One of the world’s most beautiful cities also happens to be one of its most unusual. Venice is actually made up of over 120 islands in the Adriatic Sea. Because the city is connected by canals instead of streets, a good way to see Venice is on a romantic gondola ride. The epicenter of the city is St. Mark’s Square, where you’ll find the 900-year-old Basilica of St. Mark

A key commercial center with a Venetian past, Koper is Slovenia’s only deep-water port. Stroll the narrow streets of the “old city” to the Praetorian Palace, which could easily be the setting of a Renaissance drama, sip a coffee in the square, then visit the Cathedral of St. Nazarius, the largest in Slovenia.

Perched on Adriatic Sea in Croatia, Zadar is a truly captivating city, where history-drenched cobblestone streets meet contemporary life, then surrounded by deep blue sea, green olive groves, and white stone. Dubbed an “outdoor museum”, Zadar is rich in monuments and churches from ancient and medieval times—the circular 9th century Church St. Donat, the Church of St. Simeon and the Romanesque Cathedral of St. Anastasia—while nature lovers should explore Krka National Park and its seven waterfalls. Meander through the pedestrian-only Old Town, with its fortified city walls, towers and gates, then visit Zadar’s famous urban installations on the Riva, where art, architecture and science combine. Be sure to check out The Sea Organ, which extends into the sea and “whistles” with the waves and air pressure, and Greeting to the Sun, a circular construction of glass plates that produces an exceptional light show.

To visit Dubrovnik is to step back in time to the Middle Ages. The town is one massive museum, its thick walls constructed from the 13th to the 17th century encircle the entire city, and contain within them a treasure trove of striking architecture – squares, fountains, palaces, churches, and monasteries, all built from the same stone, line streets free of motor vehicles. Once the only city-state on the Adriatic to rival Venice, Dubrovnik has long been a center for Croatian culture, and home to artists and scholars of all disciplines. It is possible to circumnavigate the city atop the medieval walls.

Kotor’s beautiful bay has long attracted passing ships that stopped to trade, plunder, or conquer, and merchants, pirates, and soldiers of numerous empires have walked this maze of cobblestone streets before you. One of Europe’s best-preserved cities of medieval or Renaissance vintage, its walls were constructed right into the steep slopes of the mountain behind it, providing protection and making it an amazing sight on approach from the sea. Venetian ramparts enclose a rich history, with churches of varying styles, and a Romanesque cathedral built on the foundations of an earlier church, and a still earlier Roman temple.

A warming sun and gentle sea breezes have been attracting visitors to this fair spot for two millennia. Its reputation as a playground of the ancient rich and famous resulted in the building of lavish villas and palaces, an emperor relocated to the Isle of Capri nearby, and over the centuries it has been a haven for artists and artisans, writers and poets, politicians and philosophers, and all manner of aristocrats. You will be a welcome addition. The massive eruption of nearby Vesuvius in 79 AD caused considerable damage, but the resulting volcanic ash is responsible for Sorrento’s modern day fertility, thriving olive orchards, and excellent wine.

Rome has something special to offer to all visitors, no matter their interests and tastes. Whether you daydream about fighting with gladiators in the Coliseum, debating with togaed senators in the Forum, tossing a coin in a fabled fountain, or being awestruck by the magnificence of St Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s masterpieces, Rome seems to live up to its sobriquet – the Eternal City. When you need sustenance, today’s Rome will provide delizioso pasta e vino. Or perhaps you draw strength from a little retail therapy – the Italians are also renowned for their sense of style.

The tiny principality of Monaco, a sovereign state of just under one square mile, has an outsized resume, boasting some of the planet’s most expensive real estate, and the world’s most prestigious casino. Facing the sea, and engulfed on the other three sides by France, it has been the domain of the Grimaldi dynasty since the 14th century, and enjoys the same glamorous reputation as the rest of the Riviera.

Dynamic Barcelona is all about architecture, from the magnificent medieval buildings of the Gothic Quarter to the Modernist movement typified by the work of Antoni Gaudi. Though his materials were stone and metal, his forms were organic, awash in curves, swirls, and colors. His masterpiece is the amazing Church of the Sagrada Familia, colossal and as yet unfinished, though construction began in 1882. A contemporary contribution to the scene is Ricardo Bofill’s post modernist National Theater of Catalonia, an imaginative combination of classical and modern design, with a greenhouse-like lobby.