KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — It’s not that there aren’t enough attractions in these cities to keep visitors enthralled but sometimes you need to venture beyond the urban grid to get a complete experience.

Here are 10 popular cities and a recommended side trip for each that will show you a different side of the destination.

Base city Shanghai

Side trip Zhouzhuang

Distance from the city About 70 kilometres; there are bus tours available

Singing boatmen regale you while paddling you along the canal that runs through this picturesque ancient town, where the architecture has been perfectly preserved and is a complete throwback to China of the past. Quaint arched bridges link the two sides of the canal that are lined with souvenir shops, tea houses and restaurants that dish up local cuisine with a serving of waterfront views.

Take a gondola ride, complete with a singing boatman ala Venice, at Zhouzhuang

Crowds aside, you will feel as if you’re walking through a Chinese ink painting, with plenty of photo opportunities at every turn. When hunger strikes, try local specialties such as savoury tau foo far (topped with a soy sauce mixture and garnished with spring onions) and braised pork belly, which are sold in vacuum-sealed packets too so you can buy to take home.

Base city Melbourne

Side trip Dandenong Ranges

Distance from the city Just 30 kilometres and ideal for a self-drive excursion

If you’re a fan of Hercule Poirot, you must make time for tea and Devonshire scones at the utterly charming Miss Marple’s Tea Room. A highlight of Sassafras, a township in the lofty getaway of Mount Dandenong, the menu is peppered with delightful references to the iconic book series by Agatha Christie. Try the Vicar’s Folly (butterscotch ice cream with honeycomb and caramel fudge) and wash it all down with something from Inspector Craddock’s Whistle Wetters beverage list.

Hop on board the Puffing Billy steam train at Dandenong

Walk off the damage with a stroll around the town, making sure to stop by Geppeto’s Workshop for old-school wooden and non-battery operated toys. Before heading back to the city, hop aboard the Puffing Billy steam train. You can choose from a number of thematic itineraries that include “live” music (jazz, rock and roll, rock and blues), murder and mystery, and dinner and dance.

Base city Hangzhou

Side trip Moganshan

Distance from the city About 60 kilometres; you can get there by public bus or taxi

Hangzhou is all about the poetic serenity that surrounds the West Lake, while about an hour and a half away the same tranquillity prevails in the mountains of Moganshan. Built as a summer retreat for missionaries, it is now popular as a “back to Nature” hotspot for its many hiking trails, bamboo groves and a protected national park. It’s worth spending a few days here and you’d want to book a stay with naked Retreats, where you can split your time between two resorts.

A villager’s home in Moganshan, a highland retreat near Hangzhou

Settle into renovated farm houses at naked Home Village where the staff are elderly villagers, friendly and welcoming, who live just next door. Or live it up at the 5-star nature-loving naked Stables, where accommodation comes in the form of Tree Top Villas and Earth Huts, all luxuriously furnished. The resorts get their unusual name from the fact that they are crafted from eco or au naturel materials.

Base city Barcelona

Side trip Figueres

Distance from the city Nearly 140 kilometres; 70 minutes by high-speed train

Just a train ride away from energetic, cosmopolitan Barcelona, Figueres welcomes you like a time capsule that takes you back several centuries. Its Old Town district doesn’t just look like a page out of Spanish history books with cobbled, winding paths and classic architecture but feels just as languid.

Salvador Dali’s influence and art works can be seen everywhere around Figueres

Stroll along its neat pavements and tree-lined courtyards, and make stops at museums, art galleries, castles and Gothic-style churches. The one attraction you cannot miss — and the singular reason for many to make a trip here — is the Salvador Dali Theatre Museum. Once the home and work studio of the iconic surreal artist, the museum beckons with pink walls crowned by golden eggs and even more madness within.

Base city Tokyo

Side trip Fujino

Distance from the city About 50 kilometres; to get there by train, take the Chuo line and disembark at Fujino Station

Known as an artists’ enclave, this bucolic town about an hour by train from Tokyo is one of those weekend escapades that’s popular among locals but barely known to foreigners. That’s because Fujino doesn’t offer any famous landmarks that the typical tourists seek but if you’re up for an offbeat, authentically Japanese getaway where English is hardly spoken, then this is for you.

A tranquil scene at Lake Sagami in Fujino

Locals typically head here for the hot spring baths, shop at weekend flea markets, browse small art galleries and artists’ studios, go boating at Lake Sagami or hike the trails around it. For visitors, a popular stop is the Fujino Workshop for Art, a sprawling complex built in the style of Italian villas, where you can take classes in everything from pottery to sandblasting glass.

Drive around and you’ll come across roadside fresh produce stalls that are unmanned. To buy something, just drop your Yen into the box. That’s not the only unique transaction method practised here: Fujino is a Transition Town, Japan’s first, that’s part of a global network of communities who have adopted their own currency system. Participating individuals and businesses trade selected goods or services using this “currency”, which has no specific denomination nor is it in printed form, that is recorded in little credit books.

Base city Hong Kong

Side trip Lei Yue Mun

Distance from the city Less than 15 kilometres from Central; get there via a short ferry ride at the pier near Sai Wan Ho MTR station

The ultra-modern metropolis that is Hong Kong today is a far cry from its very humble beginnings as a fishing port, but the island did not leave its past far behind. Its outlying islands are still ensconced in the lifestyle and slow pace of fishing villages while catering to the curiosity of tourists. Lei Yue Mun is one example, a thriving fishing and farming hub dating back about 150 years. In the 1960s, it started to become popular as a seafood dining spot and that has remained unchanged.

A boat ride and a world away from urban Hong Kong is the fishing village of Lei Yue Mun

Restaurants line the waterfront, their freshest catch swimming in tanks. Choose your protein and tell them how you want it cooked, or shop directly at the seafood (live and dried) stalls. Snack on traditional cakes and cookies while strolling through narrow lanes in between traditional homes.

Find your way to the 200-year-old Tin Hau Temple to pray for blessings and get your fortune read by a home-based geomancer located just steps away. Across from him, the rocky coastline pulls crowds to a boulder that’s said to bestow luck upon all who touch it. Because of its proximity to the city, you can see parts of the Hong Kong skyline from this promenade.

Base city George Town, Penang

Side trip Balik Pulau

Distance from the city Under 30 kilometres; public buses are available but it’s best to self-drive so it’s easier to explore

Its name means “back island” and that’s what a trip to Balik Pulau will show you — the other side of island life in Penang. The town proper has just one short road that’s flanked by mom-and-pop shops and traditional trades; it seems that practically nothing has changed in the last two or three decades. Want a real blast from the past? Step inside Saloma Salon for a hair wash, cut or blowdry amidst an 80s-style vibe complete with hair styling tools from that era.

Kim’s ever-popular Thai-Assam laksa is Balik Pulau’s most famous food

Bring your new hair to lunch at the popular Kim laksa stall where you can slurp up the spicy-sour goodness of Siam or assam laksa, or a mixture of both. Another foodie haunt that draws the crowds is Hakka Village, which combines a restaurant with a homestay and cultural experience that lets you learn about Hakka heritage. For durian lovers, get a tour of Bao Sheng Durian Farm and indulge to your heart’s content, or even book a stay there.

Base city Los Angeles

Side trip Santa Barbara

Distance from the city About 150 kilometres; best to self-drive as there are many vantage points along the Pacific Coast Highway

If you’re lucky enough to remember TV shows like Dynasty, you’ll feel right at home in this former missionary town that has become something of an elite getaway for Californians. Known as the American Riviera and dubbed one of America’s most beautiful towns, Santa Barbara caters to urbanites who want their weekends away to be filled with gourmet food, premium wines, fine art, and high-end shopping.

Dine on fresh crabs and sea views at The Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

The pace at this resort town, which displays a distinct Spanish influence with Mediterranean architecture and historical paseos (outdoor pedestrian malls), is comfortably calm but not languid. This is where one goes to enjoy the best of life and seafood hauls; dig into the freshest crabs, lobsters and ridgeback shrimps at The Santa Barbara Shellfish Company located on the tip of Stearns Wharf.

Base city Sapporo

Side trip Otaru

Distance from the city About 40 kilometres; there are regular trains on the JR Hakodate Main line

Visitors arrive in Hokkaido for two key reasons: ski and seafood. Those seeking snow thrills will head to Niseko ski resort while the food enthusiasts tend to make their way around Sapporo, where a dedicated Ramen Street with tens of tiny restaurants offering their own versions of the Japanese noodle is often the first stop. But everyone eventually finds their way to Otaru, a retro town best known for its canal that’s decked out with Victorian-style street lamps. It makes for a particularly charming scene in the evenings.

Nibble on these Kamaboko fish cakes when you visit Otaru

For shopping and snacks, stroll through Sakaimachi Shopping Street where antique-looking buildings showcase a marriage of Japanese and European architecture. The best souvenirs to buy home are handmade glass items (Otaru is known as Town of Glass), music boxes and Kamaboko fish cakes, savoury steamed or fried snacks.

Base city Yogyakarta

Side trip Magelang

Distance from the city About 50 kilometres; there are a lot of buses and taxis heading there

The sacred Buddhist temple of Borobudur is its most notable landmark and most people who find their way here don’t bother to venture beyond that. If you do take time to explore the hilly village of Magelang, you will be rewarded with the true beauty of Indonesia’s countryside that’s found not just in the breathtaking landscape but most memorably, its people.

Sitting at the foot of the mountains and surrounded by paddy fields, Mageland is a sight for sore eyes

Walk or cycle past expansive paddy fields – some are terraced and thus best viewed from the many hills that dot the area – and whenever you meet the occasional villager out and about (often balancing agricultural crops on their heads or backs), you can be sure they will greet you with a radiant smile and clasped hands. Ask to use their toilets and the villagers will not even hesitate to welcome you into their homes, and may even apologise for the lack of amenities. This truly is a place that’s beautiful in every sense of the word.

Vivian Chong believes that your visit to any city is not complete until you’ve explored at least one side trip. Read about her travel adventures at http://thisbunnyhops.com/