Random top ten: Ten movies that double as holiday brochures

1 Funny Face (1957)

Bookish Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) is discovered by celebrity photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) and whisked off to Paris with magazine editor Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) for a glamorous shoot. A dizzying, wordless sequence follows the three leads on individual – and irresistible – whistle-stop tours of the City of Lights, shot to full advantage by cinematographer Ray June.

2 Run Lola Run (1998)

Deliberately eschewing the obvious, it's a virtual tour of both the eastern and western sections of Berlin, including the Oberbaumbrucke (also seen in The Bourne Supremacy), the Spree river, Friedrichstrasse, Gendarmenmarkt and Bebelplatz.

3 March of the Penguins (2005)

This was shot entirely on location in Terre Adelie, Antarctica. Not, admittedly, a top holiday destination you're likely to see in this lifetime, but there is amazing footage of sweeping expanses of blue-green ice and solitude, as well as underwater scenes, southern light shows, and blizzards.

4 The Sheltering Sky (1990)

Whatever you may think of Debra Winger's acting skills, the vistas – sweeping shots of real African deserts – undeniably capture the lacerating beauty and steam atmosphere of life in Morocco.

5 The Russia House (1990)

The first movie filmed in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it boasts eye-popping shots of both Moscow and St Petersburg. Michelle Pfeiffer's not bad, either!

6 Manhattan (1979)

In his justifiably famous opening sequence, Woody Allen lenses a love poem to his favourite city, New York, touring us uptown, downtown and all around, to the tune of George Gershwin's sexy Rhapsody in Blue. You could leave now and still have had your money's worth, which Allen would appreciate, since he's famously dissatisfied with the film.

7 The Third Man (1949)

Shot entirely in post-war Vienna, and the first British film made almost entirely on location, this dramatisation of Graham Greene's famous novel is a stylish film noir. The characters' crumbling morals find a marvellous counterpoint in the wrecked city, and the tour of its sewers is unforgettable.

8 Lost in Translation (2003)

Showcasing Tokyo at its slick, Bladerunner best, the film centres on Shinjuku and Shibuya. The neon-lit buildings in the film are near the entrance to the Kabukicho entertainment district, not far from Shinjuku station; the hotel where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson's characters meet is the Park Hyatt, and you'll catch glimpses of the Tokyo Tower, the Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba, and more.

9 Days of Heaven (1978)

Ostensibly depicting a farm in Texas, the film was actually mostly shot in Alberta, Canada, and cinematographers Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler deliberately chose to work in what's called the "magic hours", the time around dawn and dusk. The result is heart-stoppingly beautiful, and whatever you feel about this much maligned movie, it's a treat for the eyes.

10 Walkabout (1971)

Two children, stranded and alone, are forced to make their way through Australia's harshly beautiful outback, full of rich ochre landscapes baking under cloudless blue skies. Luckily they fall in with an Aboriginal guide, who teaches them about his tribe's customs and the local critters.