From the ancient Greek peninsula of Peloponnese (top right) to Denmark's hip, historic city, Aarhus (bottom left), Lonely Planet has named its top spots to visit across Europe this summer. Revealed on the prestigious list is breath-taking northern Dalmatia, Croatia (top left), romantic Venice, the scenic Canary Islands, colourful Texel in the Netherlands (bottom right) and even Warwickshire, UK (centre).

One resident who lives in the Loire Valley told MailOnline Travel that holidaymakers, including those from the UK, are unable to return home as the French petrol crisis deepens. People are being forced to roll their cars into forecourts (left) to save every drop of fuel, as workers blockade refineries by burning tyres (top right).

Daredevils straddling trains in Bangladesh (top), rainbow rooftops in Ho Chi Minh City (bottom left) and buffalo drinking at night in South Africa (bottom right) - these spellbinding snaps are in the running for National Geographic's coveted Travel Photographer of the Year contest, which is currently in its final week of submissions.

The short clip, which was shot by a US tourist, shows the male worker holding the enormous animal at a distance as it takes several swings for his body and face. A group of people behind the camera can be heard saying 'oh my god, they're literally boxing'. And a child can be heard laughing and shouting that the scene is 'kangaroo versus man' - only to be told off by an adult who warns him that 'it is not funny'.

The new technology is being trialled at Geneva Airport Terminal 1 this month. After scanning your boarding pass (inset top and bottom) and affixing the relevant tag, the robot will take your bags inside so you can go straight to security checks. It's hoped the machine will speed up check-in and reduce congestion inside the terminal.

Russian photography group AirPano has travelled around the world to take these panoramic images of different cities, including Shanghai (bottom right), Las Vegas (bottom left) and Sydney (top). They were captured with the help of drones and the group have also created warped versions of their creations.

Warning: not suitable for backpackers. This holiday features hot tubs with a view, cute baby animals and a train fuelled by Pisco Sours. Liz Hazelton swapped the Inca Trail for hotels in Lima, Cusco and the Sacred Valley and still made it to Machu Picchu for one of the most magical sunrises in the world.

These pictures show impossibly cute baby sloths at the Sloth Institute in Costa Rica. The centre is a lifeline for them as they probably wouldn't have stood a chance if left alone in the wild. The centre was set up by Sam Trull - known as 'Mother of Sloths' - and Seda Sejud, in a bid to enhance their well-being and assure their conservation. Some of their babies are smaller than the size of a human hand, with one image showing a cheeky sloth snuggled up in a mug.

The dystopian Kowloon Walled City, an overcrowded slum in Hong Kong, was home to more than 30,000 residents, including families, gang members and drug addicts, before it was finally demolished in 1994. The settlement was a cluster of more than 300 high-rise buildings that were blighted by poverty, gangs, drugs, poor sanitation and inadequate services. These remarkable photos, showing everything from children playing on rooftops to heroin addicts shooting up on the street, reveal what life was like within the six-acre site.

These days, cruise ships have so many amenities that passengers can spend a week at sea and fail to take advantage of everything on board. While many holidaymakers choose a cruise to escape the cold, Viking's ocean-going ships each have a Snow Grotto (inset) where artificial snowflakes fall from the ceiling. Those with a head for heights can walk on a glass platform 128ft above the water on two Princess Cruises' ships (left). For a thrill of a different kind, passengers on board MSC Preziosa can reach a speed of 13 mph on the Vertigo transparent water slide (right).

From the honking traffic in the chaotic cities, through the palm-fringed beaches, to the beautiful national parks crawling with animals, the diverse island of Sri Lanka is packed with breath-taking variety, discovers MailOnline Travel's Thomas Burrows. Starting in the sprawling capital of Colombo, he made his way to Kandy along the track built under British rule that chugged through the urban sprawl to the lush green hills (bottom left). He then travelled to Sigiriya, the russet rock that towers 600ft above the arid dry-zone plains before heading to the east, which is still finding its feet following the end of the Civil War in 2009. In Dambulla, famous for its cave temples he encountered cheeky monkeys (inset). His final stay was at the magnificent Gal Oya Lodge (bottom right), tucked away on the edge of the largely untrodden Gal Oya National Park (top left), filled with elephants.

With limited yet coveted space, islands are sometimes the most densely populated places on Earth with destinations such as Hong Kong and Manhattan proving to be startlingly congested. For example, Santa Cruz del Islote (top left) off Colombia has a population density equivalent of about 300,000 people per square mile - far more than bustling Manhattan (bottom left). Similarly, Migingo Island (inset) has a population density of 250,000 per square mile and its burgeoning population only started arriving in 2002. Venice (top right) is tiny but has a population of 270,000, while the old town of Lubeck (bottom right) in Germany has outgrown its island and sprawled into the surrounding areas.

Here, MailOnline Travel features some of the most bizarre properties from around the world, including a house on a 131ft rock in Georgia and another balanced on a tiny outcrop in a Serbian river. Pictured clockwise from top left: Elidaey island in Iceland, Katskhi Pillar monastery in Chiatura, Georgia, Casa do Penedo in Portugal's Fafe Mountains and a house in the middle of the Drina River in Serbia.

Three thousand lucky souls have boarded the world's biggest cruise ship on its pre-inaugural cruise - and MailOnline Travel is among them. Docked at Southampton this past week, the awe-inspiring Harmony of the Seas is sailing up the English Channel this weekend before returning to the UK on Sunday and allowing the privileged few a sneak peek of what lies ahead for holidaymakers.

The garage in question is on the UK overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha (top right), a windswept seven mile-wide volcanic island marooned halfway between South Africa and South America (bottom right). The island, the remotest inhabited place on the planet, has just 265 residents and is only accessible via a ten day sail from the nearest alternative car mechanics in Cape Town. It only has one road - the 'M1' (inset) - which leads to a potato patch.

Baby Ekozu, a male southern white rhino calf, was born in March at West Midlands Safari Park - the first to be born there in over a decade. He has spent the past few weeks meeting new animals including a giraffe (top right), antelope, goats, Congo buffalo (bottom left and right) and ducks (top left).

Holidaymakers can rent Aaron Paul's beautiful ranch which is located in Boise not far from the border of Oregon. It features a geothermal hot spring pool (bottom right) and stunning wood-panelled interiors. Situated on a gorgeous tree-lined street just minutes from downtown, fans from all over the world can sample the star's lifestyle for $395 (£271) per night.

Urban explorers Dan Andrews (inset) and Will Sanderson, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, sneaked past security and climbed 101 floors to reach the top of the unfinished Marina 101 skyscraper in Dubai. It took around 90 minutes to get to the top of the building, which will eventually house a hotel and luxury apartments. From a dizzying height, the adventurers watched the sun rise and took in breathtaking views of the Dubai skyline and Arabian Sea.

Death Valley in California might have a reputation for being one of the driest and hottest places on Earth but occasionally parts of it flood after rare storms and you can actually go kayaking there. Proving that it is possible, adventure hiker Steve Hall headed to the national park with his camera to capture the desert's breath-taking transformation. The 41-year-old took a yellow inflatable kayak on to a small lake that had formed temporarily and paddled his way along the surface.