I was going to mention Top Gear just for the Vietnam episode alone. They do exaggerate a little for effect – for example, they did not really get on the train to Hanoi by mistake instead of to Haiphong, because you do have to go to Hanoi first, then change for Haiphong – but it’s a fantastic travelogue overall. The wife and I have been to most of the places in that episode.
It’s architecture porn more than travel porn, but I’d recommend BBC’s The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes, which is on Netflix. Two wonderful presenters, very cosy, and also informative of what goes into some high-end houses.
I’d highly recommend any of Rick Stein’s series. He is a well renowned seafood chef and his various series are food and cooking based but he is also excellent company as a travel host and he is erudite, articulate and fascinated by the places he visits.
One that Mrs Wallaby and I like is Classical Destinations. The subject of each episode is a particular composer, but then they do a travelogue around the subject’s home town or city, with lots of detail on architecture (particularly concert halls), history and ‘culture’.
Almost forgot this one: Somewhere Street, broadcast on Japan’s NHK. We used to watch it a lot in Thailand but have not kept up with it since moving back here. It’s first person from the camera’s point of view as it walks through different cities all over the world.