Everywhere you look in Paris you will see an opportunity for fantastic photography. But it isn’t always easy to compose an image that you won’t be able to find on a postcard at the nearest souvenir shop. Look at some of the most famous landmarks in Paris with an eye for artistry and you’ll see opportunities for a unique shot in most situations. Everyone takes a picture of the Eiffel Tower, but consider making stops in these other famous locales for a quick photo-shoot of the architecture, the history, the people and the landscapes on this list so you can capture Paris from your own point of view.

Once your plane lands and you are in Spain, there’s the tedious, oft-expensive chore of figuring out how you’ll get around the country. Every country has a different method and definitely different rules, so it’s important to understand what you’ll need to know and do when you are abroad with a rental vehicle. Many families or groups who book their own holidays each year will opt for a car hire and find that it gives them more freedom and flexibility than if they had gone without.

Get one taste of Spanish cuisine and you’ll be hooked on the fresh flavours and combinations you can enjoy throughout Spain. One of the best parts of travelling abroad is getting to taste the food that you’d never be able to get back home, so as you travel through the country visiting the hotspots on your checklist, be sure to sit down and savour the meals too. Nowhere in the world do the fresh flavours and unique combinations of ingredients create such a feverish following as they do in Spain. Here are 10 traditional Spanish dishes to try when you are travelling through the country

Sitting right on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain is Valencia, a city that’s best known for its “fallas” festival, its ceramics and its futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. Since 1982, the third-largest city in Spain has been working endlessly to reinvent itself by building wide new streets and continually investing in daring and unusual architectural projects. Valencia is also located in the heart of one of the most fertile regions in Europe where fields are bursting with crops like oranges and lemons, rice and more. Choose to visit Valencia and you are sure to get your fill of traditional Spanish culture and history.

No one wants to think about having their belongings stolen while abroad because it’s human nature to assume that everyone is kind and wouldn’t dream of messing with strangers. But it’s naïve to adopt this mentality in crowded cities that are full of tourists and goodies to be taken. Take a precautionary approach to visiting these places rather than cross your fingers and hope that nothing bad happens.

The Spanish social calendar is bursting with incredible festivals, fiestas and celebrations for every sort of event you can imagine, be it of religious, natural or pagan origin. If there is a reason to drink much, eat more and create general merriment, Spain is the place that will take the celebration and make it amazing.

Now that your holiday is booked and you have an idea of where you are going in Spain, it’s time to focus on the language of the country—Spanish. Maybe you know a few phrases that you’ve picked up a few phrases from movies and TV shows. Regardless, learning a few key phrases in Spanish will ultimately be a lifesaver for you and your travelling companions.

The whole world knows about Paris and its unending charm. Undoubtedly it is on most people’s bucket list. Most people know about Provence and Nimes and Cote d’Azur too because they are popular destinations full of tourist-favourites like beaches and award-winning cuisine and drink.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things about travelling in a country where you don’t speak the language is figuring out how their public transportation (if there is public transportation) works. Sometimes colours guide your way, sometimes its symbols and other times its numbers, but in each city, the process of getting from Point A to Point B with public transportation is different.

Surfing may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the Bordeaux region of France, but contrary to popular belief, there is a thriving surf community along the coast. The Cote d’Argent is over 200km long, making it Europe’s longest beach with a ton of surfing opportunities along the way.