Swakopmund, Namibia's second biggest town and traditional "summer capital", is one of the most surreal places in the country. To get there, you will drive through the endless, windswept expanses of the Namib Desert, one of the world's largest wilderness areas, before Bavarian spires and elaborate Germanic architecture rise into view.

Swakopmund exudes romance and history; a rich cultural melting pot of old and new. The town is a mixture of Bohemian and Bavarian, home to artists, hippies, strait-laced descendants of German settlers, stately Herero women in Victorian dress, and hard-bitten miners, game rangers, safari operators and fishermen.

It's often the place to get some rest and recreation after a dusty trip to the desert there's plenty to do and great places to stay.