Merida Venezuela

Home to pretty buildings, stunning mountains and an aggrieved student population who feel the need to hold protest marches about once a week. They even took the streets once in anger at a price hike in their subsidised canteen dinners from 5 bolivares (a fraction of a penny, you can’t even get coins worth less than 100 now) to the wallet-busting price of 100 (about two pence). If there’s a better reason to burn tyres and bring traffic to a standstill, I am yet to hear it.

Go to Merida for its lively student nightlife, all manner of outdoor pursuits, and an ice cream shop with a huge repertoire of flavours, including roast beef and even spinach.