My happy place

OpinionIf I could only take one more trip in my life, it would be here“Happy” doesn’t even begin to describe the emotion I feel about this island, the most beautiful place in the world.August 6, 2026Monique FarmerOpinionI was on holiday in this city when I got sacked. I’ve loved it ever sinceI was in New Zealand’s capital when the fateful call came. It ended up changing the course of my life.July 30, 2026Tim RichardsOpinionI couldn’t wait to leave the town I grew up in. Now I love going backReturning to my hometown is a watershed moment. The sights, smells and sounds of this country comfort me. People say “hello” as they walk by.July 23, 2026Georgia DunkleyOpinionMy secret highlight of Italy is yet to be discovered by the massesI’ve been visiting for 16 years, and it lifts my mood whenever I return – which is as often as I can.July 16, 2026Chrissie McClatchieOpinionThis city became my favourite place in the world, once they got rid of the gunsI cried when I first visited this European capital as a child. Now I visit every year to embrace its never-ending changes.July 9, 2026Ute JunkerOpinionI never say goodbye to this fast-paced city because I know I’ll always go backThe beautiful thing about this Asian metropolis is that it never loses its magic; you just have to go looking for it in different places.June 25, 2026Paul MarshallAdvertisementOpinionAfter losing my job, I needed to avoid misery. This city deliveredOn my first visit, the Italian capital proved to be the remedy I was seeking: I found bliss at virtually every turn.June 18, 2026Julietta JamesonOpinionI went to the mountains to learn how to ski. I found something much betterSkiing, though exciting, has never been what makes going to the snow special beyond words for me.June 11, 2026Tony WrightOpinionStuck in a northern tropical city, my workday routine became a dreamAfter breakfast at a cafe, I’d work a few hours at the local library before heading to the lagoon for a swim. It wasn’t long before I started wondering if I could live here.June 4, 2026Tim RichardsOpinionWe quit our jobs and moved here for six months. I’ve never been more contentA baby in tow, we found a place for $100 a week. For that, we got five bedrooms, cold showers, basic furnishings and a claustrophobic kitchen. It was perfect.May 28, 2026Mark DaffeyOpinionI just returned from France, but my dream holiday spot remains this Aussie townGrowing up, we would head to this same town for our holiday every year. A trip to France would have seemed as remote to us then as a trip to the moon would for my kids now.May 21, 2026Stephanie PeatlingOpinionI’ve never felt more alive than in this astonishing city of the deadIf happiness is defined as “the state of pleasurable contentment of mind” then this ancient city, for all of its horrors and delights, is my unlikely happy place.May 7, 2026Anthony DennisAdvertisementOpinionThe things I hated about this beach town as a child are what I love nowMy family started visiting this seaside town in the 1980s. Back then I hated the tea-tree, the sand dunes and the lack of a pub.April 30, 2026Katrina StricklandOpinionThree years in this city changed my life and my view of the worldWhen I arrived in Chengdu to teach English, I couldn’t speak Chinese. I’d never even tried Chinese food.March 26, 2026Brian JohnstonOpinionI grew up in Byron Bay. It was nothing like you might imagineByron Bay was the epitome of small town, blue-collar Australia, albeit one with very nice beaches. And no one was rich.April 23, 2026Craig TansleyOpinionThis ‘impossible’ city doesn’t make sense, but it makes my heart soarThe first time I arrived here, it felt like I’d stepped into a film set – or, perhaps, a dream.March 19, 2026Lee TullochMy family has been coming to the same beach for 50 years. Now, everyone else is tooEach year, I see the same faces. Together, we are all building memories for the next generation at this Mornington Peninsula highlight.April 9, 2026Belinda JacksonStaying here is my favourite thing in the worldBeaches are beautiful but to me, they take second place to the alps. The steadfast, majestic beauty of the mountains does something to me that I can’t explain.March 12, 2026Justine CostiganAdvertisementOpinionI lived in this joyful European city for a year. In my heart, I never leftI’ve been visiting this wonderful European city for almost 25 years. I love it so much, in fact, that I decided to live there.February 26, 2026Ben GroundwaterOpinionDespite not visiting for 50 years, I still find this island is my favourite placeA new job took my grandfather to paradise. Joining him there was the highlight of my childhood.February 19, 2026Mark ChipperfieldOpinionWhy this tiny town on the edge of Australia has our heartsWe said we’d stop going when we ran out of things to do. We never have.March 5, 2026Lindy AlexanderOpinionMy beach paradise is somewhere most tourists ignore as they pass throughI didn’t intend to come to this Thai town, but I missed my ferry. I discovered an incredible place most tourists never experience.February 5, 2026Paul MarshallOpinionWe found a dream escape during COVID. Five years on, we keep going backAfter eight months of inner-city lockdown, home-schooling and curfews, an escape to rural Victoria was a breath of fresh country air.January 28, 2026Penny WatsonOpinionI dreamt of Disneyland, but a park became my real dream destinationEvery summer our friends disappeared to the coast in caravans, or road-tripped to Surfers Paradise. We were stuck at home, until my mum had an idea.January 22, 2026Julietta JamesonOpinionNothing ever happens in this coastal Aussie town. It’s my idea of heavenWe tried family holidays in different parts of Australia. But when we returned to this childhood spot, I knew we’d found the right place.January 15, 2026Justine CostiganOpinionMore Aussies are discovering my island paradise, but they can’t change itI grew up in a place where no building is allowed to be higher than the tallest coconut tree. It remains my happiest place on Earth.January 8, 2026Craig TansleyOpinionThanks to a wrong turn, my family discovered its own slice of paradiseIt may not be the quiet beach town it was in the ’80s, but I’m always drawn back to this Queensland holiday favourite.January 1, 2026Justin MeneguzziOpinionI found devotion at a Christian camp, but it wasn’t to GodMy parents sent me to an American-style summer camp on the outskirts of Sydney. For a 13-year-old girl, it was a week in paradise.December 26, 2025Julie MillerOpinionI will never cease to be amazed by this gigantic metropolisThis Asian city is like no other place on Earth. It thrills me, it revitalises me, it always leaves me wanting more.December 18, 2025Ben Groundwater