Travel

SPONSORED Canada is rightly known for its incredible landscapes and wildlife - but its cities are just as epic and packed with brilliant attractions. Visitors can walk around the edge of the CN Tower's observation deck hundreds of feet up in Toronto, do yoga in front of the Hogwarts-style Parliament building in Ottawa and stay in a hotel made of ice in Quebec City.

The Siena International Photo Awards, held at the Teatro dei Rozzi on Sunday, revealed winners across 11 categories in total. Pictured main is Mount Etna erupting in Italy, winner of the Nature category, bottom left a killer whale drawn to a fishing boat in Tromsø, Norway, winner of the Wildlife category and bottom right a skier leaps from a 32-foot cliff, also shot in Tromso, Norway, which won the Sport category.

Michael Hughes, who grew up in London, has been touring the world and taking these whimsical photos since 1999, photographing souvenir objects in front of their real-life counterparts. Pictured clockwise from top left: The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; the Houses of Parliament in London; The Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Statue of Liberty in New York; and (inset) the ancient pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.

The map of the world is one of the most familiar illustrations there is. But it looks very different here – because it’s been resized according to where people like going on holiday. The result is that Russia looks peculiarly shrivelled, along with Africa and South America. America, too, does not look quite so mammoth. However, Mexico, Cuba, Portugal, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Thailand all look strikingly bloated.

Foxtons founder Jon Hunt owns Wilderness Reserve, a 5,000-acre estate in rural Suffolk. Among lawns, wetlands and forest are manor houses, cottages and farmhouses available as holiday lets. Just an hour from London, it has become a hit with stars like Daisy Lowe and Alexa Chung (top left), who stayed in Sibton Park (main picture) for her last birthday. There are also a series of smaller properties including the quaint one-bedroom Hex cottage (top and bottom right). This beautiful thatched forester's cottage is where MailOnline Travel booked into. There is no electricity, but that just adds to the charm of this cosy bolthole.

One of the best things about Maho Beach, for many, on the Caribbean island of St Maarten-St Martin was seeing KLM’s 747s roar overhead to the airport nearby. But the last ever hair-raising landing by a jumbo belonging to the carrier was made on Friday. Many aviation fans took to Twitter to mourn the end of the era. User Maliniak said: 'Maho Beach without [the] KLM 747 will never be the same.' Kazi Ahmed ‏wrote: 'Avgeek or not the magnificent KLM 747 at St Maarten airport was a sight to see. Sad it has been retired.' Maho Beach is one of the world’s best plane-spotting locations, with thousands of brave holidaymakers flocking there every day to stand directly under the flight path as passenger jets buzz overhead.

A breathtaking new book by National Geographic showcases stunning photographs highlighting 50 of the Earth's most pristine, scenic places, including the breathtaking Skellig Islands off the coast of Ireland (main), Canyonlands National Park in Utah (bottom left) and a volcanic crater lake in Iceland (bottom right). MailOnline Travel has assembled a selection of some of the most striking landscapes featured in the book named, appropriately, Wild Beautiful Places.

An American dad's actions have gone viral after he was spotted handing out sweets to fellow passengers on a plane so his three-year-old wouldn't go without the trick-or-treating experience on Halloween. He encouraged the fliers - if willing - to hand the treats he gave them to his little girl when she went around the airplane on the traditional all Hallows walkabout on the Boston to San Francisco flight.

The saying goes that 'a boat is a hole in the water in which you pour money' and many boat owners frequently bemoan the lack of use their vessel gets. However the increase in peer-to-peer online marketplaces over the past three years has seen recreational boaters matched with boat-owners, chartering companies and captains. In short it's just like house-sharing website Airbnb - but for boats. Owners see their ships get the love and use they deserve while renters get to try out new sailing experiences, from submarines to superyachts. MailOnline Travel has rounded up six of the top companies that can match you with just the boat you need for your trip away. Top left is a superyacht from The World Is Not Enough, top right is the brand new Hanse 505, available in 2017, bottom right the schooner that featured in The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp, bottom left is a high-tech luxury offering from Sail and inset is a yellow submarine in Liverpool you can stay in for just £62 per day.

Adorned with gold leaf and intricate embellishments, the pagodas peppering Asia are wonders to behold. From the 14th Century Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea, to the Shwedagon Paya Pagoda in Myanmar - decked out with almost 5,000 diamonds - all of the temples have a common theme: peace and tranquility. Along with the bold design, the pagodas are also impressive for their sheer size. Top right is the pagoda at Meidai Lamasery Inner in Mongolia, bottom right Chureito Pagoda Fujiyoshida in Japan, bottom left Thambuddhei Paya Pagoda in Myanmar, top left Shwedagon Paya Pagoda in Myanmar and centre is Gyeongbokgung Palace in Korea.

Christopher Horsley, 24, from Lancashire, shot his camping trip to Marum, an active lava lake of Ambrym, Vanuatu with expedition founder, Geoff Mackley and fellow climbers Nik Halik and Kevin Keator. The intrepid traveller acted as both a photographer and expedition guide for the trip. After camping for the night on the crater floor (main), the team (inset top left and bottom left) descended into Marum and using a drone captured the roaring lava lake.

Crusoe the dachsund is one of the internet's most famous pooches with an Instagram following of 258,000 and over a million likes on his Facebook page. After a spot of surgery for a bad back over the summer, the photogenic canine is back on all four paws and his owners have shared a series of snaps showing his recent vacation to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. He was pictured enjoying a tea at Lake Louise (top left), hiking at Peyto lake (top right) and enjoying a pampering session (bottom left and inset). Despite being an internet star, the sausage dog carried his own backpack (bottom right).

With shadowy lighting, clunky noises and long corridor-like platforms, it's easy to feel a little uneasy when waiting for a train at the station after dark. And it appears dozens of travellers have had spooky experiences around the rail tracks, with reports of spine-chilling apparitions patrolling lines. From a screaming woman at King's Cross, London, to a growling dog in Moulsecoomb, Sussex, here's a round-up of some of the most haunted train stations across the country...

Prices are generally lowest pre-Christmas and in January says Daily Mail's Peter Hardy, while half-term (February 11 for many schools in England and Wales) is the most expensive. Easter weeks (April 8 and 15) are both busy and costly, but there is still plenty of availability. If you're booking now, look for deals in resorts including El Tarter, Andorra (top left); Kronplatz, Italy (top right); Plan Peisey, France (bottom right); and Mayrhofen, Austria (bottom left).

Stirling farmer Martyn Steedman and his wife Louise bought the Sea King in an online MoD auction in March and have spent nearly £40,000 converting it into glamping accommodation. The aircraft's exterior has been fully restored, with its new owners retaining many of the Sea King's original features.The interior of the helicopter has been transformed to sleep a family of six with a double and a triple bed as well as a single bed in the tail.

MailOnline Travel has rounded up a selection of the latest stunning entries to National Geographic's Nature Photographer of the Year contest. Pictured, clockwise from top right: a sea turtle in Oahu, Hawaai; the Shiraito no Taki Falls in Japan; Meerkats in the Kalahari, Botswana; The Ijen Voclano sulfur mine; and (inset) an Alaskan brown bear at the McNeil River Game Sanctuary.

An American couple has broken the world record for the longest road trip in one country after traveling over 29,500 miles through 39 states. Greg Cayea and Heather Thompson (pictured together left and inset left) departed from Gilbert, Arizona on July 7, and have since traveled to 22 national parks including Zion National Park, Crater Lake National Park and Yellowstone in 103 days, Travel + Leisure , reported. Lucky for them, on September 20 they broke the previous record of the world's longest road trip that was set in India back in April by four guys who drove 22,406.66 miles.

Living up to its name, the five-star Lux South Ari Atoll - the group's first offering in the Maldives, with a second set to open in 2017 - offers unabashed, off-the-grid luxury in a setting so picture-perfect it's almost impossible to put down your camera phone. The resort features 193 spacious water pavilions and chic private villas dotted along the water's edge on two miles of perfect white sand.

Chris Tarrant's new TV series Extreme Railway Journeys sees the broadcaster head to the frozen wilds of Antarctica and the bustling capital of Azerbaijan as he explores areas of the globe rich in railway history - and more often than not he was on the oldest, slowest and most uncomfortable trains on the planet. The third series of the show airs October 31 on Channel 5.

For fans of spooky attractions and ghoulish delights, there are plenty of destinations in the UK that claim to be haunted which can visited this Halloween. But it may surprise you to discover how many of these place are home to female apparitions.  For example, at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, you may get a vision of Catherine Howard, the screaming lady, or Dame Sybil Penn, the Grey Lady.

These kaleidoscopic creatures have developed such vivid hues either for camouflage or as a warning against predators, and they come in handy during mating season, when the brightest of colours triumph. Pictured, clockwise from top left: the Yemen chameleon; the Javan flying frog, found in Indonesia; the clown fish, which can be seen in Egypt's Red Sea; the rufous-tailed hummingbird, found in Mexico and across South and Central America, and (inset) the caterpillar, which exists worldwide.

At just 340-square-foot, this two-person mobile home, is around the same size as a small New York studio apartment. But the home on wheels - which starts from $65,000 (£53,259) - features a fully kitted out kitchen, bathroom, living room (bottom left), mezzanine bedroom (bottom right) and solar panels allowing occupants to live completely off-grid.

A globetrotting woman hopes to break a Guinness World Record by becoming the fastest female to travel to all 196 countries. Cassie De Pecol, 27, is nearing the end of her epic mission to visit all 193 sovereign nations plus Taiwan, Kosovo and Palestine. The intrepid traveller from Washington, Connecticut, embarked on her journey in July of 2015 and has an estimated 45 days left to complete her whirlwind adventure. Pictured clockwise from top right: Cassie in Bhutan, Bali, Kiribati and (inset) Russia.

Timothy Vorhoff (pictured) drove solo all the way from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the University of Southern California, crossing 11 states and stopping off at five national parks - including Arizona's Grand Canyon (left) and New Mexico's White Sands National Park (inset) along the way.