In Budapest Health

The Romans first took advantage of the city’s thermal waters almost two millennia ago. Now the choice of bathhouse is legion, whether you want to lie back and admire the architecture or get in a few laps.

Best for treatmentsHoused in a sprawling 19th century complex, Lukács Baths has eight pools, both indoor and outdoor – water temperatures range from 22°C to 36°C. There’s also a drinking cure hall and treatments on offer include a ‘medical healing massage’, mud pack treatment and foot massage (II Frankel Leó út 25–29; 6am–8pm; from £6.40).

• Related slideshow: Budapest's art and architecture

A gigantic 1913 building in City Park houses Széchenyi Baths. The water is the hottest in the city, reaching the surface at a scalding 76°C, and is high in calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate – good for joint pain, arthritis, blood circulation and disorders of the nervous system. There are a dozen thermal baths, salted tub-bath treatments and a great variety of massages (XIV Állatkerti körút 11; 6am–10pm; from £9).

Among the most modern, but least atmospheric, of all the baths,Danubius Health Spa Margitsziget thermal spa is on leafy Margaret Island. There’s a salt cave with rock salt from the Dead Sea for relaxing in, and a huge array of massages such as Thai, dry brush, hot stone and an intriguing ‘wine cream massage’. A daily ticket includes entry to the swimming pools, sauna and steam room and use of the fitness machines (6.30am–9.30pm; from £14).

Best historicSoaking in the thermal waters of Gellért’s Art Nouveau baths has been likened to bathing in a cathedral. The indoor swimming pools are the most beautiful in Budapest, with the main pool having a glass dome, Art Nouveau mosaics, stained-glass windows and many statues. There are eight baths to choose from (XI Kelenhegyi út 2–4; 6am–8pm; from £12).

The four pools of Király, with water temperatures of between 26°C and 40°C, are genuine Turkish baths erected in 1565. The Turks built the complex away from the city’s springs to ensure they could still use it if there was a siege – to this day it gets its water from Lukács Bath. Typical Turkish elements include a wonderful skylit octagonal dome roof and octagonal pool (II Fo utca 84; 9am–8pm; from £7).

Built in 1566, the recently renovated Rudas baths are the most Turkish of all in Budapest, with an octagonal pool and domed cupola with coloured glass and massive columns. It can get lively on mixed weekend nights, when bathing costumes are necessary. The complex includes thermal baths, steam baths, tub baths and night baths (Dobrentei tér 9; 6am–6pm Mon–Wed, 6am–8pm Thu–Sun; from £4.30).

Best for fitness and swimmingDagály, a huge centre north of Újlipótváros has 10 pools, including two thermal ones, a whirlpool with neck showers, geysers, as well as a 50m lap pool. The surrounding park offers plenty of grass and shade – and there are also beach volleyball and football pitches (XIII Népfürdo utca 36; 6am–8pm; from £5.50).

The largest series of pools in the capital, Palatinus Beach on Margaret Island has a dozen pools (three with thermal waters) and one extra-large swimming pool, wave machines and water slides. There are also ping-pong tables, pool tables, trampolines, a football pitch, beach volleyball pitch, and fast food, such as hot dogs, available (9am–7pm Apr–Aug; from £5).

Named after its architect and Hungary’s first Olympic champ, the Alfréd Hajós on Margaret Island is where swimming gets serious. Its two indoor and three outdoor pools make up the National Sports Pool, where the Olympic swimming and water-polo teams train, and you can get some laps in (00 36 1 340 4946; 6am–6pm outdoors May–Sep, indoors Oct–Apr; from £3.80).

Tuatara, also known as the "living dinosaur," has a third eye under its skin and can be spotted at Zealandia.

Zealandia is a beautiful sanctuary valley located minutes from downtown.

Rare and highly endangered animals such as tuatara (a "living dinosaur" with a third eye under its reptilian skin), flightless takahē and little spotted kiwi live in the 225-hectare park. A secure fence keeps out invasive non-native species like stoats, rabbits and rats.

Birds such as the kaka and morepork (New Zealand’s only surviving native owl) fly in and out of the area freely. 

Visitors can encounter friendly wildlife up close via trails open to hikers of all levels and also accessible by wheelchair.

Recommended: guided night tours to see nocturnal species, such as the kiwi.

Zealandia, End of Waiapu Road, Karori; +64 (0)4 920 9200;

Kaka (forest parrots) are plentiful on Kapiti Island.

Five kilometers off the western coast, Kapiti Island is New Zealand’s most important island nature reserve.

Human impact on the island is kept to a minimum to prevent introduction of pests to the closed ecosystem -- just 160 people are allowed in per day.

Visitors can access only two areas of the island and require a permit from the Department of Conservation.

Flightless kiwi, weka and takahē as well as kaka (forest parrots) and the rotund but beautiful kereru (New Zealand pigeon) are among the many bird species plentiful in the area.

Overnight stays are possible at a private lodge on the island.

Boats to the island depart from the Kapiti Boating Club at Paraparaumu Beach, an hour north by car from Wellington.

Fur seals -- recognizable by their external ears and large, rotating flippers -- are endemic to New Zealand and southern Australia.

New Zealand fur seal colonies can be spotted just minutes from downtown at the southern Red Rocks or on a longer day trip to eastern Cape Palliser. 

While local colonies are mostly comprised of large males, the cuter sights of mothers with pups are common from August through October.

Wild horses and goats, a legacy of New Zealand’s earliest settlers, also frequent the Red Rocks. 

Visit the fur seals with Seal Coast Safari, 32A Leftbank, Cuba Mall; +64 (0)4 801 6040;

Another day, another orca in Wellington Harbour.

In February, at Wellington Harbour, 100 dolphins spent a week hanging out with residents before moving back out to sea.

Then in March, several pods of orcas came to visit the harbor as they hunted stingrays, drawing out high profile visitors, like “The Hobbit” director Sir Peter Jackson. 

For rentals and tours, try Fergs Kayaks, 6 Queens Wharf, +64 (0)4 499 8898,

Where you can swim with a hundred dolphins, have a close encounter with a "living dinosaur" and abide by little blue penguin traffic rules

Visitors to Zealandia, the Karori Sanctuary, can encounter rare birds such as the takahē.

In New Zealand’s capital, wildlife sightings are a part of daily life, thanks to the city's green policies and development of countless parks, nature reserves and walking tracks. 

Here’s a case -- or a few cases -- for why Wellington may be the best city in the world for spotting wildlife. 

the entrance to the Sol metro station in Madrid

Madrid will rename its landmark Sol metro station "Sol Vodafone" under an advertising deal with the British mobile operator to raise millions of euros in the recession, officials said on Wednesday.

The regional government said the rest of Line 2 on the city's underground rail network -- the red line on the map, matching Vodafone's corporate colours -- will also bear the name of the company for the duration of the three-year contract.

"It is the first time in Europe that an entire metro line changes its name based on a commercial deal, generating new forms of income," it said in a statement.

Signs for Sol station will be rewritten as "Sol Vodafone" from June 1 and signs along the rest of the line will read "Line 2 Vodafone" from September.

The station entrance stands in the heart of Madrid on the Puerta del Sol square, the symbolic hub of protests against politicians' handling of Spain's economic crisis over recent years.

A metro spokesman who asked not to be named told AFP the transport company would receive three million euros ($3.9 million) over three years under the advertising deal.

This would boost the metro's annual advertising revenues by 10 percent, he added.

Last year the company received more than 10 million euros in advertising revenue "despite the general fall in the advertising market in Spain", the Madrid government said.

Line 2 is used by 122,000 passengers a day, it said.

The spokesman said a trial project last year, when Sol bore the colours of Samsung's new phone model Galaxy Note for a month, had been well received and the company did not expect major complaints about the change to the iconic station sign.

"Of course there will be opinions of all tastes. It cannot please everyone, but we do not think there will be a negative reaction from metro users. It is a way of gaining revenue," he said.

Like the other 16 autonomous regions of Spain, the conservative government of Madrid, run by Spain's governing Popular Party, is waging fierce money-saving efforts to stabilise the public finances.

Madrid's plans to privatise health services and cuts to public sector pay have sparked angry protests, including strikes by metro workers.