Stay in a restored Gothic palazzo on one of the finest old canals in Venice, just 10 minutes’ walk from spectacular St. Mark’s Square. Flights and accommodation included for £139pp, plus the first 50 bookings come with a free gondola cruise. Dates also cover atmospheric Christmas market trips!

Find this trip and more on the Travelzoo Top 20 →

We’ve all got songs that transport us to a different time or place, whether through memories or imagination. Like that one that throws you back to being an awkward tween at a school disco. A teenage heartbreak, or the great American road trip you’re yet to take.

Here are the songs we at JFC listen to as we gaze at the planes flying overhead, dreaming of where we could be going…

There’s one song that may as well be a Tardis for me (Detour Editor Katy), that always takes me right back to January 2017, when I visited Cuba for the first time - ‘Chan Chan’ by Buena Vista Social Club.

It’s hardly an unknown folk song, in fact it was only released in the ‘90s and is probably the most-played tune at Cuban theme nights the world over. And yet, it followed me around the streets of Old Havana and beyond, with local musicians providing the soundtrack to my daily mojitos (very stereotypical of me, I know).

The irony is, the places mentioned in the song are far from Havana, and far from the sights visited by thousands of tourists each day. Four towns are mentioned in the lyrics (Alto Cedro, Marcané, Cueto and Mayarí), all of which are in rural Holguín Province in eastern Cuba.

It’s likely that the only thing preventing tourists from arriving in Holguín en masse is the logistical headache of getting there (I can’t say we loved our overnight coach trip or chaotic domestic flight in Cuba). Upon landing there in 1492, Christopher Columbus claimed it was, “the most beautiful land human eyes have ever seen.”

And he wasn’t wrong—his first glimpse of Cuba involved the picture-perfect beach at Guardalavaca (“hide the cow”) surrounded by tamarind fields and rolling hills. Just a little down the coast he’d have encountered Cayo Saetía island, lined with rocky coves, salt-water lagoons and mangroves.

Heading inland, he’d have found himself in the depths of the jungle, in what is now the Parque Nacional La Mensura. Flora and fauna abound, the main draw here is a hike (or jeep ride) to take in the views over Cuba’s highest waterfall, Salto del Guayabo. And, of course, the reward of a refreshing dip in the Pozas de Rafael natural pools afterwards.

But little did Columbus know that 434 years later, a boy called Fidel would be born on a farm nearby and change the island’s history forever.

For our social media guru Danni, it’s the funky beats of Pino D’Angiò that whisk her away every time. While soaking up the Sicilian nightlife from the comfort of a cushion outside Dal Barone, Palermo, she could hardly stop herself reaching for Shazam.

Now any time she needs a quick flight back across the Med to a world of street markets, historical buildings and bitter Averna liqueur, she knows what to do. Except this weekend, when she hopped on an easyJet flight instead.

It’s easy to see why she’d fall in love with the place. With quirky old churches like the Martorana lining the streets, you quickly get the impression that Palermo has a few stories to tell. After all, who’d expect a Sicilian church to have a Spanish baroque facade, have been built by the world’s first admiral (a Syrian-Greek adventurer), and still hold mass in Ancient Greek?

The island as a whole is famed for its cuisine, and Palermo’s street food is the best way to try it all. Arancini may have made their way across borders and into Italian restaurants, but there’s nothing like the real deal. Most of the snacks you’ll come across aren’t exactly friendly to non-meat-eaters, but we hear a panino con le panelle will fill you up nicely for an afternoon of sightseeing.

The real highlight of any trip to one of Palermo’s colourful street markets is the rhythmic sound of the workers’ singing to advertise their wares, as has been a tradition for centuries. That and the cannoli, of course.

The only thing we’d advise against in Palermo is visiting the Capuchin Monastery before lunch. Your new friends might put you off your food!

Head Flight Finder Tristan turns to 'Alopecia’ by WHY? whenever he wants to be teleported to Portland, Oregon. The band themselves may hail from Cincinnati, but the album oozes a mood reminiscent of the city’s famously “weird” and artsy culture.

If you’re not familiar with the city’s reputation, this might give you an idea:

• Pot-bellied pigs are commonly accepted as pets
• You can join the annual naked bike ride—the largest in the world, nonetheless
• There’s a donut shop that serves up wedding rings alongside its classic glazed rings
• Each year, the McMenamins UFO Fest celebrates the area’s many flying saucer sightings, which started all the way back in 1950

We could go on. That said, not everything about the city is downright peculiar—a lot of it is just more niche, but in a way many of us can appreciate.

With the non-conformist attitude comes a food scene that pushes boundaries, bringing in influences from around the world. Add to that the craft beer culture that’s been on the go since long before your average hop-loving hipster was old enough to drink, and you really do have yourself the recipe for a tasty getaway.

Music and arts of all kinds are far from mainstream in Portland. You should expect lazy Sundays to involve poetry slams, and coffee shop soundtracks to switch gentle lounge music for punk. And always earmark the first Friday of the month for an art walk.

If all that sounds a little hectic, there’s one more Portland tradition that’ll bring you right back down to earth—soaking. Aaaand, relax.

We want to hear the songs that never fail to take you away! Drop us an email on [email protected] to share your imaginary holiday soundtracks, so we can put together the ultimate JFC wanderlust playlist.

Where better to start in Pennsylvania than its (arguably) most famous town: Scranton. Okay, so this one might only mean anything to fans of The Office (US), but there’s a little more there than just the fan favourites.

It’s not an illusion, there is, for no obvious reason, a Houdini Museum in Scranton. The tour includes a magic show, by the end of which, you may (apparently) find yourself levitating. And no trip to The Electric City would be complete without a visit to the Electric City Trolley Museum, where you’ll find out all about the USA’s first street cars.

Nearby Rattlesnake Falls is a pretty good example of the natural beauty you’ll find across Pennsylvania. From the banks of Lake Eerie and the beaches of Presque Isle State Park in the north-west to the rolling pastures of Amish Country in the south, it’s another state that’s screaming out for a road trip.

Hershey’s Chocolate World is probably the most important stop on your cross-state adventure (unless you’re more into battle sites than chocolate—then you should head to Gettysburg). You can even take your cocoa-lovin’ to whole new levels in the MeltSpa. You can decide whether the dark chocolate body wrap sounds heavenly or horrific.

Before we get to Pennsylvania’s most controversial topic, make sure to include Fallingwater on your list. One of the most famous homes ever designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the home was recently named one of the USA’s most loved buildings. More than just a fancy house, its location perched atop a waterfall is what really makes it iconic.

And now for that controversy: where do you get the best cheesesteak in Philly? The traditional argument says that it’s between Pat’s and Geno’s, but ask any local and they’ll have their own favourite. We reckon there’s only one real way to find out, and that’s by trying them all. Don’t worry, you’ll soon walk them off between the city’s seemingly never-ending historical landmarks.

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• Ryanair’s ongoing battle against French Air Traffic Controllers continues, as the airline was forced to cancel over 400 flights this week.
• There’s a new short-term rental company making the headlines in the US, but this one’s for swimming pools instead of accommodation. Swimply lets people rent out their private pools at hourly rates, and unsurprisingly, neighbours are starting to kick up a fuss.
• Delta has unveiled a new cabin design that allows wheelchair users to stay in their own seat when they fly. This will come as promising news to anyone who has arrived at their destination to find their chair battered and bruised from the journey in the hold.
• If you’ve ever fancied a cruise but hate the idea of the environmental impact, Hurtigruten might have the answer. The Norwegian company, which is known for its northern lights and fjords tours, has drawn up plans for a fully electric ship, which could be put into service as soon as 2030.
• And finally, researchers stationed at the South Pole have eaten their last egg until November. While they’re good for frozen treats like ice cream, and dried products like powdered milk can make a somewhat tolerable latte, the team will be waiting 5 months before their next fresh food delivery arrives.

  Frankly, we’d be having an egg-sistential crisis if that were us. Sorry, we know that wasn’t a cracking pun. We’ll stop with the yolks now.