Aubrey Hilll

Although Sucre was once the country’s capital, its core is sufficiently contained to walk around. Bolivians are the most colorfully attired of all Latin Americans, and they create a continual vibrancy beneath the white walls, balconies, and red roofs of this old Spanish city. The exhibitions at the textile and modern-art museums are testament to … Read more

As a hopping-off place for the châteaux of the Loire, Tours is too often overlooked. Lying between the Loire and Cher rivers, the city has a half-timbered medieval center with a first-rate art gallery, cathedral, and sophisticated boutiques. Social activity centers around Place Plumereau, particularly on weekends, when commuters who take the TGV train to … Read more

Returning to the world stage after decades in the Soviet Union, this cosmopolitan port has rediscovered itself as the hotspot of the Black Sea. Summers here have a Mediterranean feel, the beaches are playgrounds, and people stay up late. Palaces, a ballet theater, and an opera house are proof that the city’s grandeur never entirely … Read more

One of Germany’s most romantic towns, Heidelberg owes a lot to its setting, high on a bank beside the Neckar River, with a a ruined Gothic castle looking down on it. Mark Twain wrote of the duels that took place here (you can still visit the dueling club for coffee or tea), but it’s hard … Read more

This is the American South at its most gracious. Come to sip sweet tea and enjoy the locals’ renowned hospitality. Take a guided tour of the historic district – it’s one of the largest and most elegant in the USA – to find out who lived where and how they made their money. River Street … Read more

Nobody who walks into Siena’s Piazza del Campo can fail to be overwhelmed by the audacity of its space. This hilltop Tuscan town is much smaller and less busy than major tourist centers such as Florence, but is jammed full of rewarding corners and artistic highlights.

The name of this city, which means “new flower,” is a fitting way to describe the rising star of Africa. Old meets new in Addis Ababa, where you’ll find a museum housing 3.2- million-year-old human remains, historic monuments, hip bars, and luxury hotels.

This is a charming town with fairy-tale appeal, where the kings of Portugal used to come to escape Lisbon’s summer heat. Hidden among wooded hills above the Atlantic Ocean are a scattering of palatial retreats, their fanciful turrets peeking out. At their center is the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, instantly recognizable by its twin chimneys. … Read more

The best way to travel to the mountain retreat of Shimla is the way British officers and their wives did during the Raj: aboard the panoramic narrow-gauge steam railway. Clinging to spurs way up in the northwest Himalayas, Shimla (then Simla) was the summer headquarters of the British government in India, a place to escape … Read more

This beautiful city lies on high ground, which keeps its temperatures moderate. It’s a university town and has wide avenues shaded by trees. Many of the mosques, monuments, and splendid gardens were either built or restored in the 18th century, when it was the Iranian capital, and take a good few days to explore. Within … Read more