Classic trips around the world

France · Belgium · Netherlands

Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam

Three capitals joined by fast trains: four days in Paris for the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and Montmartre, with Versailles a half-day out by RER C; the Eurostar to Brussels-Midi, about 1 h 20, for the Grand-Place, the Atomium and the Magritte Museum; then the Eurocity Direct through Schiphol to Amsterdam for the canal ring, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, and the flight home from Schiphol.

Germany · Austria · Hungary · Czechia

Munich to Prague by Train

Five cities in four countries, every leg between them by train: two days in Munich for Marienplatz, the Residenz and the English Garden; the Railjet to Salzburg for the fortress, Mozart's birthplace and the Mirabell Gardens; on to Vienna for Schönbrunn, the Hofburg and Klimt's The Kiss; east to Budapest for the Parliament on the Danube, the Castle District and the thermal baths; and the EuroCity north to Prague for the castle, Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. Fly into Munich, which has non-stop flights from India, and home from Prague.

Italy · Switzerland · France

Rome to Paris via the Swiss Alps

The classic first tour of Europe, by train from end to end: Rome for the Colosseum and the Vatican; the Frecciarossa to Florence for the Duomo and the Uffizi, and on to Venice; through the Gotthard Base Tunnel to Lucerne for the Chapel Bridge and Pilatus or Rigi; the Luzern–Interlaken Express over the Brünig Pass to Interlaken, under the Jungfrau; then by Geneva and the TGV Lyria to Paris for the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Fly into Rome and home from Paris.

United Kingdom · France

London & Paris

Four days in London for the Tower and the Crown Jewels, Westminster Abbey, the Changing of the Guard and the free British Museum and Natural History Museum; the Eurostar under the Channel from St Pancras to Gare du Nord; then four days in Paris for the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and Montmartre, with Versailles a half-day out by RER C. Fly into Heathrow and home from Paris.

Thailand · Singapore · Malaysia

Bangkok, Singapore & Kuala Lumpur

Three capitals of South-East Asia: four days in Bangkok for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and Chinatown's street food; a flight of about two and a half hours to Singapore for Gardens by the Bay, the SkyPark and the free light shows on Marina Bay; the coach over the Causeway to Kuala Lumpur for the Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves and the night food street of Jalan Alor; and home from Kuala Lumpur.

Japan · South Korea

Tokyo, Kyoto & Seoul

Japan's capital, its old one and Korea's: four days in Tokyo for Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, Shibuya and Shinjuku; the Nozomi shinkansen to Kyoto for Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, the Golden Pavilion and Gion; then from Kansai airport to Seoul for the Joseon palaces, the hanok lanes of Bukchon and Gwangjang Market, and home on a non-stop flight.

Kenya · Tanzania

The Mara, the Serengeti & Zanzibar

East Africa's two great parks and the coast: four days in Kenya's Maasai Mara for lions, cheetahs and leopards on the open plains; a flight to Nairobi and the shuttle over the Namanga border to Arusha, where the northern safaris start; a bush flight to the Serengeti's Seronera valley; a game drive on to the Ngorongoro Crater; then a flight from the Lake Manyara airstrip to Zanzibar for the lanes and carved doors of Stone Town.

Spain · Portugal

Madrid, Seville & Lisbon

Two capitals and the heart of Andalusia: three days in Madrid for the Prado, Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía and the Royal Palace; the high-speed train to Seville for the Real Alcázar, the cathedral and the Giralda, and flamenco; then the coach to Faro and the train up to Lisbon for Belém, Alfama and the yellow Tram 28. Fly into Madrid and home from Lisbon.

Greece · Türkiye

Santorini, Athens, Istanbul & Cappadocia

Greece and Türkiye by air: through Athens to Santorini for the Oia sunset, the caldera hike from Fira and the volcano by boat; back to Athens for the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum and the lanes of Plaka; a flight to Istanbul for Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı and the Bosphorus ferries; then on to Cappadocia for Göreme's fairy chimneys, cave hotels and balloons at sunrise, and home through Istanbul.

Chiang Mai, Bangkok & Phuket

Thailand's classic first trip: through Bangkok to Chiang Mai for the moated old city, Doi Suthep and an elephant sanctuary; the overnight sleeper down to Bangkok for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun across the river; then a short flight to Phuket for Kata and Karon, the Big Buddha and boat days to Phi Phi and Phang Nga Bay. Fly home from Phuket, which has direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Andaman Island Hop

Thailand's west coast by road, ferry and long-tail: fly straight into Phuket, drive round via Phang Nga to Krabi for Ao Nang and the cliffs of Railay, take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi for its lagoons and the viewpoint sunset, then on to the long, quiet beaches of Koh Lanta, and back through Phuket for the flight home.

Bali: Ubud to Nusa Penida

Bali in eight days: Ubud for the Tegallalang terraces, the Monkey Forest and the water temples; Seminyak for beach clubs, villas and sunset dinners; Uluwatu for the cliff temple and its Kecak fire dance; then by bus and fast boat through Sanur to Nusa Penida for Kelingking, Broken Beach and manta rays.

Java's Temples & Volcanoes

Yogyakarta for Borobudur and Prambanan, the train east to Probolinggo and up to the Bromo caldera for sunrise over the Sea of Sand, on to Banyuwangi for the night climb to Ijen's blue fire and acid lake, then across to Bali on the Ketapang ferry to finish in Ubud.

Singapore in Five Days

Four of Singapore's quarters, each a short MRT ride from the last: Orchard Road and the Botanic Gardens, with the Night Safari about 30 minutes away; Chinatown and Little India for the temples, hawker centres and Serangoon Road's thalis; Marina Bay for the Supertrees, the SkyPark and the free light shows; and Sentosa for Universal Studios and the beaches.

Malaysia's West Coast

Through Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi for Pantai Cenang, the SkyCab and the Kilim mangroves; the ferry to Penang for George Town's shophouses, clan houses and hawker food; a minivan up to the tea estates and Mossy Forest of the Cameron Highlands at about 1,500 m; then down to Kuala Lumpur for the Petronas Towers and Batu Caves, and the flight home.

Sabah: Kinabalu & the Orangutans

Malaysian Borneo in a week: Kota Kinabalu for the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and the waterfront night market, two days at Kinabalu Park under the 4,095 m peak, for the climb or the trails at park HQ, then across to Sepilok outside Sandakan for the orangutan feedings and the sun bears, with river safaris on the Kinabatangan two to three hours on.

Northern Vietnam

The north in nine days: up to Sapa first, for Hmong and Dao villages among the rice terraces and the cable car up Fansipan; the overnight train back to Hanoi's Old Quarter; two hours south to row through the limestone of Trang An and Tam Coc at Ninh Binh; and on to Ha Long Bay for a night on a cruise among the islands.

Vietnam North to South

The length of the country in twelve days: Hanoi's Old Quarter, the overnight train to Hue for the emperors' citadel and tombs on the Perfume River, a shuttle down the coast to lantern-lit Hoi An, a flight from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, and three and a half hours on to Can Tho for the Cai Rang floating market at dawn.

Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle

The island's old capitals in eight days: the sacred Bo tree and great stupas of Anuradhapura, Sigiriya's rock fortress and the painted caves of Dambulla, the stone Buddhas of medieval Polonnaruwa, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, and Colombo, on the sea, to finish.

Hill Country & the South Coast

From Kandy up to the tea estates of Nuwara Eliya at 1,900 m, the hill-country train from Nanu Oya to Ella, down to Yala for leopards by jeep, then the south coast: Mirissa's whale boats and the walled Dutch fort of Galle.

Pokhara, Chitwan & Kathmandu

Nepal's classic loop: through Kathmandu to Pokhara for Phewa Lake, Sarangkot and the Annapurnas; the tourist bus down to Sauraha for jeep safaris and canoe trips in Chitwan; on to Kathmandu for Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and Durbar Square; and medieval Bhaktapur to finish.

Maldives Local Islands

The Maldives from guesthouses on three local islands south of Malé, linked by speedboat: quiet Gulhi, busy Maafushi with boats out every day to sandbanks, snorkel reefs, dolphins and resort day passes, and tiny Fulidhoo in Vaavu Atoll, where nurse sharks and stingrays gather at the harbour.

Kyoto, Hakone & Tokyo

Japan's classic first trip, from Kansai to Tokyo: through Osaka to Kyoto for Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, the Golden Pavilion and Gion; the shinkansen to Odawara and the mountain railway up to Hakone for a ryokan night, the ropeway over Owakudani and Fuji across Lake Ashi; then the Romancecar to Tokyo, and home on a non-stop flight from Haneda.

Dubai & Abu Dhabi

Three days in Dubai, where most flights from India land: the Burj Khalifa and the fountain show in Downtown, then the Creek, the abras and the gold and spice souks of Deira. A night out in the desert at Al Marmoom, and two days in the capital, Abu Dhabi, for the white marble Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan and the Corniche, with your flight home from its own airport.

Al Ain, Abu Dhabi & Liwa

The UAE away from Dubai's towers: the falaj-watered palm groves, Bronze Age tombs and mud-brick fort of Al Ain on the Omani border, two days in Abu Dhabi for the Grand Mosque and the Corniche, then 230 km south-west to the date-palm villages of Liwa on the edge of the Empty Quarter, for the biggest dunes in the country and a sky full of stars.

Cappadocia to Istanbul

Türkiye's classic loop: through Istanbul to Cappadocia for the fairy chimneys, cave hotels and balloons at dawn; the overnight bus to the white travertines of Pamukkale and the ruins of Hierapolis; the train to Selçuk for Ephesus; then a flight from Izmir to Istanbul for Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the Bosphorus ferries.

Zurich to Geneva by Train

Switzerland end to end by train: Zurich's old town and lake, Lucerne's Chapel Bridge with Pilatus or Rigi, the Luzern–Interlaken Express over the Brünig Pass to the Jungfrau region, through the Lötschberg tunnel to car-free Zermatt under the Matterhorn, and along the Rhône and the lake to Geneva. Fly into Zurich and home from Geneva.

Venice, Florence & Rome

Italy's classic trio, linked by Frecciarossa and Italo trains of two to three hours: Venice for St Mark's, the Grand Canal by vaporetto and the islands of Murano and Burano; Florence for the Duomo, the Uffizi and Michelangelo's David; and Rome for the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and the Vatican. Fly into Venice and home from Rome, which has non-stop flights to Delhi a few times a week.