Major cities

Amsterdam
Amsterdam is one of Europe's major air gateways from North America, and the city has enjoyed a reputation for tolerating visitors' idiosyncrasies since the heady, hippy-dippy, hash-happy days of the 1960s. Whether you're a backpacker seeking cannabis or an Upper East Side socialite who collects diamonds, you'll find what you're looking for in Amsterdam.

Berlin
Germany's capital is livelier than at any time since the 1920s. This city has so much to offer in terms of history and night life.

Brussels
Brussels, Belgium may be the most underrated of Western Europe's capitals. Many travelers who haven't been there picture a Franco-Flemish Frankfurt am Main, with clusters of glass skyscrapers inhabited by faceless Eurocrats. And while it's true that Brussels has more than its share of office blocks and EU functionaries, the city also tempts visitors with an attractive historic center, Art Nouveau houses, 19th Century palaces, the world's best pommes frites, innumerable chocolate shops, and the strongest beer in Europe.

What's more, Brussels is easy to reach: about an hour an a half from Paris by high-speed Thalys train, just under three hours from Amsterdam, 2 hours 45 minutes from Cologne, and only 3 hours 15 minutes from London via the Eurostar and the English Channel Tunnel. Step off the train at the Central Station, and you're just a short walk from the Grand-Place, the royal palace, and a host of museums--along with enough restaurants, beer cafés, and chocolatiers to fuel a year's worth of sightseeing.

Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark--Scandinavia's largest city--has been called "The Paris of the North." That may be an exaggeration, but it's an understandable display of hyperbole in a part of Europe where  joie de vivre is occasionally smothered under a blanket of earnestness. This is a city where the Queen designs opera costumes, homosexual marriages have been legal for a dozen years, the government tolerates hippie squatters on military land, and jazz is the lingua franca of the musical scene.

Tourist attractions range from the world's oldest amusement park to royal palaces. On the museum scene, you can choose anything from a museum of the Danish Resistance to a museum of erotica.

Shopping offers a plethora of opportunities, from amber trinkets to Royal Copenhagen Porcelain or Georg Jensen silver to Danish modern furniture. And when you're hungry from looking at countless empty Flora Danica plates, you can head for one of Copenhagen's more than 2,000 restaurants to enjoy smørrebrod with cold Tuborg beer or a five-course French feast.

Edinburgh
Browse a growing collection of illustrated travel articles about the capital of Scotland and its attractions.

Florence
Florence, or Firenze, is one of Italy's "big three" tourist destinations, along with Venice and Rome. Its great churches, world-class art museums, fine shopping, and role as the gateway to Tuscany make it even more popular now than it was when writers like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, E.M. Forster, and Henry James made the city irresistible to English-speaking tourists.

Don't try to do Florence in one day--allow at least several days, especially if you're interested in visiting the major churches and touring the Accademia and Uffizi Galleries.

Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal has been one of my favorite cities since 1952, when I spent a summer in neighboring Estoril. The Portuguese capital has changed over the years, and a building boom has contributed to urban sprawl since Portugal joined the European Union in 1986. Modern buildings tucked into downtown streets can also be jarring to travelers who remember Lisbon in the days when the city was crumbling but prettier. Still, in the words of Lonely Planet Portugal, "Add today's cultural diversity together with a laid-back ambience and an architectural time-warp, and you have one of Europe's most enjoyable cities."

A Portuguese blend of Rome and San Francisco

The physical setting alone makes Lisbon an appealing destination. The city is built on hills overlooking the Tagus River (Tejos in Portuguese) where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is benign--like San Diego's, but less dry--and the older parts of the city are rich with murals of azulejo tiles, art nouveau buildings, sidewalks paved with decorative patterns of tiny black and white stones, public staircases leading steeply upward through ancient neighborhoods, double-decker buses, and funicular tramways where you may see a cat hop aboard and get off at the next stop.

A panoply of sights and sounds

Museums and monuments are other popular attractions. No visit is complete without a tour of the Jerónimos monastery, where ropes and other maritime themes are carved into stone. 

Take time to explore the Moorish Castelo de São Jorge, which looks like a fortress on the outside but is a delightful place of gardens, towers with scenic views, ponds with swans and peacocks, and other attractions within its walls. 

Don't miss the Torre de Belém, and spend an hour or two at nearby museums like the Museo Nacional des Coches (coaches worthy of Cinderella), the Museo de Marinha (boats and naval exhibits), and the Museo de Arte Popular (folk arts, exhibited by region, and a "must see" warm-up for shoppers interested in handicrafts).

Madrid
My first trip to Madrid was in the 1960s--at a time when officials of General Franco's government were chauffeured in ancient long-hooded Citroëns, street repairmen wore blue cotton suits with lapels, teenage girls flocked to Rafael's tragic movie musical, Cuando tú no estás, and residents of apartments and pensiones clapped their hands in the street to call the neighborhood watchman, or sereno, when they needed to enter their locked buildings after dark.

Today, Franco's regime has given way to a constitutional monarchy, teenage girls have no interest in singers old enough to be their grandfathers, the sereno has been replaced by electronic door codes, and city workers' wardrobes run to lime-green reflective vests or bright orange coveralls.

Still, much remains the same: The Gran Vía continues to pack in the crowds with its theatres and movie houses, Madrileños still dine at an hour when Scandinavians are in bed, lottery vendors hawk their tickets on the major avenues, the Chocolatería San Ginés serves up hot chocolate and crisp churros into the wee hours, and there's nobody more dapper or dignified than an elderly Spanish gentleman in a well-cut suit.

Madrid was an exciting town four decades ago (even for a young man who'd arrived from midtown Manhattan for a three-month sojourn), and these days it's an even livelier venue for locals and visitors. With 4.5 million inhabitants within the city limits and 6.5 million in the metropolitan area, Madrid isn't just a city--it's a major European capital where you can find everything from centuries-old restaurants to flavor-of-the-week nightclubs.

Yes, they still have bullfights in the Plaza de Toros at Ventas, but that much-bloodied ring is now used for rock concerts, too. In short, Madrid is a tourist destination with something for nearly everyone--and as a bonus, it's one of the most affordable major cities of Europe. After 40 years, I still love the place, and I can hardly wait to go back. But enough about me: It's your turn to visit Madrid with the help of this guide and related articles.

Munich
These 20 pages of photos and annotated links for the Bavarian capital include 8 pages of information about Munich hotels, hostels, and other places to stay.

Paris
This collection of Web travel resources for Paris, France is designed to help you reach the Paris tourist information you're looking for with a minimum of fuss. Click on a Parisian travel topic, and you'll be taken to a list of links. In some cases, these links will lead to freestanding sites or pages; in other cases, they'll be "deep links" to specific pages within larger Paris umbrella or tourism sites

Rome
Plan your trip to the Eternal City with 31 pages of annotated "deep links" and photos--including 15 pages of listings for Rome hotels, hostels, B&Bs, vacation apartments, religious institutes, and other accommodations.

Stockholm
A growing collection of articles about Stockholm, including transportation, hotels, museums, and excursions to nearby Sigtuna (the oldest medieval town in Sweden).

Venice
Our Venice for Visitors "site within a site" has nearly 400 pages of articles, photos, and travel links--including Venice hotels and Venice self-catering apartments. PC Magazine calls this "the premier visitor's site for Venice, Italy."

Other cities

Alkmaar
If this Dutch city's auction action seems too touristy, visit the world-famous organ in the Laurenskerk.

Bergen
Norway's first capital may be the country's most scenic city, and it's easy to reach by ferry from Newcastle, England.

Bruges (Brugge)
An 8-page collection of Web links to Belgium's "Venice of the North," with color photos.

Delft
Even if you're indifferent to dinnerware, you'll have a royal time in the Dutch city of Delft.

Erfurt
The capital of Thuringia, Germany has a well-preserved historic center and is an important stop on the "Luther Trail."

Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Germany's most celebrated alpine resort is home to the Zugspitze and the Partnach Gorge.

Ghent (Gent)
The capital of East Flanders, Belgium combines 1,400 years of history with the liveliness of a university town.

Lübeck
The Queen of the Hanseatic League is a medieval masterpiece on Germany's Baltic coast.

Monaco
Country, principality, or city? Who cares, when you're breaking the bank in Monte Carlo?

Münster
The bicycling capital of Germany is a lively, prosperous, and attractive university city near the Dutch border--yet it's virtually undiscovered by English-speaking tourists.

Ostend (Oostende)
This long-established Belgian beach resort is is also a North Sea ferry and fishing port.

Newcastle upon Tyne
Northern England's liveliest city is also a ferry gateway to Norway and Denmark.

Regensburg
Germany's best-preserved medieval city has attracted visitors to its location on the Danube since its days as a Roman fortress.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Walk the walls, explore the medieval center, visit the crime and doll museums, and take an evening tour with the Nightwatchman in one of Germany's most romantic towns.

Siena
An illustrated city guide with links to related articles on Siena, Italy (including language and cooking lessons).

Salzburg
You don't have to be a Sound of Music fan (or even a Mozart fan) to enjoy one of Europe's prettiest and most musical cities.