At Château de Villandry, in the Loire Vally, central France

 "The Loire Valley is grossly underestimated. The prices are fair, and the wines are real." — Gary Vaynerchuk

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(in central France) The Loire Valley (Val de Loire), spanning 280 kilometers (170 mi.), is located in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France -- due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke and asparagus fields that line the banks of the river. Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period. In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.

+ If it is French splendour and gastronomy you seek, the Loire Valley will exceed your expectations. On the frontier between northern and southern France, and just a short train or autoroute ride from Paris, the region was once of immense strategic importance. Kings, queens, dukes, and nobles came here to establish feudal castles and, later on, sumptuous pleasure palaces -- which is why this fertile river valley is sprinkled with hundreds of France's most aristocratic estates. With crenellated towers, soaring cupolas, and glittering banquet halls, the region's châteaux, and the villages and vineyards that surround them, attest to more than a thousand years of rich architectural and artistic creativity. The Loire Valley is also known for its outstanding wines (red, white, rosé, and sparkling) -- and its lively, sophisticated cities, including Orléans, Blois, Tours, and Angers.

+ Loire, the longest river in France, rises in the southern Massif Central and flows north and west for 634 miles (1,020 km) to the Atlantic Ocean, which it enters south of the Bretagne (Brittany) peninsula. Its major tributary is the Allier, which joins the Loire at Le Bec d’Allier. Its drains an area of about 45,000 square miles (117,000 square km). This marvelous valley is dotted with châteaus. The river rises at about 1,370 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Gerbier de Jonc in the Cévennes near the Mediterranean coast. In its upper course it flows through a succession of down-faulted, flat-floored basins set in the highlands of the Massif Central; crossing them, its valley narrows to gorges. After being joined by the Allier, the greatly enlarged stream flows across the limestone platform of Berry, and its valley becomes but a slight groove.

+ The Loire Valley has always banked on its abundance of fine royal châteaux and lush landscapes to draw in travelers. Yet, it wasn’t until very recently (thanks to the initiative of hoteliers, creatives, and chefs) that the region sought to go beyond its historical marvels to establish new reasons to visit. That effort began in 2020, with the gastronomic and nature-inspired getaways offered at Loire Valley Lodges and Les Sources de Cheverny.

+ Shown here is Château de Villandry, in the Valley:

In the city of Evora, historic capital of the Alentejo region, in south-central Portugal

 “Any Portuguese town looks like bride’s finery – something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”

-– Mary McCarthy
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(in south-central Portugal) The city of Evora is the historic capital of the Alentejo region and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved Old Town center (which is still partially enclosed by medieval walls), and many historical monuments (including a Roman Temple), Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

+ An ancient city, Evora is one of Portugal's top destinations for culture-oriented tourism, with architecture from different periods of history. Named "Ebora" by the Celts, it is known for one of the best-preserved Roman monuments in Iberia, and its medieval streets give an idea of what Lisbon looked like before its destruction by the Great Earthquake of 1755. As the main city of the Alentejo region, Evora is the perfect base to explore many of Portugal’s most enchanting towns. Within its medieval wall is its Cathedral, Renaissance palaces, a macabre chapel (covered with thousands of human skulls and bones), and attractive squares. Just outside town is the “Portuguese Stonehenge" (the Cromlech of Almendres), a group of stones standing as the most important megalithic group in the Iberian Peninsula. Nearby is Europe's largest dolmen, the Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro. (Together, they make up one of Portugal’s most delightful destinations.)

+ Evora lies in a fertile valley surrounded by low hills, 70 miles (110 km) east of Lisbon. From 80-to-72 BCE, it was the headquarters of the Roman commander Quintus Sertorius, and it long remained an important Roman military center. Later it was called Liberalitas Julia because of certain municipal privileges bestowed upon it by Julius Caesar. About 712 Evora was conquered by the Moors, who named it Jabura, and it remained under Moorish rule until around 1166. In the 15th–16th century the kings of Portugal began residing regularly in Evora. The city’s bishopric, founded in the 5th century, was raised to an archbishopric in the 16th. From 1663 to 1665 it was in Spanish hands. In 1832 Dom Miguel, pretender to the Portuguese throne, retreating before Pedro I (Dom Pedro), took refuge in Evora; in the hilltop citadel of neighboring Evoramonte, the convention by which Miguel was banished was signed. Fought over for centuries, Evora has a coat of arms that features two severed human heads.

+ An inn, the Pousada dos Lóios, is situated on the grounds of the 15th century former convent of Lóios. Just outside the inn is the small Roman Temple of Diana (a name for which no valid authority exists), which dates from the 1st–3rd century CE. After 1640 the city became a center for music study and performance in connection with the cathedral and university. The Museum of Evora includes archaeological and art exhibits. Evora is also a lively university town, and its many attractive restaurants serve up hearty Alentejan cuisine.

in the city of Maastricht, in the southeast of the Netherlands

 "We cheat ourselves in order to enjoy a calm conscience without possessing virtue." — Lambert Of Maastricht

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(in the southeast of the Netherlands) The city of Maastricht, the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg, is located on both sides of the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) river, at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an international metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège,  and Hasselt.

+ Maastricht developed from a Roman settlement to a medieval religious center. In the 16th century it became a garrison town and in the 19th century an early industrial center. Today, the city is a thriving cultural and regional hub. It became well known through the Maastricht Treaty and as the birthplace of the Euro. The city is visited by tourists for shopping and recreation, and has a large international student population. In the rest of the Netherlands, the city is often seen as "foreign" in part because of its atypical culture and alleged "Burgundian lifestyle" (meaning: with good and plentiful food and beverages).

+ Maastricht was the site of the Roman settlement Trajectum ad Mosam (“Ford on the Meuse”) and was later the seat of a bishop from 382 to 721. The town was held by the dukes of Brabant after 1204, coming under the joint sovereignty of Brabant and the prince-bishops of Liège in 1284 and of Liège and the Dutch Estates-General in 1632. It was taken by the Spanish in 1579, by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange in 1632, and by the French in 1673, 1748, and 1794, but it successfully resisted the Belgians in 1830–32. Portions of its old fortifications -- Helpoort the Pater Fink Tower, and 16th- and 17th-century bastions -- remain. Attacked on the first day of the German invasion of the Low Countries in 1940, Maastricht was the first Dutch town to be liberated, in 1944. Following a 1991 meeting of the European Communities that was held in Maastricht, an accord (known as the Maastricht Treaty) was signed calling for the establishment of a European Union, with common policies on economics, foreign affairs, security, and immigration.

+ Local landmarks include the St. Servatius Bridge over the Meuse, the Dinghui, (or former courthouse), and the Town Hall. The cathedral was founded by Bishop Monulphus in the 6th century; it is the oldest church in The Netherlands. The Protestant Church of St. John, with a 75-meter tower, originally served as its parish church. The much-restored Church of Our Lady has remnants of 10th-century crypts. There are many other medieval churches, as well as fine houses in regional Renaissance and French styles. Maastricht is the site of the University of Limburg, a music conservatory, a symphony orchestra, art academies, and several museums.

In the County Kerry, in the peninsular southwest region of Ireland

 "To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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(in the province of Munster, southwestern Ireland) County Kerry is bounded by Counties Limerick and Cork to the east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the south, west, and north. Tralee, in the west, is the county seat. Composed of sandstone, the principal highlands of Kerry are among the highest mountains in Ireland. Three, and part of a fourth, of the six Atlantic peninsulas of southwestern Ireland are in Kerry: the Kerry Head peninsula (the most northerly), the Dingle Peninsula (which extends from Tralee to the Blasket Islands), the Iveragh Peninsula (which continues the line of hills (Macgillycuddy’s Reeks) from western County Cork to Valencia Island), and the Beara Peninsula (the most southerly one, which Kerry shares with Cork).

+ Kerry’s Irish-language speakers are concentrated on the Dingle Peninsula. Approximately one-third of the people live in towns and villages, the largest of which are Tralee and Killarney. The county has many prehistoric remains. Church sites of antiquity include Ardfert Cathedral and medieval monastic churches at Aghadoe and Muckross. The remains of the monastery on Skellig Michael (a rocky island off the west coast of the Iveragh Peninsula) were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.

+ Kerry was divided in 1127 between the O’Brien kingdom of Thomond (or North Munster) and the MacCarthy kingdom of Desmond (or South Munster), but with the coming of the Anglo-Norman invaders in the 13th century this area and a large part of Cork fell to the Fitzgeralds. After an unsuccessful revolt and the ruin of the Fitzgeralds of Desmond, Kerry fell within the scope of the plantation of Munster, begun in 1586. The Cromwellian and Williamite settlements further transformed the ownership of Kerry, which was modified again by the land acts of the 19th and 20th centuries.

+ As a region on the extremity of Ireland, the culture of Kerry was less susceptible to outside influences and has preserved the Irish language, as well as Irish traditional music, song and dance. The Sliabh Luachra area of northeast Kerry, which borders Limerick and Cork, is renowned for its traditional music, dance and song.

+ County Kerry contains some of Ireland's most iconic scenery: surf-pounded sea cliffs and soft golden strands, emerald-green farmland criss-crossed by tumbledown stone walls, mist-shrouded bogs and cloud-torn mountain peaks. With one of the country's finest national parks as its backyard, the lively tourism hub of Killarney (shown here) offers colorful shops, restaurants, and pubs lwith spirited traditional music. The town is the jumping-off point for Kerry's two famed loop drives: the larger Ring of Kerry skirts the mountainous, island-fringed Iveragh Peninsula. Dingle Peninsula is like a condensed version of its southern neighbor, with ancient prehistoric ring forts, and beehive huts, Christian sites, and sandy beaches.

At the Aachen Cathedral, in the city of Aachen, Germany

 "Wir leben alle unter dem gleichen Himmel, aber wir haben nicht alle den gleichen Horizont." ("We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.") -- Konrad Adenauer

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(in Germany's westernmost city) Aachen, best known as the capital of Charlemagne's Frankish empire, sits at the juncture where Germany meets the Netherlands (the Dutch know it as Aken, and in Belgium "Walloons" call it Aix-la-Chapelle). Aachen's history goes back even further than 8th-century Charlemagne. Roman soldiers dating back to the 1st century CE cherished its hot springs (as did Charlemagne). Aachen Cathedral, northern Europe's oldest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the city's main attraction.

 + In North Rhine-Westphalia, bordering the Netherlands and Belgium, Aachen is located between Maastricht and Liège in the west, and Bonn and Cologne in the east. The Wurm River flows through the city, and together with Mönchengladbach, Aachen is the only large German city in the drainage basin of the Meuse. Aachen is also the seat of the City Region of Aachen (German: Städteregion Aachen).

+ Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and thermae (bath complex), subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire, and, from 936 to 1531, the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Aachen was fortified in the late 12th century and granted municipal rights in 1166 and 1215, and it became a free imperial city about 1250. Aachen was frequently at odds with the emperors during the Protestant Reformation. (In 1656 the city was devastated by a great fire.)

+ Aachen hosted several peace conferences, including those ending the War of Devolution and the War of the Austrian Succession. Occupied by Napoleon’s army in 1794 and annexed by France in 1801, it was given to Prussia after the Congress of Vienna (1814–15). The city was briefly occupied by the Belgians after World War I. It was severely damaged in World War II, and it became the first large German city to fall to the Allies.

+ The noteworthy medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul, and St. Nicholas were destroyed or heavily damaged during World War II, but their reconstruction began almost immediately afterward. The Rathaus (Town Hall), built about 1530 on the ruins of Charlemagne’s palace and containing the magnificent Hall of the Emperors, was also damaged and restored. Aachen Cathedral suffered relatively little damage in the war. It incorporates the distinctive Carolingian and Gothic styles. The Palatine Chapel (built 790–805) of Charlemagne, modeled on San Vitale (in Ravenna, Italy), is Carolingian in style, and the choir (and subsidiary chapels) are Gothic.

+ As a Rhenish city, Aachen is one of the main centers of carnival celebrations in Germany, along with Cologne, Mainz, and Düsseldorf. (The culinary specialty for which the city is best known is Aachener Printen, a type of gingerbread.)

At the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in the city of Bilbao, north-central part of Spain

 "I have a very nice garden and extraordinary markets, where there are products from the earth and the sea, in the French Basque country." — Alain Ducasse

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(in northern Spain) Bilbao, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country, is located in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometers (10 mi.) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed; its main urban core is surrounded by two mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 meters. 

+ After its foundation in the early 14th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance to the Crown of Castile. This was due to its thriving port activity based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to much of Europe.

+ Bilbao is now a vigorous service city that is experiencing a social, economic, and aesthetic revitalization process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. A port city, Bilbao originated as a settlement of mariners and ironworkers and was chartered in 1300. In the 18th century it prospered through trade with Spain’s New World colonies. The city was sacked by French troops in the Peninsular War (of 1808) and besieged during the Carlist Wars (1833–1840). It is a chief port in Spain and a center of the metallurgical industries, shipbuilding, and banking. Landmarks include the 14th-century Cathedral of Santiago and the 20th-century Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (shown here).

+ Bilbao, the capital of Vizcaya province in the Basque Country, lies along the mouth of the Nervión River, seven miles (~11 km) inland from the Bay of Biscay. Bilbao’s port was also a center for the export of wool from Burgos, in the interior of Castile, to Flanders. In the 18th century Bilbao derived great prosperity from intensive trade with the American colonies of Spain.

+ Bilbao is divided into two distinctive areas: the eastern bank of the Nervión River, which includes factories and working-class neighborhoods, and the western bank, including commercial, historic, and residential areas. The old part of Bilbao lies on the right bank, its nucleus formed by the Siete Calles (“Seven Streets”), a series of parallel streets leading to the riverbank. The Old Town’s notable landmarks include the Gothic-style Cathedral of Santiago (14th century), the Plaza Nueva (early 19th century), and the Renaissance-style churches of San Antonio, Santos Juanes, and San Nicholas. Several towns on the left bank of the river were annexed to the municipality after 1890, forming the modern extension of the city. This section is a banking and commercial center and is the site of the provincial government’s offices. (Nine bridges cross the Nervión to link the old and new parts of the city.)

+ Travelers generally come to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum, some for the art inside, but many for the amazing building itself:

In the town of Portofino, in the metropolitan city of Genoa on the Italian Riviera

 The famed Italian Riviera, also known as the Ligurian Riviera, is the narrow stretch of coastline along the northwestern coast of Italy; it is an attractive seaside town with popular resorts.

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(in the metropolitan city of Genoa on the Italian Riviera) The town of Portofino is clustered around its small harbor, and is known for the colorfully painted buildings that line the seashore. Since the late 19th century Portofino has attracted tourism by the European aristocracy and -- it is now a resort visited by people from around the world. On the Riviera di Levante, Portofino is situated at the southeast end of the promontory of Portofino, which encloses the Gulf of Rapallo on the west. A charming fishing village with a port at the head of an inlet lined with brightly color-washed houses, Portofino has a lot of tourist traffic. Pillow lace is made in traditional 18th-century patterns. To the north (1.5 miles [2.5 km]) is the Monastery of La Cervara, where Pope Gregory XI rested on his way from Avignon, in France, to Rome (in 1377) and where Francis I of France was imprisoned after the Battle of Pavia (in1525). To the southeast is the Church of San Giorgio (said to contain relics of St. George brought by Crusaders from the Holy Land).

+ Even the trees are handsome in Portofino, a perfectly coiffured coastal village that sits on its own peninsula, seemingly upping the exclusivity factor by mere geography. Hotels here are hushed and rather high-priced, but a drink by Portofino's yacht-filled harbor, or a stroll around its designer shops, can be easily enjoyed on a day trip from Genoa.

+ Still a fishing town, Portofino is a great place in Liguria that offers numerous attractions, in addition to entertainment. It also presents numerous sites of historical and archaeological interest. If you are a fan of cultural travel, Portofino should prove to be a fine destination, where you will appreciate one of the wonders of Italy. Portofino’s nature has inevitably changed over time, especially in the last century. What was a small village deeply linked to fishing and maritime tradition, inevitably discovered tourism toward the end of the 19th century. As happened also in Cinque Terre and other places in Liguria, Portofino has however somehow preserved the typical atmosphere of a fishing village -- and is yet able to present a profound charm that captivates its visitors. Located in the western part of the Gulf of Tigullio, not far from Genoa, its entire territory is included in the Portofino regional natural park and in the homonymous protected marine natural area. It can be reached by plane arriving at Genoa airport, about 30 km away (~19 mi.), then by car along the highway 12 Genova–La Spezia, or by train, getting off at the Santa Margherita railway station and then continuing by taxi or bus to Portofino.

+ Once arriving in Portofino, explore the town on foot, or on a bike, to better assure your enjoyment of local places (and panoramas).

At Palace Versailles, in the town of Versailles, suburb of Paris, France

 "Dance is very, very old. With Louis XIV at Versailles is where ballet started." — Neve Campbell

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(in the Île-de-France region of north-central France) The town of Versailles is renowned worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, which are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, Versailles is a suburb of Paris (with a service-based economy} and a major tourist destination.

+ A town yhat was founded by King Louis XIV, Versailles was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of a royal city, it became the regional capital of the Seine-et-Oise department in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968.
+ Versailles is historically known for treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, and the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I. Today, the Congress of France meets in the Château de Versailles to vote on revisions to the Constitution.

+ The town developed around the 17th-century Palace of Versailles. The first scenes of the French Revolution were enacted at the palace, whose gardens have become part of the national heritage of France (and one of the most-visited historical sites in Europe). Although it was a place of entertainment, the palace was also well equipped as a center of government. Some 1,000 courtiers with 4,000 attendants lived in the palace itself. About 14,000 soldiers and servants were quartered in annexes and in the town, which had 30,000 inhabitants when Louis XIV died in 1715.

+ Louis XV continued the building program of his predecessor, and the palace became a symbol of royal extravagance. In 1837 Louis-Philippe turned it into a museum consecrated to “all the glories of France.” In 1870 the German army used Versailles as its headquarters, and in 1871 the German emperor was crowned there. For eight years after the peace with Germany, the palace was the seat of the French Parliament, and the constitution of the Third Republic was proclaimed there in 1875. The presidents of the Third and Fourth republics were elected in Versailles. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles, between the Allies and Germany, was signed in the palace, which was again restored and modernized under President Charles de Gaulle.

+ The palace now serves as a tourist attraction and as a residence for visiting heads of state. The oldest quarter of the town, Satory, contains the cathedral of Saint-Louis, while the new quarter, Le Chesnay, in the north, is the site of the church of Notre-Dame. Versailles is an important garrison town, with a military hospital and a school of military engineering and artillery. There is little industry in the town itself, where service and administrative activities dominate the economy. However, the adjoining Satory plateau is the location of armament and high-tech industries. (A school of horticulture is attached to the fine garden.)

In the city of Quebec, the capital of Quebec Province, Canada

 “Quebec City is the most European of any city in North America; they speak French all the time. There is a part of town called Old Quebec, which is really like being in France.” -- Sebastian Bach

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(in one of the oldest cities in Canada) Quebec, the capital of Quebec Province, has a distinct old-world character and charm. It is the only remaining walled city in North America (north of Mexico) and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. Among its other distinguishing characteristics are its narrow cobblestone streets, stone buildings, fortifications, and rich French-Canadian culture. In addition to being a major tourist destination, Quebec is an administrative center and a port city for transatlantic trade. Its location at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Saint-Charles rivers, about 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Montreal, provided a number of strategic military advantages: because of the narrowing of the St. Lawrence River, Quebec was the farthest upstream ocean-going vessels could navigate, and the city’s fortifications on a high ridge had a commanding view of the river.

+ Quebec is also a major transatlantic port, handling products that are conveyed on the St. Lawrence Seaway, which serves the Great Lakes region of North America. The port, rail lines, and freeways also facilitate a manufacturing industry that includes newsprint, beverages and food processing, chemicals, printing, garments, and shipbuilding. The port also supports another major industry (tourism), which has been a mainstay of the economy for well over 150 years.

+ This city has three principal districts: Upper Town, Lower Town, and St. Roch. Upper Town, as the name suggests, is located high above the river on Cape Diamond (Cap Diamant); the militarily strategic high ground. Sandwiched between the banks of the St. Lawrence and Cape Diamond is the old commercial Lower Town. St. Roch occupies the lowlands east of the Lower Town to the St. Charles River.
+ Surrounded by a stone wall some 2.9 miles (4.6 km) long that was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century to protect the city against feared invasion by the United States, Old Quebec is the heart of Upper Town. It is dominated by the Chateau Frontenac hotel. Construction on the copper-turreted castle-like hotel began in 1893, with its prominent central tower added in 1924. Behind the hotel, a long boardwalk overlooks the Lower Town and the St. Lawrence River.

+ Quebec city offers many opportunities to participate in sports and recreation. In winter skiing is especially popular on the slopes of the Laurentian Mountains only a few miles from the city. The Mont Sainte-Anne center has been the scene of World Cup skiing tournaments as well as mountain bike world championships. Among the principal local events are the summer festival of early to mid-July and the Quebec Winter Carnival, which has been held from late January to mid-February since 1955.