Paris sits on the Seine and is divided into twenty arrondissements. The Eiffel Tower went up for the 1889 Universal Exposition, the Louvre is the largest and most-visited museum in the world, and Notre-Dame, begun in 1163, reopened on December 7, 2024. Charles de Gaulle Airport is 14 miles northeast of the city in Roissy-en-France,…
Athens is the city most Greece trips start in. The Acropolis stands over the old Plaka quarter, the National Archaeological Museum holds the finds from across the country, and the ferries to the islands leave from Piraeus, the port at the edge of the city. The airport, ATH, sits on the east side of the…
Barcelona sits on a coastal plain on the Mediterranean, with the Collserola hills behind it and about two miles of city beach built for the 1992 Olympics. The Sagrada Família, the Gothic Quarter and La Rambla are the three places every first visit is built around. The airport, El Prat, is south of the city.…
Riga sits on the Gulf of Riga where the Daugava meets the Baltic. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, known for Art Nouveau buildings and the 19th-century wooden houses around the old town. The airport is about six miles from the city center, to the west. The airport’s route map doesn’t list…
Brussels is the working capital of the European Union, and the city most visits are built around is small: the Grand-Place, rebuilt after the French bombardment of 1695, is the center of it. Brussels Airport is in Zaventem, northeast of the city. The airport’s route map doesn’t list a nonstop between Indianapolis and Brussels, and…
Stockholm is built on fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic, with the archipelago spreading east of it. Gamla stan, the old town on the central island, dates to the 1200s, and the Vasa Museum, built around a raised 17th-century warship, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. Arlanda airport is about 23 miles…
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, off the coast of northwest Africa, and Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak at 12,188 feet, stands in the middle of it. The island has two airports; Tenerife South is the one for the resorts. Winter on the coast runs 64 to 68 degrees. The airport’s route map…
Geneva sits at the southwestern end of Lake Geneva where the Rhône flows out, ringed by the Jura, and hosts more international organizations than any city in the world, major UN agencies and the Red Cross among them. The Jet d’Eau on the lake is the landmark you see from everywhere. The canton shares almost…
Copenhagen is a harbor city with the colored waterfront of Nyhavn and Tivoli Gardens near the center, and it’s one of the most bicycle-friendly cities anywhere. Since 2000 the Øresund Bridge has linked it by road and rail to Malmö in Sweden. The airport, Kastrup, is on the island of Amager, five miles south of…
Madrid sits on Spain’s central plateau at about 2,100 feet, the second-highest capital in Europe and one of its sunniest. The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza line one boulevard, the Golden Triangle of Art, and Retiro Park is the most visited spot in the city. Barajas airport is about eight miles northeast of…
