TEL AVIV,ISRAEL

WHY?: Barely 100 years old, Tel Aviv is about the hottest city on the planet right now; a tech hub spawning start-up billionaires by the bucketload and somewhere with a hugely infectious sense of energy and raw potential. If all this youthful exuberance gets a little exhausting, head to Jaffa, a 3,500-year-old working port mentioned in the Bible that has since been swallowed up by the city and which has fun flea markets to explore.

WHY IN SPRING? Because despite having a lovely beach on which to cool down, summer is scorchio.

Tel Aviv has one of the best spring weather climates anywhere, and it’s only a four-and-a-half-hour direct flight from London.

WHAT TO DO: If you can tear yourself away from the beach and bars, there’s some place called Jerusalem situated 45-minutes eastward. For a blast of historical culture like no other, we strongly recommend taking a guided day trip of the Old City to gain a greater understanding of, well, pretty much everything.

WHERE TO STAY: The Norman is a modernist gem of a building sited in a Bauhaus architectural city. Think seriously slick service, excellent grub and a killer rooftop bar with views out to the Med. thenorman.com WHERE TO EAT: Abraxas North.

Staff with serious attitude serve food straight on to the paper tablecloths — accompanied by knives and forks, if you’re lucky — and it’ll be some of the most downright sensational Middle Eastern-style grub you’ll eat anywhere. 40 Lilienblum Street