Armidale, Australia

Australia's highest city, at 980m, ARMIDALE is home to the University of New England, which, together with a couple of famous boarding schools, gives an unexpectedly academic feel to a place so far up-country. Significantly cooler than the surrounding plains, Armidale is also a place of considerable natural beauty, especially in autumn, when its many parks are transformed into a sea of red and golden leaves. The central pedestrian mall, Beardy Street, is flanked by quaint Australian country pubs with wide, iron-lace verandas – on the last Sunday of the month the street comes alive with an extensive morning market complete with buskers.