City meets sea in the coastal metropolis of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Soak up the sun along vast swaths of pristine white sands, take a scenic boat tour through palm-fringed canals, shop your way along the famous Las Olas Boulevard, and sip refreshing craft beers along the Fort Lauderdale Ale Trail. When it comes to dining, you're spoilt for choice: from fresh seafood with a waterfront view to Michelin-approved pizza, there's mouthwatering cuisine at every turn.

Manaus is an enigma: it's a huge port but it lies more than 900 miles from the ocean. The centre is home to grand buildings and ornate Belle Époque-style architecture while the city is surrounded by dense jungle. And although it's deep within the Amazon, Manaus had the first electric street lighting in the world. Just as the two waters of the rivers on which it sits never mix – the darker Rio Negro and lighter Amazon run side by side for several miles – so the different facets of Manaus are seemingly contradictory. But that's what makes it such a fascinating place to visit, and well worth a few days of your time before embarking on an Amazonian adventure. Don't miss the pink wedding cake-esque opera house, Teatro Amazonas, or the market Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, a replica of Les Halles in Paris, with ironwork said to be left over from the building of the Eiffel Tower. Such architectural extravagance testifies to the immense wealth that came to Manaus during the 19th-century rubber boom. While it's never regained its former glory, Manaus is still a sight to behold.