As you wander Aix’s fountain-filled streets, you can’t help but be seduced by the joie de vivre. The town’s ongoing love affair with art can be seen in the cathedral, with treasures such as the 15th-century Burning Bush triptych by French artist Nicolas Froment.
Resplendent with a score of maharajas’ palaces, the “City of Lakes” in Rajasthan is one of the most beautiful, tranquil places on the whole subcontinent. Anybody who stays in one of the former palaces that are now hotels is liable to feel like a maharaja, too. City Palace is the largest in Rajasthan and dominates … Read more
History runs deep in Quebec City. The French-speaking town on the St. Lawrence River has North America’s only fortified old town outside Mexico, and you can walk its walls. Dominating the old town is the French-style Château Frontenac, with its turrets, towers, and steep green copper roof. The hotel’s sumptuous public salons are an excellent … Read more
The Habsburgs seem to live on in this sunny city in southeast Austria, with its old regime of grand palaces, spires, and cobbled courtyards. Unblemished by war, its architectural mix – from Italian Renaissance to Baroque – gives the city a solid, confident air. But not all is old – there’s a brand-new art gallery … Read more
Set between desert and mountain snows, Sedona is hauntingly beautiful. The city is known for its massive red sandstone rocks and rich cultural life, which includes the Sedona International Film Festival and various music events. Shops offer crystals, amulets, and other healing devices that appeal to New Age visitors who are convinced the Native Americans … Read more
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