Best Places to Visit for Shopping in Europe

Milan is Italy's business hub and crucible of chic. Between the Po's rich farms and the industrious mountain valleys, it has long been the country's capital of commerce, finance, fashion, and media. Rome may be bigger and have the political power, but... Read more

In the 15th century Florence was at the center of the artistic revolution that would later be known as the Renaissance. Today the Renaissance remains the main attraction here—the abundance of art treasures is mind-boggling. Florence's is a subtle... Read more

Italy's capital is one of the great cities of Europe. It's a large, busy metropolis that lives in the here and now, yet there's no other place on earth where you'll encounter such powerful evocations of a long and spectacular past, from the Colosseum to... Read more

As you journey down the fabled Amalfi Coast, your route takes you past rocky cliffs plunging into the sea and small boats lying in sandy coves like brightly colored fish. Erosion has contorted the rocks into shapes resembling figures from mythology and... Read more

Antwerp is Europe's second-largest port and has much of the zest often associated with a harbor town. But it also has an outsized influence in a very different realm: that of clothing design. Since the 1980s, Antwerp-trained fashion designers have become... 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

Whether it's a riverside vista that takes in the Seine, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tower, or the view of elegant buildings and mansard roofs from a hotel room window, it doesn't take much to convince anyone that Paris is one of the most beautiful... 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

As you approach Provence there's a magical moment when you finally leave the north behind: cypresses and red-tile roofs appear; you hear the screech of cicadas and breathe the scent of wild thyme and lavender. Along the highway, oleanders bloom against... Read more

Brussels started life as a village toward the end of the 10th century. It was ruled over by various kings of Flanders through the ages, most notably Charles V, Archduke of the Habsburgs and Holy Roman Emperor. The city grew gradually around its increasingly... Read more

The banks of the Rhine are crowned by magnificent castle after castle and by breathtaking, vine-terraced hills that provide the livelihood for many of the villages hugging the shores. In the words of French poet Victor Hugo, "The Rhine combines everything... 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

On the banks of the fast-flowing River Adige, enchanting Verona has timeless monuments, a picturesque town center, and a romantic reputation as the setting (in fiction only) of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. With its lively Venetian air and proximity... Read more

This sprawl of pebble beaches and zillion-dollar houses has always captivated sun lovers and socialites. Today's admirers know not to miss the Côte d'Azur's textbook points of interest: animated St-Tropez; the Belle Époque aura of Cannes... Read more

Once a pleasure dome to Roman emperors and now Italy's most glamorous seaside getaway, Capri (pronounced with an accent on the first syllable) is a craggy island at the southern end of the Bay of Naples. The boom in cruises to the Naples area (almost 1... Read more