Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Hawke's Bay is the country's wine country and it has the best-looking city in the country as its capital. Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt entirely in the Art Deco style that was fashionable at that exact moment, which means the whole city centre is a coherent nineteen-thirties streetscape that is genuinely unique in the world and that locals take real pride in preserving. Hastings is the inland twin with the orchards and the food production, Te Mata Peak is the ridge the whole region walks for the view, and Cape Kidnappers has the largest mainland gannet colony on earth and one of the great golf courses built on top of it.

The region's character is wine, sun and genuine production — the Bordeaux-style reds from the Gimblett Gravels are world-class, the orchards supply the country's apples and stone fruit, and the food scene follows directly from the soil. Hawke's Bay also gets the most sunshine in the North Island competition and takes it seriously.

Expect real wine-talk, genuine Art Deco pride, and a region where the food genuinely comes from next door.

Nearby: Gisborne Taupo Wellington Rotorua