Our travel team picks its favourite destinations for the year ahead
Here are some of our travel team's favourite destinations for 2010. Call us to find out about hotels, transport and accommodation, or to put together city guides full of insider tips on what to do and see, tailored to your interests.
We can arrange travel packages to meet all budgets, and our 24/7 service means members can call us any time of day or night for help with everything from restaurant reservations to lost passports.
Istanbul, Turkey
For centuries Istanbul was known to the world as The City, a peerless metropolis that straddled Europe and Asia, dominating both continents as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Istanbul is this year's European City of Culture, and throughout 2010 it will stage a host of events, from visual arts and exhibitions to music and literature in some of its iconic and ancient buildings.
Highlights include the Music of Istanbul Architecture concerts in some of the city's greatest landmarks from April to December, the Fototrek Photograph Centre's exhibition of the city through a lens, and the performance of renowned Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's specially commissioned work on Monday 7 June. Call us for a full schedule of events.
Shanghai, China
From the traditional gardens of Lu Xan Park and the European colonial architecture of the Bund to the towering steel monoliths of Pudong and the designer boutiques on Nanjing Road, Shanghai is a dazzling city of contrasts.
This year it hosts the World Expo - the third largest global event after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics - with hundreds of exhibitors from across the globe focusing on the theme of sustainable, harmonious urban living. The expo takes place from May to October - call your lifestyle manager if you'd like to attend or to find out more about visiting China's global city.
Delhi, India
‘The Commonwealth Games are coming to Delhi this year, and already accommodation is becoming scarce,' says Gengis Khan, our Asia travel expert. The games take place in October, and we can put together travel packages for sports fans, but this major cultural centre has much to offer beyond Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
In anticipation of the event, Delhi has renovated its colonial city centre, the Connaught Place shopping area and New Delhi's broad Rajpath avenue, as well as giving monuments, both modern and ancient, a facelift.
And don't miss out on the food: the gastronomically adventurous can find delicacies from all over India at Delhi's celebrated restaurants, and we know the best places to dine. Call us for more on visiting Delhi, or for information about how we can put together a tour of India.
Sydney, Australia
Sydney is among our members' favourite cities, a destination where the bustle of the metropolis meets the roiling surf of Bondi Beach, iconic architecture sits alongside a thriving arts scene and the sublime gorges and plateaus of the Blue Mountains are just a short journey away.
The best time to visit is during the Antipodean summer, which runs from December to February, and from this November Australia will host the Ashes cricket series. We can put together packages for members who want to follow the games from the start in Brisbane to the conclusion in Sydney, or just escape the British winter for some Southern Hemisphere sun. Call us to discuss options.
Alicante, Spain
The easygoing Mediterranean port of Alicante in southern Spain has a bustling year-round festival calendar that features theatre in September, jazz in July, world music in August and fireworks for the bonfire festival of St John in June - widely regarded as one of Spain's greatest carnivals.
San Juan beach and the golf resorts of the Costa Blanca are a short drive from the city, and a host of top bars, restaurants and clubs ensure that the Alicante's nightlife thrives throughout the year.
The around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race will again launch from Alicante in January 2011, and we're already helping members make arrangements to see the start of the tournament (and attend the VIP parties that surround it). Call us for details.
