European cities are all about charm and character – shimmering skylines are not really our style. North America do them pretty well - New York, LA, Toronto - and Asia has some beauties - think Singapore and Hong Kong - but Europe? Not so much. 
 
 There is one (almost) on our doorstep, however. And it's poised - rather unexpectedly - to be the next hot destinations for travellers in search of a more adventurous city break. 
 
 Introducing Astana. First up: can you find it on map? The answer is below. 
 
 Did you get it right? 
 
 It's E. Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, the world's ninth largest country by area. Congratulations if you got it right. 
 
 The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, designed by Norman Foster Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
 
 Why should I go? 
 
 Kazakhstan’s glittering capital is already regarded in niche travel circles for its captivating architecture, with the skyline increasingly filling with ambitious, space-age skyscrapers and monuments, including the 150-metre Bayterek Tower and the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, designed by acclaimed British architect Norman Foster. But it is now taking a confident step towards showcasing its cityscape to the world. 
 
 The announcement that two major global hotel chains are setting up shop in the city - ahead of the imminent Expo 2017 world fair - suddenly make the central Asian city feel a little closer. 
 
 The city's KazMunayGas building lit up at night Credit: Nutthavood Punpeng/Nutexzles 
 
 Sure, Kazakhstan is not on many British bucket lists, but the Ritz Carlton and St Regis think that might be about to change. 
 
 The former promises 157 rooms clad with exotic marble and luxurious woods in downtown’s Talan Towers, while the latter, in Astana Central Park, will be home to 120 rooms in a palatial, neoclassical design. Marriott and Radisson already have properties in the city. 
 
 What even is an Expo? 
 
 Remember the World Fair that gave London its Crystal Palace in 1851? The Expos (expositions) are the modern evolution of The Great Exhibition, but maintain the same purpose: to showcase to the world the strengths and prospects of the host city or nation. 
 
 The Khan Shatyr tent, also designed by Norman Foster Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
 
 The great and good have enjoyed expositions since London’s effort - New York, Chicago and Paris, to name a few - while the modern-day expos have taken in cities such as Brisbane, Barcelona and Hanover, not to mention Plovdiv in Bulgaria, Tsukuba in Japan, and Zaragoza in Spain. 
 
 The latter were all “specialised expos” focussing on a particular topic, such as sustainability or technology, as is Astana’s, with “future energy” at the centre of the celebrations. 
 
 The Bayterek Tower usually holds a prime spot in the city's skyline 
 
 Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is keen for Expo 2017 to be the beginning of Astana’s future. For it, he ordered the construction of the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre, also designed by Norman Foster and his firm, a miniature golf course, a river, a beach resort and a monorail. 
 
 A number of the world’s exposition have left indelible marks on their host cities - Brussels retains its Atomium, The Space needle still stands in Seattle, while Shanghai’s China pavilion, built for Expo 2010, is today the China Art Museum. 
 
 Dubai is next in line to host the next Expo in 2020, while Lodz in Poland is competing with Minneapolis, Rio and Buenos Aires for the following event. 
 
 Why else might you visit Astana? 
 
 Beyond the impressive architecture, Astana boasts a rich Soviet history. The city’s old centre still harbours a “Soviet atmosphere”, according to the Kazakh tourist board. There is also an ornate theatre named after Russian author Maxim Gorky. 
 
 The Nur Astana Mosque is the third largest in central Asia Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jane Sweeney 
 
 Visiting in 2008 for Telegraph Travel, James Mackintosh found the city on the cusp of change. 
 
 “For all its grand pretensions, Astana retains something of the Russian and Soviet steppe trading post of its roots,” he wrote. “Traces of elegant, pastel-coloured, tsarist merchant mansions; the bustle of the dusty streets; the familiar Soviet grid-avenues lined with birch trees and ugly 1950s housing blocks; the cosy but elegant Russian drama theatre; the ubiquitous circus. 
 
 “Placid, gold-toothed women sit all day at street stalls selling raspberries, cucumbers and varieties of forest berries in cut-off plastic bottles. Astana girls, miniskirted and flirtatious, Russian blondes and oriental-looking Kazakhs, cling giggling together like natural-born cousins. 
 
 The city's Soviet past is still evident in parts Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Michael Runkel 
 
 “At Line Brew, a Belgian pub quirkily designed as a Crusader castle, a Nordic-looking family and friends are swilling back lager. They speak Russian but this scene could be anywhere in Germany. They are Volga Germans, shunted by Stalin to this backwater many decades ago. We’re at the heart of Central Asia but, the paradox is that much of the culture is European.” 
 
 How do I get to Astana? 
 
 Air Astana, the nation’s flag carrier, flies direct to Astana International Airport from London Heathrow, with prices starting around £500 return for the seven hour service. Flying via Kiev with Ukraine International can cut £200 off the price, but will double the time. Likewise, flights via Moscow with Aeroflot. 
 
 Flights to Astana are quite pricey Credit: Nutthavood Punpeng/Nutexzles 
 
 What else does Kazakhstan have to offer? 
 
 Kazakhstan is the proud owner of some immense countryside, including the nation’s answer to the Grand Canyon, in the form of Charyn Canyon. There is also skiing at Shymbulak ski resort, 30 minutes from Almaty, while the hidden Lake Kaindy in the Tien Shan Mountains is a startling sight to behold. ||||| It is not too far away from Europe, it has a futuristic skyline and a rich history and it could become one the world’s hottest travel destinations. 
 
 The city of Astana may be difficult to place on a map, but the capital of Kazakhstan is already becoming a hype destination in travelling circles. 
 
 The former Soviet city, which has undergone a huge makeover, is launching itself as a new Singapore at the heart of central Asia. 
 
 Architect Norman Foster, whose London-based company is known for its high-tech architecture, has worked to design the city’s Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre, an award-winning tented-shaped steel structure, which echoes Kazakh history. 
 
 The city’s blend of old and new architecture will no doubt be an attraction to the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to attend the 2017 Expo. 
 
 The world fair, which in the past gave London its Crystal Palace and Paris its Eiffel Tower, is designed to showcase each country’s strengths and vision for the future with this year’s theme being “Future Energy”. 
 
 “Nur Alem”, Kazakhstan’s national pavilion has been described as the largest spherical building in the world and promotes wind energy. The pavillion has already attracted close to 100,000 visitors since the Expo, which brings together 115 countries, opened on 10 June. It will run until 10 September. 
 
 For the Kazakhstan Government, the Expo is the opportunity to put Astana on the map and continue to attract tourists from around the world. 
 
 A general view shows Nur-Astana mosque in Astana ( KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV /AFP/ Getty Images) 
 
 But there are plenty of other things to see in Astana, which is seven hours from Heathrow. 
 
 In a travel review, written for The Independent in 2010, Astana is described as “rising up of nowhere”. 
 
 “You fly for an hour over a flat dry emptiness and then, suddenly, without any hint of outlying farms or suburbs, there it is: the Presidential Palace, a blue-domed version of America's White House, and behind it the Pyramid of Peace (likened by some New Age bloggers to a device for communicating with aliens), and the Bayterek, a bird's nest viewing platform 318ft high,” it reads. 
 
 Surrounding by steppe, looking beyond Astana is like “looking straight to the edge of the world,” the author wrote. 
 
 The couples who travel instead of having a wedding - In pictures 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 show all The couples who travel instead of having a wedding - In pictures 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/16 Cheetah Platt and Rhian Woodyard in Las Vegas 
 
 2/16 Cheetah and Rhian by the Sydney Opera House 
 
 3/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Chiang Mai, Thailand 
 
 4/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Bangkok 
 
 5/16 Cheetah and Rhian at the Ajanta cave in India 
 
 6/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Nairobi, Kenya 
 
 7/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Giza, Egypt 
 
 8/16 Cheetah and Rhian in Giza, Egypt 
 
 9/16 Tessa and Matt in Montreux, Switzerland 
 
 10/16 Tessa and Matt in Madrid 
 
 11/16 Tessa and Matt in Norway 
 
 12/16 Tessa and Matt in Rothenburg 
 
 13/16 Tessa and Matt in Rothenburg 
 
 14/16 Tessa and Matt by the Matterhorn 
 
 15/16 Tessa and Matt in Madrid 
 
 16/16 Tessa and Matt in Ireland 
 
 Astana is also an open door onto the rest of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country. Between Europe and Asia, the Kazakhstan has a complicated and rich history, a unique and authentic culture and landscapes where east and west meet. 
 
 The Kazakh tourism board boasts about the diversity of the country’s tourism industry, which range from cultural excursions to skiing and trekking in the mountains, and water sports in nearby lakes and rivers. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Borat arrives in London in 2006, for the premiere of his film 
 
 Sacha Baron Cohen has offered to pay fines for six Czech tourists who were arrested in Kazakhstan for wearing nothing but 'Borat'-inspired mankinis. 
 
 The group had posed for photos in the capital city of Astana. 
 
 On 14 November, local media reported the tourists had been fined 22,500 tenge ($67; £51) each for their "indecent" appearance. 
 
 The notorious one-piece was made famous by the English actor's character, Borat, a fictional Kazakh TV presenter. 
 
 "To my Czech mates who were arrested. Send me your details and proof that it was you, and I'll pay your fine," the comedian wrote on Facebook. 
 
 Image copyright informburo.kz Image caption The Czech men were detained for "minor hooliganism" after posing in freezing temperatures 
 
 There has been a mixed response to the incident from Kazakh social media users. 
 
 "They [Czechs] should have been jailed for a year. Then others would have drawn lessons!!!" Facebook user Bulat Sapargaliyevich said. 
 
 "Where are the men of Astana? This man [Baron Cohen] should be detained, his hands and legs should be tied up and then he should be dragged on the streets!" Bek Zhanturin added. 
 
 Others were more sympathetic. 
 
 "Good job, Sacha Baron Cohen! He is alone doing more than our entire PR ragtag team does to promote the trademark of Kazakhstan," Kazakh blogger Askar Japarov said. 
 
 You may also like: 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sacha Baron Cohen as Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev 
 
 Baron Cohen's comedy film Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, follows the character of Borat Sagdiyev as he travels to the US to make a documentary. 
 
 The film earned the actor a Golden Globe award but also attracted controversy. 
 
 Kazakhstan banned the film and sales of the DVD and the authorities threatened to sue him. 
 
 But in 2012, the Kazakh foreign minister publicly thanked Baron Cohen for boosting tourism in the central Asian state. 
 
 Mankinis could get you in trouble closer to home too. 
 
 In 2012, mankinis and other "inappropriate clothing" were banned in Newquay in a bid to reduce crime and shed the Cornish seaside town's stag party reputation.
– For many people, Kazakhstan is probably best known as the home of fictional newscaster Borat, who made a mockery of the former Soviet republic in the hit 2006 comedy film named after him. But while the country's capital, Astana, may not currently rank as one of the great travel destinations of Europe, with the Expo 2017 world's fair currently underway there—and two global luxury hotel chains set to open—that could all change. According to the Telegraph, Astana is already "regarded in niche travel circles for its captivating architecture," including the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and the country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ordered the construction of a new entertainment center, a miniature golf course, and a river to coincide with the opening of the fair, which is touting the city's "future energy." Since the Expo began on June 10, nearly 100,000 people have visited the Nur Alem pavilion, which is touted as the largest spherical building in the world, the Independent reports. The Kazakhstan government is hoping the event puts the country on the map for international tourism, which has not been a selling point for the world's largest landlocked country, tucked between Europe and Asia. Expo 2017 is also a historic occasion: It's not only the first world's fair held in Central Asia—it's also the first one held in a Muslim-majority country. The fair runs through Sept. 10. (Check out Kazakhstan's "singing" sand dune.)