There’s a slight irony to viewing the New York skyline from the Empire State Building – the most iconic feature is missing, because you’re standing on it.

A pop-culture giant – from the arch-romance of Sleepless in Seattle to the vertiginous thrills of King Kong – the 1,454 ft skyscraper is to New York what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, and around 4 million people a year flock to its world-famous viewing platform.

In a surprise result, the US city of Milwaukee has topped Airbnb’s list of 2020’s most up-and-coming tourist spots, according to the company’s booking data.

The list was compiled by comparing year-on-year growth in reservations and has turned up a noteworthy number of lesser-known cities and regions, reflecting a broader trend for off-the-beaten-track travel.

SEE ALSO: Least Visited Country on Each Continent: Why You Should Go

In an increasingly eco-conscious world, smoky, fume-filled cities often get a bad name.

The car exhaust, the noise pollution, the grey, concrete brutalism – urban areas can feel claustrophobic, and it’s no wonder so many city-dwellers spend their weekends escaping to the country.

But not every metropolis is so tree-free. Here are a few urban jungles that won’t make you choose between nature and culture…

The Mediterranean island of Majorca already has several different faces.

It’s a hedonistic haven for booze-fuelled party-goers – think the Love Island villa, and the drunken debauchery of the Magaluf strip. It’s a classic island paradise, with seaside retreats and retirement homes at every turn. It’s even a fitness destination, and the likes of Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins have long been spotted traversing the hairpin bends of the Tramuntana.

Anyone who has children dreams of taking them to see the big man at Christmas.

We might have some pretty amazing grottoes and experiences over here, but nothing beats seeing Santa in his homeland.

It is, without doubt, the most magical trip every family wants to make – but it’s not always an easy one. Here, we reveal the secrets you really should know before heading to the snowy lands to hunt down Father Christmas…

Travel can seriously mess with our sleep.

The jet lag that disrupts our body clocks may be the most obvious reason, but it’s far from the only one. Even without any time-zone changes, the unfamiliar hotel room or Airbnb, with its strange bed and pillows, not to mention the noise from the next room or the lift in the corridor, can all throw out our normal sleep patterns.

City slicker or reclusive writer, rural bus or urban train, it’s odds-on that most of us have, at some time or other, had to brave the morning commute.

It’s also odds-on that we’ll have hated it, but not all commuting is created equal. For most it’s a daily dose of purgatory – particularly for those just the right height to spend the journey lodged in a nearby armpit – but a lucky few can enjoy a calmer commute with much more room for manoeuvre.

‘Antarctic researcher’ is one of those jobs no one actually expects to get. Like astronaut or MI6 agent, we might have fantasised about it as kids – a starry-eyed mentor might even have told us to ‘follow our dreams’ – but no one really thought it would happen.

With their newly-announced ‘Antarctic Sabbatical’ though, Airbnb is offering five lucky volunteers the next best thing – a chance to learn the ropes of polar living, study microfibers in the ice sheet, and, of course, visit the South Pole.

Hotels with a human touch could become a thing of the past, according to hotel insiders who claim it could be just as easy to procure keys from a robot or via a voice control system.

A survey by Guestline, who provide property management and distribution software to the hospitality industry, suggests 85% of relationships with businesses will not require human interaction in the future. Their conclusions have been drawn from experts across the fields of technology, artificial intelligence, hospitality and interior design.

Situated in the canton of Valais in southwest Switzerland, mountain resort Verbier is best known as an exclusive winter destination for the super-rich, and a playground for extreme sports enthusiasts.

With its pristine white slopes and wooden chalets adorned with pretty window boxes, it’s a Christmas card-worthy winter wonderland when blanketed in snow. But with picturesque landscapes and diverse terrain, Verbier is also worth visiting in the ‘off season’.