This chic boutique hotel is the world’s only chocolate-themed hotel. There are 13 chocolate-obsessed rooms, with bar-shaped doors, chunky brown décor and the faint smell of cacao. Chocolate fountains are delivered to your room, while chocolate-drizzled pancakes and chocolate-herb teas are served up for breakfast.

Master chocolatiers also run workshops to help you make your own dainty chocolate shoes or Belgian truffles from scratch.

It’s enough to make Augustus Gloop keel over in a chocolate coma. Bring a belt two sizes too big for when you check out.

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El Mercado de las Brujas, The Witches Market, is located along a series of winding, cobbled streets at the heart of the bustling capital and certainly offers some bizarre buys. Packed with herbal concoctions, colourful lucky charms and ornaments, you will definitely be able to find an unusual souvenir.

Llama foetuses are also used as a lucky charm. Many locals bury the foetus under the foundations of new buildings, as an offering to the Earth Goddess Pachamama, to bring good fortune.

It certainly is a fascinating insight into Bolivian traditions and makes for an interesting days shopping.

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Those energetic enough head straight to the seafront when the clubs close at 7am. They’re soon joined by hundreds of families and groups of friends, eagerly setting up makeshift kitchens.

The task? To make the best Marmitako imaginable (a traditional Basque stew with potatoes, tuna and peppers). Even if you don’t participate, a stroll around the different stalls to soak up the excitement is well worth it.

After hours of cooking, drinking and merriment the judging begins. Winners take home a cash prize and, most importantly, the glory of being crowned Castro’s top Marmita chef.
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The aptly named ‘Golfer’s massage’ has made the resort its name, due to its unusual composition. Using hot golf-balls to knead stiff areas, the treatment is designed to target all the critical swing muscles and ensure that each day of golfing is better than the last.

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try for those less enamoured with the sport however. The unusual sensation of the golf balls helps even the most relaxed muscles, so even sitting by the pool all day will warrant a spa visit!

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This small, cosy and very popular sandwich shop in Greenwich Village, New York, has 21 weird and wonderful peanut butter concoctions on its menu. They even do peanut butter and jelly milkshakes and a Death by Peanut Butter dessert.

It was opened by Lee Zalben in 1998 who used to have contests with his college friends to see who could make the craziest, best-tasting peanut butter sandwich.

They do serve a few regular non-peanut butter dishes too, but going there and ordering one of those would just be…um…weird.

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Cafayate, which lies in the heart of the Salta region, is famed for its abundant vineyards and wine-making as well as its spectacular, surrounding scenery of brightly coloured rock formations and waterfalls. But, for a truly unique culinary experience, tourists flock to sample the Torrontés (white wine) and Cabernet (red wine) ice-cream.

Produced from local grapes, it certainly is a novel and refreshing way to sample the local specialities. A ‘fruitful’ experience indeed!

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Found off Big Major Spot Island in the Bahamas, the pigs make a bizarre sight as they lie on the white-sand beach before oinking and squealing their way across the water to any incoming boats.

The pigs began as domestic animals before turning feral. Although they are really after scraps of food, it’s nice to imagine that the swimming swine are the island’s unofficial welcoming committee.

For more oddities of the aquatic kind, a visit to other beaches in the area reveals nurse sharks that love to be petted and iguanas that are partial to the occasional grape or two.

At Bau House there are up to 25 friendly dogs running around, eager for titbits and tummy-rubs from customers. You’ll find every breed from a tiny chihuahua to a huge Siberian husky. Needless to say, the sofas are ragged and things can get rather boisterous and…well…messy, but the place is extremely popular.

If you prefer cats and a cosy, relaxing atmosphere, try Gio Cat. It has over 30 kinds of cat, curled up on shelves, prowling under tables, sitting on the counter – and on your lap once you’re settled.

Cute idea? Or barking mad?

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If you’re up for the challenge, then sign up to compete in the annual Gibraltar Cardboard Boat Race. It takes place in Ocean Village on Saturday 28 August.

Wood, plastic, fibreglass, foam, duct tape, plastic, staples, clamps, nails and screws are all strictly banned – so building a cardboard boat is as much of a challenge as navigating it. But there are always some truly weird and wonderful creations on show, from dragon boats to cartoon cars.

And if your painstakingly crafted boat is a washout in the race, there’s always the ‘Best Titanic Sinking’ trophy to aim for!
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