They work for some of the most prestigious tour operators in the world and their local knowledge is hard to beat. Tour guides in Cairo, Cape Town, Mumbai, Rome, Tokyo and Sydney lead you off the path most travelled.
Guide: Zeinab Shawky
Operator: Abercrombie & Kent
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The thing about Cairo I love to share is…
Exchanging cultures. Visitors love to see all the different faces and professions; how people live in the city, how there is so little crime and how so many religions exist together...
Read the whole Cairo guide
Guide: Craig Barrowman
Operator: Abercrombie & Kent
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Best bar for cocktails…
A tough one, but let’s settle for Wafu, the open-air rooftop bar and cafe above the Wakame restaurant in Mouille Point, where friends lounge on comfy sofas [in]the warm glow of sunset over the ocean and Robben Island. Bliss!
Read the whole Cape Town guide
Guide and Co-founder: Lincoln Harris
Operator: India Unbound
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For good food, I send people to…
Samrat in Churchgate, which has fantastic Gujarati food. Howrah restaurant serves tasty Bengali food and is a good lunch stop after being overwhelmed by Crawford Market. Get your bib on for the chilli crab at the seafood restaurant Trishna, near the National Gallery of Modern Art in Colaba.
Read the whole Mumbai guide
Guide: Bradford McEwen
Operator: Insight Vacations
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The door list that everyone’s trying to get their name on is…
Gilda. This combination nightclub, disco and restaurant attracts the rich, famous and beautiful.
Read the whole Rome guide
Guide: Charles Spreckley
Operator: Bespoke Tokyo
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Best way to spend a 24-hour stopover…
7am: a jog (or stroll) around the Imperial Palace. 9am: visit Meiji Shrine. 10am: Isetan department store at opening time. 11am: Ota Memorial Museum of Art for Japanese prints. Midday: Meiji Shrine. 1pm: soba noodles for lunch. 2pm: modern architecture along Omotesando boulevard. 3pm: boutique shopping in Daikanyama. 5pm: organised chaos at Shibuya crossing. 6pm: New York Bar for cocktails. 8pm: a lively izakaya pub for dinner. 11pm: karaoke. Midnight: Le Baron nightclub. 3am: have a power nap in a capsule hotel. 5am: visit Tsukiji fish market. 6am: have a sushi breakfast. 7am: sayonara.
Read the whole Tokyo guide
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Guide: Les Goldsworthy
Operator: Australian Wild Escapes
Favourite hot spot…
Ivy, without a doubt. It has nine themed restaurants, 18 bars, a pool club and a ballroom for 1000 people.
Read the whole Sydney guide
Source: Qantas The Australian Way August 2009