Cities that have changed the most for tourists in the last 10 years: Places you won't recognise

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There's surely a part of every traveller that wishes the world wouldn't change. You want those destinations you love to stay the same forever. You want to know you can go back and experience the same things, feel the same things, over and over again.

But that's not the way things work. The world changes. It constantly evolves. And some places go through those changes a lot faster than others.

The following is a list of the cities that, if you haven't been for 10 years or so, you'll barely recognise when you return. The speed of change has been phenomenal. They might still be great destinations, or they might not – you could find yourself pining for a city that no longer exists – but the change is undeniable.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

There are plenty of South-East Asian tourism hotspots that have gone crazy in the recent past, places such as Phuket and Koh Pha-Ngan and even Saigon, but surely none have changed as rapidly as Siem Reap. The town's famous "pub street" was named as such because it used to be the home of Siem Reap's only pub. Now it's wall-to-wall backpacker bars, expat restaurants and modern coffee shops. The nearby Temples of Angkor have gone from receiving a few hundred thousand visitors a year to now taking several million – and the town has changed to accommodate them.

See: Siem Reap, the three-minute guide

Dubai, UAE

It might only be six months, or a year since you last visited Dubai, but still, you'll struggle to recognise it. There's so much happening in this city, so many new developments, so many tall, outlandish additions to an already crowded skyline. There's an opera house there now. There's the tallest building in the world. There's the tallest hotel in the world. There's a giant fake "world" of manmade islands out off the coast. Even the shabby suburb of Deira is getting a makeover. Dubai is a new city every time you visit.

See: The side of Dubai you've never seen

Lisbon, Portugal

To appreciate the scale of the change taking place in the Portuguese capital right now, you only have to find a high vantage point and take in the skyline filled with cranes. Hundreds and hundreds of cranes. There's some serious building work going on as Portugal recovers from its financial crisis, and money pours into Lisbon via tourism and foreign investment. Old apartment blocks are being refurbished. New buildings are going up everywhere. It's an exciting time.

Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Alamy

See: Lisbon, the three-minute guide

Shanghai, China

Pudong, Shanghai. Photo: iStock

You could include almost any Chinese city in this list, such is the speed with which they grow, with which the old is destroyed and replaced by the new. But there's no place where it happens faster than in Shanghai, where you can see, right before your eyes, old buildings being demolished and replaced by sparkling new skyscrapers and apartment blocks. If you haven't been to Shanghai for a while, you'll find the city you once knew was long ago replaced by a bigger, shinier one.

Moscow, Russia

Red Square, Moscow. Photo: Alamy

I remember visiting the Russian capital about 10 years ago, and it was grimy and ugly – still a great place to visit, but not easy on the eye. There was rubbish strewn on the streets, a grey pall that seemed to hang in the air. Since then, however, Moscow has seriously been cleaned up. The streets are spotless. The old buildings gleam under new coats of paint. There's a feeling of prosperity there that didn't seem to exist last time I was around.

Gold Coast, Queensland

There are two sides to the Gold Coast, and if you hang out in places like Surfers Paradise you're only likely to see the old one you'd be familiar with, the bogan, low-rent Gold Coast, the tacky tourist destination of old. However, there's something seriously great happening in the Goldie now, and you'll find it in southern suburbs such as Burleigh Heads, Miami and Currumbin. The coast has gone hipster, with great restaurants, small bars, good cafes, and a lifestyle you don't get in many other places in the world.

Medellin, Colombia

Even 10 years ago, post the demise of Pablo Escobar but still mired in the drug wars that crippled Colombia, Medellin was a dodgy place. You'd have to be brave to go there. There were barrios you wouldn't set foot in. Now, however, it's a different city entirely. The drug wars are over. The streets are relatively safe. The feeling among locals is one of positivity and freedom. You can dance the night away in Medellin now. You can explore the city and see the sights and enjoy being in a place that knows it's on the up.

Reykjavik, Iceland

The city itself hasn't changed that much. The Icelandic capital hasn't suddenly grown a set of skyscrapers, or recovered from a drug war. It's just as small and easygoing as it always was. What's changed, however, is the sheer amount of tourists you see there now, drawn in their hundreds of thousands to one of the world's hottest destinations. If you enjoyed having the place to yourself last time you were there – well, prepare for a different experience now.

Which destinations do you think have changed the most? Are there any you wish would had stayed the same forever?

Email: b.groundwater@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Instagram: instagram.com/bengroundwater