I'm an absolute sucker for good public transport - at least, in the other countries that I've visited and experienced  first-hand. You need to understand that if you live in the UK, especially outside of London, the public transport here is woeful - it's unreliable, overcrowded, and expensive. Just give us a 24hr ticket for everything damn it and don't take our kidneys. 

Whenever I've been lucky enough to visit another city in a different country, I'm always amazed at how much better things are on this front - regardless if the vehicles themselves belong in a museum. So, without further ado, this post is dedicated to some of the best around.

There's not a chance I could omit Prague from this list - it has it all - the retro trams  in red & white, zipping through an extensive network of the beautifully lined streets. The rapid metro system, with stations that are unbelievable works of  both art and engineering where I genuinely didn't think escalators were going to end in some of them. One of my favourite sections is around Namesti Republiky and Masarykovo station, whefre the trams are abdundant.

Katowice was a surprise on quite a few levels but my travel experience across all of Poland has been nothing other than first rate, with no exceptions here. Many of the station platforms in the downtown area had these really cool open-air frames built around them which made for great compositions. I got here early one morning to capture commuters heading to and from the city. We stopped in Katowice for a night between visiting Wroclaw and Krakow - it's not your typical Polish city but well worth a look.

Gothenburg is pretty special. It's not a big tourist destination, which is a bonus, and everything about the layout of the city felt so considered. The trams here are unique - with a low, boxy profile, navigating riversides, parks and all the way out towards a coastal archipelago where you transfer to a more buoyant mode of travel.

Sometimes, it's not about the transport itself but the stations we find ourselves waiting in - so they may as well be interesting. Cologne stands as a firm favourite for this. Above ground, the staggering cathedral here takes centre stage and rightly so - but if you head a little further out and head down for a U-Bahn in Ehrenfeldt or Heumarkt you'll find home to some of coolest stations around. Think brutal, futuristic and some just downright fancy, with an industrial chandelier suspended above the staircase. Not to be missed if you find yourself in the Rhine region

We're back in Poland - this time, Krakow. I love this place and one of my favourite things about this city is how the park envelopes the old town. And when you board certain tramlines you'll be lucky enough to run through stretches of tree-lined areas designated just for public transport. It's a great example of perfect landscaping and planning of a city. 

Earlier this year, we visited the city of Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal. By complete coincidence (and poor planning) we saw part of our trip take us along the coast to stay in neighbouring Olhão - just a 10 minute journey by train. The journey was short but really interesting - skimming by nature reserves and onward to the Spanish border. The train itself was incredibly retro, with a corrugated chassis and bold red & blue highlights - the conductor also dressed to the nines. If you're exploring the Algarve, this is a great way to see some of lesser know spots along the eastern side of of the coast.

You guessed it - Lisbon. The iconic yellow street cars and funiculars making light work of the challenging inclines around this unique city. In my opinion, and judging by the queues, these staples of public transport means that many overlook some pretty spectacular lesser-known gems of Lisbon. Firstly, don't miss the metro system - the stations are like art installations with vibrant colours and tiles. If you head North East of the city on the metro to the area of Parque das Nações, you'll find one of the most incredible stations - Oriente. In my opinion, it's some of Santiago Calatrava's finest work, supported by a brutal concrete ticket hall concourse ascending to his signature  modernist style organic canopy that houses open air platforms.  Other train stations, pay attention!

Yup, it's another red & white tram. I've been fortunate enough to visit Toronto twice and on the second trip, boarded the train from Montreal via Ottawa and it was bliss. Two other really cool cities to check out, by the way and I wish I had more photos to share - but we couldn't wait to return to Toronto. There are so many neighbourhoods to this city, all unique with different things going on - as a result, the food is sensational and it just has to be experienced. For a big city, Toronto makes things pretty easy to navigate - their streetcars cover so much ground and you can zip to/from each neighbourhood effortlessly. Shout out to the subway too, which made getting further afield an absolute breeze.

Last but far from least - Chicago. It's one of my favourite places in the world - a gigantic urban jungle, sitting lakeside with buildings just about as high as they go but filled with awesome parks and green spaces. It's all so casual too - just effortlessly magnificent. I love the neighbourhoods of Chicago but the journey into downtown never gets old. What better way to navigate and experience this metropolis than boarding an L train and cruising between the buildings at an elevated height, crossing the Chicago river and catching glimpses down the endless streets as you circle around the Loop. Its complete cinema magic on an every day occurrence.