Douglas is the capital of the Isle of Man, a self-governing Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The town curves around a wide bay, with a Victorian promenade running the length of the seafront and the horse-drawn trams that have been clopping along it since 1876 — the oldest surviving horse-drawn tram service in the world. The Tower of Refuge, a small gothic folly on a reef in the bay, is visible from anywhere along the front.
The island is best known for the TT Motorcycle Races each June, when Douglas transforms from a quiet offshore town into a petrolhead pilgrimage site. Outside race season, the appeal is quieter — the Manx Museum tells the island's history well, the Gaiety Theatre is one of the finest intact Victorian theatres in Britain, and the island's beautiful glens and coastline are easy to reach. The pace of life here feels a few decades behind the mainland in the best possible way.