Easygoing, liberal Amsterdam is "different." Its citizens, bubbling along happily in their multiracial melting pot, are not so easily poured into the restrictive molds of trade and industry. More important, you can enjoy Amsterdam, its culture, history, and beauty, without stretching the limits of your credit cards. Few skyscrapers mar the clarity of the sky and the populace mostly walks or bikes from place to place. The historic center recalls Amsterdam's Golden Age as the command post of a vast trading network and colonial empire, when wealthy merchants constructed gabled residences along neatly laid-out canals.

Europe's largest and busiest port, Rotterdam is also the most modern city in The Netherlands. The symbol of the city is the Euromast Space Tower (605ft/184m) from which you have an excellent view over the city. One of Rotterdam's main attractions is Diergaarde Blijdorp, the extensive zoo that includes the impressive Oceanium, where visitors can walk through the huge shark tunnel surrounded by sharks and giant tortoises. Another worth visiting place is the Boymans-van-Beuningen Museum displaying a beautiful collection of painting, sculpture and design.

Belgium's second city, Antwerp has long been an important city in the nations of the Benelux both economically and culturally. Besides this, the city of Rubens is the world's centre for diamond processing as well as Belgium's primary seaport. The city boasts a magnificent cathedral, a fine-arts museum full of Flemish masterpieces, a maze of medieval streets in the town center, and a vibrant nightlife and cultural scene. Take a river cruise, not only to admire the famous skyline with its antique towers from the water, but also to experience the busy world port from the inside. You can also enjoy the Scheldt from the unique promenade near the Steen, the oldest building within Antwerp, which houses the National Maritime Museum with its open-air department exhibiting real ships.

Athens was named after Athena the goddess of wisdom. Scented with mythology, Athens is a sociable city enlivened by outdoor cafes, pedestrian streets, parks, gardens and urban eccentrics. Almost every house and apartment has a balcony bulging with geraniums, and many of the city's streets and squares are fringed with orange trees. Even though you've probably come here to see the "glory that was Greece," perhaps best symbolized by the Parthenon and the superb statues and vases in the National Archaeological Museum, your best moments may come sitting at a small cafe, sipping a tiny cup of the sweet coffee.

Barcelona - Spain's second city - is always on the biting edge of fashion, architecture, food, style, music and good times. Barcelona is one of the most dynamic and exciting cities on the western Mediterranean seaboard. Walk its narrow streets and wonderful plazas and discover its magic: stalls full of books, birds and flowers. Explore its new modern squares, designed by leading artists such as Miró and Barceló and every visitor will understand how Barcelona has been transformed into one of the most moderns and active cities in Europe.

The German capital holds a world cultural record with three opera houses, two concert halls and eight symphony orchestras. This is the heart of Germany, with a stoic beat that echoes through grand public buildings, glorious museums and theatres, urbane restaurants, bustling pubs and raucous nightclubs. Today, structures of steel and glass tower over streets and parks and gardens are again lush. With its field of new skyscrapers and hip clubs and fashion boutiques, post millennium Berlin has recast itself as the Continent's capital of cool.

Known as the 'Venice of the North', Bruges seems to have changed little from its 13th-century origins as a cloth-manufacturing town. With the city center closed off to cars, all the architectural and artistic treasures, folklore, chocolate shops, lace boutiques, and ambient restaurants of this unforgettable city can be easily explored on foot, by boat ride along quiet canals, or by horse-drawn carriage among cobblestone streets. The city center also made the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Brussels is sumptuous, historic and luxuriously cozy. What makes Brussels special? For visitors, it's full of delights - Grand Place, mussels with chips, pralines, under crowded museums, intimate hotels, Art Nouveau, Horta, Tintin and unbelievable beers. Modern edifices are only a few steps from the cobbled streets, splendid cafés, and graceful Art Nouveau architecture that speak to the city's eventful past. The city's spirit survives in traditional cafes, bars, bistros, and restaurants. Whether elegantly Art Nouveau or eccentrically festooned with posters, curios, and knickknacks, such centuries-old establishments provide a warm, convivial ambience that is peculiarly Belgian.

Wonderful Copenhagen is one of the world's great walking cities. A cozy European capital, it's filled with stunning architecture ? classic and modern, historic sites, world-class museums, and some of the best shopping and dining in Europe. No matter what your interests, Copenhagen has a whole lot of sightseeing and entertainment on offer: the graceful statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, Tivoli Gardens, a charming all ages "Pleasure Park" in the heart of the city, the Danish crown jewels at Rosenborg Palace, shops on Strøget, eclectic art and antiquities collections at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Botanic Gardens, and other many beautiful parks.

Dresden, founded in 1206, is a metropolis of unique art treasures and lively culture. Center of the German Baroque par excellence, its highlights include the magnificent palatial buildings around the Theaterplatz and the Brühl Terraces, and the many art treasures in the state museums. No history book on architecture can leave out the Dresden Zwinger, The Frauenkirche Church, Semper Opera House and Royal Palace as well as many other historical monuments and ensembles that determine the image of the city.

Chic Geneva, the soul of Switzerland's French speaking territory, is home to some of the world's most luxurious and exclusive stores and extravagant restaurants. Filled with parks and promenades, the city becomes a virtual garden in summer. At the heart of the city is the huge Cathédrale St-Pierre, and some of its top-class museums include Musée d'Art et d'Histoire and an impressive gallery of East Asian art. Last but not least, Geneva is home to dozens of international organizations among them the United Nations European headquarters and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The magnificent old city of Ghent was one of the biggest cities in Western Europe at the end of the Middle Ages, renowned for its textile industry. Today it is the third biggest city of Belgium and one of the most beautiful ones. Much of the city's medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved. Interesting highlights are the Saint Bavo Cathedral with the Ghent Altarpiece, the belfry, the Gravensteen castle, and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbor. The city of Ghent also houses three béguinages, recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, and numerous churches, among which the Saint-Jacobs church and the Saint-Nicolas Church are the most beautiful examples.

Surnamed the "White Island" for its typical architecture, Ibiza is a major center of tourist attraction since the 1960s, when it become famous for its "Hippie-Culture" and nudist beaches. Nowadays, Ibiza is known as the 'clubbing capital of the world, ' hosting the best parties. But the island-town has a whole lot more to offer its visitors: a Mediterranean culture, and remains of the earliest Phoenicians settlements, Arab and Catalan period influences and those left over by the once-existing Renaissance bastions, as for instance the famous wall-paintings of Ses Fontelles.

London just isn't what it used to be. It's better! A blend of old and new, pace and buzz alongside peace and tranquility, and an amazingly diverse cultural scene. The sounds of Brit-pop and techno pour out of Victorian pubs; experimental theater is popping up on stages built for Shakespeare's plays; and Brits are even running the couture houses of Dior and Givenchy. In food, fashion, film, music, the visual arts, and just about everything else, London stands at the cutting edge again, just as it did in the 1960s. But rest assured that traditional London survives.

Luxembourg's diminutive capital is a delicious contrasting mix of the old and the new. Spend some time exploring the old city with its cobbled streets and imposing walls, and feast your eyes on ornate windows or jewel-like medallions. Come back to modern day as you pass contemporary constructions of glass and steel that house the many banking and business establishments in the capital. Take a lovely walk through Useldange where you can't miss the feudal castle surrounded by rolling plain.

In the last few years, Madrid has gained the reputation of being one of Europe's most active and attractive cities for its nightlife and cultural activities. Capital of Spain since 1562, Madrid's museums host, among others, Dalís, Mirós and Picasso's Guernica. Madrid is a city of great contrasts: the Old City, the Madrid of the Hapsburgs, the Royal Palace, the Puerta de Alcala, the Retiro Park. At night, the city changes gears with its famous Madrid nightlife. The city's endless energy is hard to resist, and its sociable style invites you to jump right in.

Paris assaults the senses, demanding to be seen, heard, touched, tasted and smelled. Gaze impressive monuments and savor its gourmet pastiche of cheese, chocolate, wine and seafood. Paris is a city of vast perspectives and intimate streets, of formal espaces verts (green open spaces) and of quiet squares. Paris is relatively small as capitals go, with distances between many of its major sights and museums invariably walkable. Unforgettable walks exhibiting the best of Paris: stroll down the Champs-Elysees for the chic grand boulevard experience and Rue Cler for a more intimate snapshot of Parisian living.

Rows of steeples stacked on onion domes pierce the sky, earning Prague the name "The City of a Hundred Spires". Prague has stood the test of time: 1,000 years of art and architecture have collided with power politics and religious conflicts. New shops and restaurants have opened, expanding the city's culinary reach far beyond tradition. The arts and theater are thriving in the "new" Prague. The arts of the new era possess a distinctive Czech flavor. All of this frenetic activity plays well against a stunning backdrop of towering churches and centuries-old bridges and alleyways.

Reims is an ancient Roman city and the birthplace of the French nation. Here you will find one of the most impressive Gothic cathedrals in France, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, where most of the kings of France were crowned. The neighboring Basilique St-Rémi is even older and includes the old royal abbey which is now a museum documenting the history of the town. Most visitors come to Reims, not so much for history but for tasting is the lightest and subtlest in flavor of the world's wines - the champagne.

Rome is Italy's treasure, packed with masterpieces from more than two millennia of artistic achievement. Modern Rome has one foot in the past, one in the present. Find a cafe at summer twilight and watch the shades of pink turn to gold and copper before night finally falls. That's when another Rome comes alive; restaurants and cafes grow more animated and after dinner you can have a gelato (or an espresso in winter) or stroll by the fountains or through Piazza Navona, and the night is yours.

With sumptuous palaces and romantic waterways, Venice is straight out of an 18th-century Canaletto masterpiece. No matter how many times you have seen it in movies or TV commercials, the real thing is more surreal and dreamlike than you ever imagined. Its landmarks, the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale are exotic mélanges of Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. It is full of secrets, ineffably romantic, and - at times - given over entirely to pleasure. You must walk everywhere in Venice and where you cannot walk, you go by water.

City of music, cafes, waltzes, parks, pastries, and wine - that's Vienna in a nutshell. Vienna doesn't hurry, and, as you saunter through its stately streets, marveling at its Baroque palaces, neither should you. Explore churches filled with statues of golden saints and pink-cheeked cherubs, wander through treasure-packed museums, or while away an afternoon in one of those countless meccas of mocha (the inevitable cafés), you will feel lapped in lashings of rich, delicious, whipped cream - the beloved Schlagobers that garnishes most Viennese pastries.