At the iconic Duomo di Milano, in the city of Milan, capital of Lombardy in Northern Italy

 Milan is Italy's city of the future, a fast-paced metropolis where money talks, creativity is big business, and looking good is an art form.

========================================================================
(in the capital of Lombardy in Northern Italy) A breathtaking stalwart of the Milan skyline, the history of the city's Duomo (depicted here) spans more than six centuries of worship. The cathedral’s construction began back in 1386 at the peak of Gothic design but was not truly completed until the mid-20th century. Over the decades, a succession of Italy's greatest architects, engineers, and artists worked on the magnificent structure. (Even Leonardo Da Vinci sketched some designs for a proposed domed tower, though they never made it off his drawing board.)

+ Milan sits right at the heart of Italy's fashion, design, and architecture scene -- so much so, in fact, that creatives from all over the world come here every year for events like Salone del Mobile (the Milan Furniture Fair) and Milan Fashion Week. (And the scenery and sights truly live up to the hype.)

+ The iconic Duomo di Milano is the world's largest Gothic Cathedral. The amazing mosaics and glass vaults of the Scala Opera House and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (not to mention museums and galleries like Pinacoteca di Brera), are also popular attractions. As an added bonus, Milan's food scene has really grown over the last decade. Now, you can not only find regional classics, but you can also explore a variety of solid international flavors, including Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Ethiopian fare. (Milan is also the birthplace of the negroni sbagliato -- so don't skip a chance to get one straight from the source.)

+ In addition to clothing design, Milan is a world center of design in general. Several small, high-quality businesses specialize in furniture design, graphic design, and other design areas. The design industry remains central to the Besana in the Brianza area north of the city. Another noteworthy part of the city’s services sector is communications. Milan is home to Mondadori, Italy’s large publishing group, as well as the newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport and the newsmagazine L’Espresso. In addition, Milan is the capital of private television in Italy, dominated by the media empire of Silvio Berlusconi, an entrepreneur who has served as Italy’s prime minister several times. His media group, with its headquarters in Milan, has spawned a series of specialized industries linked to private television, such as advertising, dubbing, photography, and filmmaking. Milan’s position as the electronic media center of Italy has been augmented by the rapid growth of high-technology industries, including telecommunications, data processing, software production, and Internet design.

+ Indeed, Milan remains the base for some of the world’s most prolific designers, world-famous artworks, and breathtaking monuments. (Milan is also a great vantage point to Northern Italy’s most impressive scenery.)

In the city of Lausanne, capital of Vaud canton, western Switzerland

 “Switzerland is a country where the mountains whisper and the lakes sing.” – Lord Byron

========================================================================
(in western Switzerland, on the northern shore of Lake Geneva) Lausanne, the capital of Vaud canton, is surrounded by vineyards, rolling down a trio of hillsides to the lakeshore; Switzerland’s fourth-largest city, Lausanne is a vibrant city on the shores of Lake Geneva, where visitors can enjoy stunning views of the Alps and explore its rich cultural heritage. As the Olympic capital, Lausanne hosts the Olympic Museum and the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, as well as many sports events and festivals. They can also visit the historic Old Town, where one can admire the Gothic cathedral, the elegant City Hall, and the castle of the former bishops.

+ The ancient Celtic Lausonium, or Lausonna, was originally on the shore of the lake southwest of the present city. During the invasion of the Alemanni (ca. 379), the inhabitants took refuge in the hills above, building a settlement on the site of the present Cité district. The bishops, princes of the Holy Roman Empire from the 12th century, retained their temporal powers until 1536, when Lausanne was conquered by the Bernese, who introduced the Protestant Reformation. (Lausanne became the capital of the new Vaud canton of Napoleon’s Helvetic Republic in 1803.)

+ In 1964 the city was the site of the Swiss National Exhibition, held every 25 years in a different Swiss city. Historic buildings include the early Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame, consecrated in 1275 by Pope Gregory X in the presence of the Holy Roman emperor Rudolf I of Habsburg; the Saint-François Church, erected during the same period; and the Cty Hall. The castle is the only vestige of the 13th-century residences of the bishops. The Château Saint-Maire, the former bishop’s castle, is now the seat of the cantonal government. More-recent landmarks are the Palais de Rumine, the main building of the university, which also houses the cantonal museums, and the federal court of justice, seat of the Swiss Supreme Court.

+ Lausanne rivals Geneva as the intellectual and cultural center of French Switzerland. Its university originated as a theological academy in 1537. The city was the birthplace of the noted Swiss literary figures Benjamin Constant de Rebecque, Alexandre Vinet, Juste Olivier, and Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz and of the philosopher Charles Secrétan. Many famous European men of letters, including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, and Edward Gibbon, resided here. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are at Lausanne, and an Olympic Museum, surrounded by a public park, opened in 1993. Lausanne is also the site of the Federal Polytechnic Institute (founded in 1853) and of the annual national fair Comptoir Suisse.
(The city is also an important tourist and convention center.)

+ The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is Lake Geneva (Le Léman in French).

At the Luxembourg Castle, in the Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg

 The City of Luxembourg has a little bit of everything, and for such a small country, it is packed with a history spanning more than a thousand years.

=======================================================================
Luxembourg, also known as Luxembourg City, is the capital of Luxembourg and the country's most populous commune. The city lies at the heart of Western Europe It contains Luxembourg Castle, established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages.

+ Luxembourg is now ranked by the IMF as having the highest GDP per capita in the world. It is one of the de facto capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Frankfurt, and Strasbourg), as it is the seat of several institutions, agencies, and bodies, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the Secretariat of the European Parliament, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, and the European Stability Mechanism, Eurostat. The Council of the European Union meets in the city for three months annually.

+ The city has long been a place of strategic military significance. The first fortifications were built as early as the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, as the city expanded westward around the new St. Nicholas Church (today the Cathedral of Notre Dame), new walls were built that included an area of 5 hectares (12 acres). the Burgundians under Philip the Good conquered Luxembourg. which became part of the Burgundian, and later Spanish and Austrian empires and under those Habsburg administrations Luxembourg Castle was repeatedly strengthened so that by the 16th century, Luxembourg itself was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe. Subsequently, the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Spanish again, the Austrians, the French again, and the Prussians conquered Luxembourg.

+ During the French Revolutionary Wars, the city was occupied by France twice: once, briefly, in 1792–93, and, after a seven-month siege, Luxembourg held out for so long under the French siege that French politician and military engineer Lazare Carnot called Luxembourg "the best fortress in the world, except Gibraltar", giving rise to the city's nickname: the "Gibraltar of the North."

+ After the Luxembourg Crisis, the 1867 Treaty of London required Luxembourg to dismantle the fortifications in Luxembourg City. Despite Luxembourg's efforts to remain neutral in WWI, it was occupied by Germany on 2 August 1914. Luxembourg City was the scene of an attempted communist revolution; on 9 November 1918. In 1940, Germany occupied Luxembourg again; the city was liberated on 10 September 1944. After the war, Luxembourg remains the seat of the European Parliament's secretariat, as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, and the European Investment Bank. Several departments of the European Commission are also based in Luxembourg. (The Council of the EU meets in the city for the months of April, June and October annually.)

In the city of Strasbourg, capital of the Bas-Rhin departement of the Grand Est région in eastern France

 Early in World War II, the collapse of France in 1940 was followed by the second German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, which was again returned to France in 1945.

========================================================================
(in the Grand Est region of eastern France, at the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace) The city of Strasbourg, capital of the Bas-Rhin departement of the Grand Est région in eastern France lies 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the Rhine River on the Franco-German frontier.

+ The city was originally a Celtic village, and under the Romans it became a garrison town called Argentoratum. It was captured in the 5th century by the Franks, who called it Strateburgum, from which the present name is derived. In 842 Charles II (the Bald), king of the West Franks, and Louis II (the German), king of the East Franks, took an oath of alliance here, the Serment de Strasbourg, a text of which is the oldest written document in Old French. After a struggle for power between its citizens and the bishops in the Middle Ages, Strasbourg became a free city within the Holy Roman Empire.

+ The city of Strasbourg is traversed by the Ill River, which divides and surrounds the Grand Île (Big Island) on which the Old Town and most of the city’s famous buildings are situated. The island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. Strasbourg’s 11th–15th-century Cathedral of Notre-Dame, damaged in 1870 and again in World War II, has been carefully restored. Built of red Vosges sandstone, it is a harmonious edifice despite the variety of its architectural styles. It has an asymmetrical facade (mainly 13th century) with fine sculptured portals and only one tower, which has a tall (455 feet [139 meters]) and graceful 15th-century spire. Some of the cathedral’s sculptures, together with vestiges from other old French churches, are exhibited in the Maison de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame, next to the cathedral. The 18th-century Château des Rohan, a former episcopal palace, houses three museums. The La Petite district of the city has several well-preserved old streets with wooden houses, as well as some picturesque canals.

+ Strasbourg is one of the de facto four main capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Eurocorps, and the Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is the seat of many non-European international institutions such as the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights. It is the second city in France in terms of international congress and symposia, after Paris. Strasbourg is immersed in Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a cultural bridge between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second-largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture.

In the city of Donostia-San Sebastián, located in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain

 The Basques are very likely the earliest inhabitants in all of Europe, even predating the Celts and the Romans.

=========================================================================
(on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, 20 km (12 mi.) from the France–Spain border) Officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The city is located in the north of the Basque Country, on the southeastern coast of the Bay of Biscay. San Sebastián has three beaches, Concha, Ondarreta, and Zurriola, and is surrounded by hilly areas: Urgull (adjacent to the old part of the city), Mount Ulia (extending east to Pasaia), Mount Adarra (south of the city) and Igeldo (overlooking Concha Bay from the west). San Sebastián lies at the mouth of the Urumea river.

+ Framed by golden beaches and lush hillsides, San Sebastián has undeniable allure, from its dining scene to its grand architecture and packed cultural calendar. A coastal city in Spain. San Sebastian is well known for Playa de la Concha and Playa de Ondarreta beaches that offer bay views of sunset and sunrise and popular restaurants. San Telmo Museum exhibits contemporary Basque culture, arts, and history with permanent and temporary exhibitions for visitors. Urgull is a hill on the ocean setting and displays military structures and promenades with outstanding bay and city views.

+ The layout of the modern city center was built up until 1914 (when the first phase finished) reflecting a Parisian Haussmannian style. The arcades of the Buen Pastor square were modelled upon those of the Rue de Rivoli, while the Maria Cristina Bridge was inspired by the Pont Alexandre III that crosses the Seine. The Estación del Norte train station standing directly across the bridge was inaugurated in 1864, after the arrival of the railway to San Sebastián. Its metallic roof was designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Donostia–San Sebastián, Spain, first mentioned in a document of 1014, was granted a charter of rights and privileges by Sancho VI (the Wise) of Navarre about 1160–90. It was formerly the summer residence of the Spanish royal court. The Old Town and harbor occupy an isthmus between the mainland and Mount Urgull, on whose summit stands the 16th-century Mota Castle. The well-planned modern town extends across both banks of the Urumea and to the fine beaches on La Concha bay, site of the famous regattas that take place on the Feast of St. Sebastian (January 20). In the Old Town are the Gothic church of San Vicente, the Baroque church of Santa María, and the former convent of San Telmo , now a museum with a Basque ethnographic section. The new town has the notable neo-Gothic cathedral of El Buen Pastor (“The Good Shepherd”).

+ Aside from tourism, the chief sources of income are the manufacture of cement, chemicals and metallurgical products. The service sector and tourism now dominate the city’s economy. La Concha beaches attract thousands of visitors annually, as do annual international jazz and film festivals.

In the city of Bologna, historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy

 "Bologna is celebrated for producing popes, painters, and sausage."

-- Lord Byron
========================================================================
(in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy) The city of Bologna, capital of the Emilia- Romagna region in northern Italy, is north of Florence, between the Reno and Savena rivers. It lies at the northern foot of the Apennines, on the ancient Via Aemilia. Originally the Etruscan Felsina, it was occupied by the Gallic Boii in the 4th century BCE and became a Roman colony and municipium (Bononia) around 190 BCE. It was subject to the Greek exarchate of Ravenna (in the 6th century) and then passed to the papacy. It was occupied by the Visigoths, Huns, Goths, and Lombards after the barbarian invasions. Following a feudal period, Bologna became a free commune when the emperor recognized its rights in the early 12th century. The conflict between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines (two parties in medieval Italian politics) led to the city’s domination by a series of signori (lords) -- the Pepoli, Visconti, Bentivoglio -- before it was incorporated into the Papal States by Pope Julius II in 1506. Thereafter it enjoyed more than three centuries of peace and prosperity. (Papal rule was interrupted only by a brief period of French control before Bologna was united to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.)

+ Fusing haughty elegance with down-to-earth grit in one colonnaded medieval grid, Bologna is now a city of two intriguing halves. One side is a hard-working, high-tech city located in the super-rich Po valley where suave opera-goers waltz out of regal theaters and into some of the nation's finest restaurants. The other is a bolshie, politically edgy city that hosts the world's oldest university and is famous for its graffiti-embellished piazzas filled with mildly inebriated students swapping Gothic fashion tips.

+ The driving sectors of the regional economy are: agriculture (vegetables, cereals -- the famous DOP potato from Budrio), breeding (pigs and cattle) and small and medium industry in the food, mechanical, ceramic and electronics.
Bologna is also of paramount importance as a road and rail center through which must pass most traffic between central and southern Italy and the north. Until World War I the city was chiefly dependent upon agriculture based on the surrounding fertile plain. Although still an important agricultural market and food-processing center -- the city is cited as the source of the popular tomato-based meat sauce for pasta known as Bolognese.

+ Bologna is quite famous for having the oldest university in the Western world. Aside from being known to have a vibrant student population, it is also famed for its exquisite food, traditional brick terracotta-roofed architecture, and porticos, theater, and nightlife. Santuario di Madonna di San Luca, Torri degli Asinelli e Garisenda, Piazza Maggiore, and Quadrilatero are also notable.(If you are not fluent in Italian, do not worry because English is widely spoken especially by the local student population.)

In the city of Melk is best known for the Baroque Benedictine monastery named Melk Abbey, Lower Austria

 Melk is a town that offers a rich experience for travelers of all interests and seasons.

========================================================================
(in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube River) The city of Melk is best known as the site of a Baroque Benedictine monastery named Melk Abbey. Melk was first mentioned as Medilica in 831 in a donation of Louis the German (the name is from a Slavic word for "border." The area around Melk was given to Leopold I, Margrave of Austria, in the year 976 to serve as a buffer between the Magyars to the east and Bavaria to the west. In 996 mention was first made of an area known as Ostarrîchi, which is the origin of the word Österreich (German for Austria). The bluff that holds the current monastery held a Babenberger castle until the site was given to Benedictine monks from nearby Lambach by Leopold II, in 1089. Melk received market rights in 1227 and became a municipality in 1898.

+ Here you can marvel at the impressive Melk Abbey, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture that dominates the skyline and houses a museum, a library, and a church. You can also explore the quaint streets and squares of Melk, where you can find cozy cafes, shops, and cultural events. For a taste of nature and history, you can visit the nearby Schloss Schallaburg, a Renaissance castle with a museum and a garden, or take a cruise along the Danube River and enjoy the views of the vineyards, castles, and villages.

+ The Forsthaus, which accommodates the city archives and the tourist information office, is the starting point of most tours. Beside the Forsthaus the Zaglauergasse meets with the Wiener Straße. After several meters, the Wiener Straße opens to the affectionately restored Rathausplatz, which got its name from the Rathaus (Town Hall) built in 1575. The facade of the Town Hall was redesigned 150 years ago and the highly elaborate entrance door, made of wood and copper, is the Town Hall's most outstanding feature. To its left is the former Lebzelterhaus, which dates back to 1657 and is now a pharmacy. The Kolomanbrunnen market fountain, which is a gift from the abbey to the city, is in the center of the Rathausplatz. On the top of the fountain the statue of St. Koloman can be seen.

+ The hidden Haus am Stein ("house at the rock") is the oldest building of Melk, built during the 15th century. Its facade is covered by a protected ancient vine. At the arm of the Danube river, parts of the former city walls and the Round Tower can be recognized. Following the Nibelungenlände and passing the Salzhof, visitors reach the Schiffsmeisterhaus (ship master's house) with its high water level marks on the facade. (The Danube reached 15.8 meters above the usual water level in 1501. The Haus auf dem Stein ('house on the rock') was built less than 50 years after this high water disaster.

+ The church court is dominated by the Gothic Pfarrkirche (parish church). About five kilometers (3.1 mi.) south of the city is the renowned Renaissance castle Schallaburg.