The Most Charming Places to Visit in Europe

Art lovers call Salzburg the Golden City of High Baroque; historians refer to it as the Florence of the North or the German Rome; and, of course, music lovers know it as the birthplace of one of the world's most beloved composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart... Read more

The whole Eastern Alps region is dramatic countryside, with breathtaking scenery and great winter sports equal to those in Switzerland. Here majestic peaks, many well over 9,750 feet, soar above slow-moving glaciers that give way to sweeping Alpine meadows... Read more

Some of the oldest known human settlements were established in the hills and valleys of Central Anatolia, but today the main attraction in this part of Turkey is the magical landscape of Cappadocia, where wind and rain have shaped the area's soft volcanic... Read more

Once a medieval city famed for the peaceful and prosperous coexistence of its three religious cultures—Islamic, Jewish, and Christian—Córdoba is a perfect analogue for the cultural history of Spain's Iberian Peninsula. Strategically... Read more

The vast, mountainous domain of northeastern Italy, unlike other celebrated Alpine regions, has remained relatively undeveloped. Strange, rocky pinnacles jut straight up like chimneys, looming over scattered, pristine mountain lakes. Below, rivers meander... Read more

Venice is called La Serenissima, "the most serene," a reference to the majesty, wisdom, and impressive power of this city that was for centuries the unrivaled leader in trade between Europe and the Orient, and a major center of European culture. Built... Read more

"Let nature be your teacher." Wordsworth's ideal comes true in this popular English region of jagged mountains, waterfalls, wooded valleys, and stone-built villages. No mountains in Britain give a greater impression of majesty; deeper and bluer lakes can... Read more

With the spires of its university buildings framed by towering trees and expansive meadows, its medieval streets and passages enhanced by gardens and riverbanks, the city of Cambridge is among the loveliest in England. Today, Cambridge embodies a certain... Read more

Ever since Killarney was first "discovered" by William Thackeray and Sir Walter Scott, visitors have been searching for superlatives to describe the deep blue lakes, dark green forests, and purple mountainsides of this romantic region. Perhaps it was no... Read more

Undoubtedly the most extraordinary island in the Aegean, crescent-shape Santorini remains a mandatory stop on the Cycladic tourist route—even if it's necessary to enjoy the sensational sunsets from Ia, the fascinating excavations, and the dazzling... Read more

Sintra's lush hills and valleys were once the summer residence of Portuguese kings and aristocrats, its late medieval palace the greatest expression of royal wealth and power. In the 18th and 19th centuries English travelers, poets, and writers—including... Read more

Midway down the Italian peninsula, Tuscany (Toscana in Italian) is distinguished by rolling hills, snowcapped mountains, dramatic cypress trees, and miles of coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea—which all adds up to gorgeous views at practically every... Read more

Producing a rarefied concentration of what many consider the world's greatest wines and harboring a knee-weakening concentration of magnificent Romanesque abbeys, Burgundy hardly needs to be beautiful—but it is. Its green-hedgerowed countryside... Read more

The maritime Garden of Eden called Normandy sprawls across France's northwestern corner in a shape roughly resembling a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Due to its geographic position, this region is blessed with a stunning natural beauty that once inspired Maupassant... Read more

With an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, Spain's Costa del Sol well deserves its name, "the Sunshine Coast." It's no wonder much of the coast has become built up with resorts and high-rise hotels. Don't despair, though, you can still find some classic... Read more