Plovdiv, Bulgaria: 10 reasons to visit

If you’re heading to one of Greece’s biggest tourist attractions later this year, make sure you are aware of the new visiting rules.

Once you break through the stereotypes of Lego and pastries, Denmark offers travelers rich experiences from its Viking heritage and Renaissance castles to modern design stores and a cutting-edge food scene where you can’t move for Michelin stars.

When Hester Van Buren, a deputy mayor of Amsterdam, recently proposed a 1 percent increase to the city’s tourist accommodation tax — which is already among the highest in Europe — her City Council colleagues responded with a single criticism: They wanted the increase to be even bigger.

If you didn’t know that Pablo Picasso had spent a sizeable amount of time in the Cote d’Azur village of Mougins, you’re made aware of it walking through the main square, site of a large and pretty realistic sculpture of his head. The nearby café and ice cream shop, named, respectively,Pablo and Paloma, give a hint as well of this past resident who spent the last 12 years of his life here. As the region celebrates the artist, marking the 50th anniversary of his passing, there are Picasso related sites and exhibits on view here through October including an exhibition of photos of the usually glowering artist in lighthearted moments with his famous artist friends. But that’s not the only reason to come to Mougins.

Berlin is a place that makes boredom impossible. Discovering Germany’s capital, and its true depth of historical and cultural richness, gifts you jam-packed days and sprints between attractions. And that’s just the sightseeing! There is also so much cool stuff to do.

Central and Eastern Europe are among the culturally diverse parts of the world, preserving a plethora of deep-rooted traditions. What’s more, large tracts of the area remain off the mass-tourism radar, ensuring that there is still a great deal to explore. The following ten suggestions will ensure you get the best out of this huge, compelling and endlessly surprising region.

Travel booking site Hoppa have just released a list of the most expensive cities to visit in Europe. Looking at the cost of hotels, food, drink, transport and entertainment, they've analysed the affordability of 48 European cities.

Asia is home to several of the world's greatest mega-cities, from Tokyo to Bangkok, Hong Kong to Shanghai. And while each of these is undoubtedly a fascinating, thrilling place to visit, sometimes it's nice to revert back to life on a more human scale. Here's six small cities in Asia well worth a visit.

Descending the steps into the ancient amphitheatre of Philippopolis I paused to look out over the dusty panorama, under which a city with thousands of years of history laid. As one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2019, I came to Plovdiv with little to no knowledge of the city but high expectations. What I was about to learn did not disappoint.

Tim Chester, Web Editor: From the Turner Contemporary gallery to the proliferation of other indie art spaces, retro shops and cute cafés in the Old Town, Margate now offers much more than its beautifully dilapidated seafront. Dubbed “romantic, sexy and weird” by local girl Tracey Emin, this gem on the Isle of Thanet constitutes one of the highlights of the forthcoming Rough Guide to Kent, Sussex and Surrey for many good reasons.

Prepare for an assault on the senses. Southeast Asia has a bellyful of thundering motorbikes, fiery volcanic peaks, seething jungle temples and pungent markets. Yet we also love it for its squeaky-clean sands, barely believable islands and pagodas overlooking lily-topped lotus ponds. From temples to tropical rainforests, here are the top ten places to visit in Southeast Asia – as voted for by you.

There’s so much more to China than the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army. One of our favourite places to explore is Yunnan province in the south-west of the country, which varies in landscape from tropical lowlands to Himalayan snows. With towering canyons, ethereal rock formations and cities that seem lost in time, there's plenty to capture the imagination – that's why we included it in our Rough Guide to 2019. Here's our must-see Yunnan top ten: