Azerbaijan

Baku has become a short-break favourite for the same reasons as Dubai a decade ago: a four-hour flight via Sharjah, an e-visa in a few days, hotels that are good value, and a city that looks like nowhere else — a walled old town, a seafront boulevard and the Flame Towers behind it. It suits couples and small groups who want four days somewhere new.

The day trips make it: Gobustan's petroglyphs and the mud volcanoes to the south, the Ateshgah fire temple and the burning hillside at Yanar Dag, and a long day to Gabala for the cable car and the lake. In winter Shahdag has skiing.

Vegetarian food takes a little planning — we brief the guide and list the restaurants in the old city that do it well.