Cuba

If you land during a local celebration of some sort you’ll find something very special about being greeted at Havana’s airport by a troupe of dancing girls, clad in sequins and feathers, moving rhythmically to the strains of salsa and handing out glasses of rum punch.

Being driven around the bustling, cobbled streets of Havana in an ancient, but beautifully preserved 1950s Cadillac, Chevrolet or Oldsmobile, you feel like you have entered a different era.  It’s not just the unusual combination of grey Soviet-era brutalist architecture juxtaposed with gems such as the Gran Teatro (lit up at night it is a marvel).

CUBA is one of the world’s fastest growing tourist destinations – and with its diverse mix of vibrant urban nightlife, relaxing beaches and spectacular natural vistas, it’s not difficult to see why.  The country is attracting more visitors than ever before and even the Kardashians gave the island (the largest in the Caribbean) their seal of approval when they drove around capital Havana in a hot pink convertible Cadillac. Havana, the countries capital, with a population of two million,  recently got its first luxury hotel, the Grans Hotel Manzana Kempinski, which occupies an entire city block.

May Day otherwise known as international workers’ day or Labour Day in short, is celebrated around the globe in different styles.   Unlike here in the UK where you have the add skirmishes between police and protester; elsewhere people celebrate or commemorate the occasion differently.  You could take a short break to Paris, Beijing, Havana and Pyongyang, North Korea to be part of the occasion.