make the top ten, which doubtless makes Osaka residents laugh a lot. There is a fine castle and Tsutenkaku, a tower built to rival the Eiffel. It just turned out a bit more like Blackpool. Very Osaka.
Adelaide, Australia
On nobody’s list for that dream trip to Oz; cursed by its long-standing moniker, “a big country town”; capital of a state that sounds like a vague geographic approximation. Yes, the capital of South Australia is underrated. But it has all the hipness of urban Australia — well, a couple of streets do. And on its doorstep is Australia in a nutshell: bohemian and foodie Adelaide Hills, winelands in every direction, the bush reachable in a day, the outback proper not much further.
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei is a uniquely Taiwanese mixture of classy Japanese-inspired neighbourhoods and a frenetic downtown broken up by lung-relieving parks. The original Din Tai Fung dim sum restaurant is here — crazy queues — while the once-tallest building, Taipei 101, has views over the encircling mountains and down to fashionable Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. In fact, it has become one of Asia’s artiest cities.
Phoenix, US
It’s sprawling and hot and a typical US mix of mall-lined boulevards and sketchy blocks where you pray the hire car doesn’t break down. But within Arizona’s state capital is a rather different, more chic and much quirkier city called Scottsdale. And inside that, there are desert nature reserves, a small mountain called Camelback and Frank Lloyd-Wright’s western outpost school for architects and visionaries, Taliesin West. Outside the city, there is . . . desert. Lots of it.
Toronto, Canada
The rest of Canada is always sneering at Toronto and its perceived high-and-mightiness. Visitors may wonder why, as they encounter a relaxed city of varied neighbourhoods and a reinvigorated downtown where 19th-century elegance coexists with New World pizzazz. Multiculturalism never became unfashionable here; and two of the greatest theorists of urban living, Jane Jacobs and Richard Florida, both chose to move here. Montreal and Vancouver always get the cool and cosmopolitan vote: so Toronto is the one for us.
