In the city of Oradea, the capital of Biho county, northwestern Romania

 “We are hardly ever arbiters of our own fate. We must move, do, live, according to our several duties and our own desires and wishes have to be fitted in with what we can do more often than what we desire to do.” Queen Marie of Romania

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(in northwestern Romania) The city of Oradea, the capital of Biho county, lies along the Crişul Repede River -- where it emerges from the western foothills of the Western Carpathians and flows onto the Hungarian Plain. One of the first feudal states in the area, a principality ruled by Prince Menumorut (at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries), was centered on a citadel at Biharea, northwest of Oradea. The citadel of Oradea was built between 1114 and 1131, destroyed by the Tatars in 1241, and rebuilt in the 15th century under the Corvinus dynasty. Between 1660 and 1692 the community was occupied by the Turks; it then became Hungarian until it joined Romania in 1918.

+ One of the more beautiful places in Romania, Oradea has eye-catching architecture. During the Austro-Hungarian occupation, it was a cosmopolitan center of different cultures and religions. By the beginning of the 20th century, the city was dotted with modern buildings erected in Vienna’s Secession style. Now boasting the Museum of the Cris Rivers, including natural science, archaeology, arts, history and ethnography sections, the splendid Baroque Palace (also known as the The Black Eagle Palace) was designed to look similar to the Belvedere Palace in Vienna.

+ Oradea is known as a cultural center, with a state theater, puppet theater, philharmonic orchestra, regional library, and museum. Since World War II, it has become a major industrial center, producing machine tools, mining equipment, chemicals, processed foods, and footwear.

+ Located just 10 kilometers (~6 mi.) from the border with Hungary, Oradea, one of the most important cities in western Romania, is also the capital of the Criseana Region, known for its mineral and thermal waters, outstanding architecture, royal residences, and wondrous caves. The region's fascinating cities, hidden treasures, and natural sights attract visitors' exploration. While the region is mainly popular for its thermal spas, Crișeana has a particular charm that can make many a traveler fall in love with the area.
+ Featured here is Piata Unirii (Union Square), also known as the Small Square, which took shape around the 18th century. The first building built here was the Serföyö House, in 1714, on the site of today's Black Eagle Palace (pictured here). The corner-built building has a high ground floor and four floors -- actually joining two buildings unified by a famous passage with access to two other streets. (The passage is known for its large stained glass at the entrance that illustrates an eagle flying.) The Palace is also known and appreciated for its stained-glass windows in the central cupola that converts the light into a spectacular vision of brilliant colors.

In the captal city of Brussels, Belgium

 “I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” ― Edna St. Vincent Millay

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(in the capital of Belgium) The city of Brussels, part of the Brussels-Capital Region, is one of the three federal regions into which Belgium is divided. Lying on the Senne River, a tributary of the Schelde, it began as a trading settlement and ultimately became a holding of the dukes of Brabant. In the first half of the 16th century, it became the capital of the Low Countries, then under Habsburg control. In the late 16th century, the Low Countries were divided and the southern provinces, where Brussels was located, were ruled successively by Spain, Austria, and France. After the Low Countries were reunited as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Brussels shared the status of capital with The Hague. A center of rebellion, Brussels became the capital of independent Belgium in 1830. An important financial and commercial city, it is the headquarters of NATO and the seat of the European Union.

+ In Brussels, art deco facades face off against 1960s concrete developments, and regal 19th-century mansions contrast with the shimmering glass of the EU’s "Gotham City." From Brussels’ medieval core, its greatest architectural expression came at the turn of the 19th century with Art Nouveau; its master builder was Victor Horta, a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. (While restraint characterizes his exteriors, the interiors are sensual symphonies of form and color.)

+ The Medieval Grand-Place in Brussels (featured here), is indeed grand, with many 17th-century buildings and daily flower markets. Whether you're just passing through Brussels or here for a week, you can't miss the Grand-Place -- quite a popular tourist destination in the city. This square, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sits in the heart of Brussels and is renowned for its many Gothic and Baroque-style buildings. One of the world’s most unforgettable urban ensembles, it is oddly hidden -- the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed as you enter on foot from one of six narrow side alleys: Rue des Harengs is the best first approach. The focal point is the spired 15th-century City Hall, but each of the antique guildhalls has a charm of its own. Most are embellished with fine baroque gables, gilded statues and elaborate guild symbols.

+ Once every two years, the rectangular shaped "square"’ at the Grand Place turns into a carpet of fresh flowers dubbed the "Flower Carpet." The elaborate patterns and colors are planned well ahead of time and then displayed in a single tableau on the cobblestones of the town square. The design is different every time. Flower Carpets in the past have resembled the borders of Belgian tapestries but in actuality, the designs are symbols and patterns to commemorate certain events or towns. (The flower of choice is begonias, which are robust enough to withstand heat or rain.)

In the city of Lugano, in Canton Ticino, southern Switzerland

 "Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell." -- Hermann Hesse, the German-born Swiss poet, novelist and painter

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(in southern Switzerland) Lugano, the largest city in Ticino canton, lies along Lake Lugano, northwest of Como; to the south is Mount San Salvatore, and to the east is Mount Brè. (Most of Lake Lugano (63%) is held by Switzerland, in an area where the lake is one of the country’s popular tourist attractions.) First mentioned in the 6th century, Lugano was occupied in 1499 by the French and taken in 1512 by the Swiss. The center of the Lugano canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, it was then included in the newly formed Ticino canton and, with Locarno and Bellinzona, was one of the three cantonal capitals until 1878. In 1888 it became the seat of a bishop with jurisdiction over Italian-speaking Switzerland. (During the struggle of 1848–66 to expel the Austrians from Lombardy, Lugano served as the headquarters for the Italian nationalist leader Giuseppe Mazzini.)

+ Positioned on the lake with the Alps at its back, Lugano offers visitors a little bit of everything. Ride a cable car up Monte San Salvatore or Monte Bre for great panoramas of lake, rivers, mountains, and red-roofed buildings. Explore the city's churches, cathedrals, and the expressive and colorful Piazza della Riforma. Sample some slow-cooked Ticinese cuisine, explore the lake on a boat. or spend the day at the lido with its Olympic-sized pool.

+ Ticino’s lush, mountain-rimmed lake isn’t its only liquid asset. The largest city in the canton is also the country’s third-most-important banking center. A vivacious city, it has posh designer boutiques, bars, and pavement cafes huddling in the maze of steep cobblestone streets that unwind at the edge of the lake and along the flowery promenade. (The opening of its LAC Arts Center has enhanced its cultural stakes.) The peaks of Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore, above the lake, provide awesome views deep into the Alps, and attract lots of hikers and mountain bikers during the warmer months.

 + Since 1882, Lugano has been an important stop on the Gotthard Railway, the trans-alpine line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The railway brought a decisive contribution to the development of tourism and more generally of the tertiary sector which are, to this day, predominant in the economy of the city. Today, Lugano's primary sources of revenue are tourism and international finance, but there is some industry here, including the manufacture of chocolate, silk, and machinery. (The city is Italian in both appearance and character.) Its main landmarks are the 13th-century Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the former Franciscan Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli (with frescoes by Bernardino Luini), and the Villa Favorita in the suburb of Castagnola (housing one of Europe’s greatest private art collections).

In the city of Murcia, southeastern Spain

 Francisco Salzillo y Alcaraz, a sculptor, was the most representative Spanish image-maker of the 18th century. He worked mainly on religious themes, making hundreds of pieces that are distributed throughout the Region of Murcia and some in bordering provinces. The Spanish Civil War (in the 1930s) caused the destruction of many of his works. Salzillo founded the so-called Murcian School of Sculpture, which has remained effective to the present time, because his followers have perpetuated the iconographic and stylistic models that he established. (A museum in Murcia is dedicated to Salzillo.)

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(in southeastern Spain) The city of Murcia, capital of Murcia province and autonomous community, is found at the confluence of the Segura and Guadalentín rivers in a fertile, irrigated area known as the huerta (orchard land). The site was settled before the Roman occupation of southern Spain in the 3rd century BCE. (As Mursīyah, it was first mentioned in the histories and chronicles of the Muslims.) According to the Arab geographer Yāqūt, it was founded in 825 CE by the Umayyad emir of Córdoba, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān II, who made it a provincial capital. After the fall of the caliphate of Córdoba in 1031, the city came under the control of Almería and then of Valencia, until 1063 when its ruler, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṭāhir, declared the kingdom of Murcia independent.

+ The capital of the province of the same name, Murcia is one of the least visited and little-known cities in Spain, despite being the seventh largest in terms of population size. Tucked in between the regions of Almería and Alicante, set inland from the coastal towns, Murcia has much to offer to those who do decide to visit the city. A sizeable but laid-back provincial capital, Murcia has interesting sights and a pleasant, strollable center. The city also has plenty of landmarks to linger over -- from Moorish gardens to the ornate architectural blend of Plaza Cardenal Belluga. (Mediterranean valleys, mountains, and coastlines beckon from further afield; while annual festivals bring a buzz to the entire region.)

+ Like Valencia, Murcia is famous for its huerta, a surrounding zone of market gardens dating back to Moorish times, which supply the city's restaurants with excellent fresh produce and drive a thriving tapas scene. The Segura River divides the city of Murcia into an older, northern sector and a more modern, southern sector. The 14th-century Gothic-style Cathedral of Santa María was restored in the 18th century. (It contains the fine 16th-century chapel of the Vélez family.) In the Hermitage of Jesus (Ermita de Jesús) are the majority of the Passion sculptures of Francisco Salzillo, which attract many visitors during Holy Week. (The University of Murcia was founded in 1915.) Murcia is also a communications and agricultural-trade center for the surrounding areas along the Segura River. (The city’s silk industry, which dates from Moorish times, still exists.)

At the Keukenhof Park, in the town of Lisse, Netherlands

 “Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

― Hans Christian Anderson, The Complete Fairy Tales
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(in western Netherlands) At this time of year, the Netherlands (as a whole) is usually carpeted in beautiful tulips, which normally attracts a huge number of visitors. The town of Lisse lies in the center of the flower fields between Haarlem and Leiden. With Hillegom, it is one of the two great commercial centers of the Netherlands’ bulb-growing district. It is also the site of the State Bulb School and Laboratory. The annual flower exhibition (from March to May) is held on a former country estate around the 17th-century De Keukenhof Castle, with its gardens that cover 65 acres (~26 hectares).

+ Lisse, in South Holland, is known for the Keukenhof Park and the surrounding tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil fields in the park's gardens. Just one kilometer to the west of Lisse, Keukenhof, the world’s largest bulb-flower garden, boasts more than seven million bulbs and a total of 800 varieties of tulips. It normally attracts around 1.5 million visitors during its eight-week season, when its fields and planted displays of multicolored tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are in bloom. Visitors can rent bikes outside the gardens or take a cruise from Keukenhof's windmill to view the "Garden of Europe," which is in full bloom year in April and May, when the tulips that have become symbolic of Holland are in their peak season. The gardens and pavilions here display spectacular collections of not only tulips, but also hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, irises, lilies, and other flowers.

+ Dating back to 1857, Keukenhof is found in the heart of what is called the Bollenstreek, or bulb region of South Holland. A large flower parade through this region, called Bloemencorso Bollenstreek, is one of the largest in the world. (By the time the Keukenhof season concludes this year, since many travel restrictions have been relaxed, the flower exhibition is expected to have received more visitors than usual, from all across the globe.)

+ The history of Keukenhof dates back to the 15th century. Countess Jacoba van Beieren (Jacqueline of Bavaria) gathered fruit and vegetables from the Keukenduin [kitchen dunes] for the kitchen of Teylingen Castle. (Keukenhof Castle was built in 1641 and the estate grew to encompass an area of more than 200 hectares.) Landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who also designed Amsterdam's Vondelpark, redesigned the castle gardens in 1857. That park, in the English landscape style, still constitutes the basis of Keukenhof. In 1949 a group of 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters came up with the plan to use the estate to exhibit spring-flowering bulbs, signaling the birth of Keukenhof as a spring park. The park opened its gates to the public in 1950 and was an instant success. (2022 is the 73rd edition of Keukenhof.)

At the Basilica Palladiana, in the city of Vicenza, Italy

 “For us to go to Italy and to penetrate into Italy is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery.” – D. H. Lawrence

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(in Italy) The city of Vicenza, in the Veneto region at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddles the Bacchiglione River. Approximately 60 kilometers (~37 miles) west of Venice and 200 kilometers east of Milan, Vicenza’s history dates back to pre-Roman times, but it’s a Renaissance figure, Andrea Palladio, with whom the city is most associated. (When Palladio left his native Padua, few would have guessed the humble stonecutter would, within a few decades, transform not only his adoptive city but also the history of European architecture. His genius would turn Vicenza and its surrounding villas into one grand UNESCO World Heritage Site). One of the preeminent figures in Western architecture, Palladio built more than 20 buildings here, including the Basilica Palladiana, the Palazzo Chiericati (home to Vicenza’s museum and art gallery), the Teatro Olimpico and many other palaces and villas.

+ Vicenza is traversed by the Bacchiglione and Retrone rivers, at the eastern end of the valley between the Monti Lessini and the Monti Berici (which connects Lombardy with Veneto), northwest of Padua. Originally a settlement of the Ligurians or Veneti, it became the Roman Vicetia and, after the barbarian invasions, the seat of a Lombard duchy. In 1164 it formed part of the Veronese League against Frederick I Barbarossa and continued through the 13th century to struggle against the imperial power and local tyrant lords. It was ruled by the Scaligers from 1311 until it passed to the Visconti (1387) and in 1404 to Venice, whose fortunes it afterward shared. Although the city suffered widespread destruction in World War II, it has been largely restored.)

+ Depicted here is the Basilica Palladiana -- or the Palazzo della Ragione -- which was built in the 16th century and was designed by Andrea Palladio (the most lauded Western European architect of the last 500 years who is also officially recognized as the Father of American Architecture). The city's most famous building, the massive structure is located on Piazza dei Signori, which is the main square of Vicenza. (There was an ancient clock tower from the earlier building which can still be seen today.) Now a popular venue for world-class exhibitions, the Palladian Basilica is capped with an enormous copper dome reminiscent of the hull of a ship. The building, modeled on a Roman basilica, once housed the law courts and Council of Four Hundred. Palladio was fortunate to have secured the commission in 1549 (it took his patron 50 years of lobbying the council), which involved restructuring the original, 15th-century palazzo and adding a double order of loggias, supported by Tuscan and Ionic columns topped by soaring statuary. (The building is also home to the elegant Museo del Gioiello and its dazzling collection of historic and contemporary jewelry.)

In the city of Dubrovnik, a port of Dalmatia, Croatia

 “If you want to see paradise on Earth, come to Dubrovnik.” -- George Bernard Shaw

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(in Croatia) The city of Dubrovnik, a port of Dalmatia, is found on the southern Adriatic Sea coast. One of loveliest places on the Dalmatian coast, it is known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” Dubrovnik occupies a promontory jutting into the sea under Mount Srdj; the port’s sea fortifications rise dramatically from the water’s edge. The city was founded about 614 as Rausa, or Ragusium, by Roman refugees fleeing the Slav and Avar sack of Epidaurus, to the southeast. A colony of Slavs soon joined the Romans here, and from an early date the city formed a link between two great civilizations. After the fall of Rome, Dubrovnik was ruled by the Byzantine Empire. From the 9th to the 12th century it defended itself against foreign powers, and in the period 1205 to 1358 it acknowledged Venetian suzerainty. In 1420, when Dalmatia was sold to Venice, Dubrovnik remained a free city in all but name. For centuries the people of Dubrovnik were able to preserve their city-republic by skillful maneuvering between East and West.

+ In 1667 an earthquake destroyed parts of the city and killed as many as 5,000 residents. (The republic did not regain its prosperity until the Napoleonic Wars.) Napoleon I subjugated Dubrovnik in 1808, and the Congress of Vienna (in 1815) gave Dubrovnik to Austria; in 1918 it was incorporated into Yugoslavia. Many of Dubrovnik’s historic buildings suffered damage in 1991–92 during Croatia’s struggle for independence, but much of the old city has since been restored.

+ The city walls, mostly a double line, have long been a source of pride for Dubrovnik. The walls were erected by the 16th century and run a course of about 1,940 meters in length, encircling most of the old city, and reach a maximum height of about 25 meters. Along its course and within the walls lie several towers and fortresses, as well as numerous historic monuments. Beyond the walls are many villas surrounded by gardens. (The basic city plan dates from 1292, when the port was rebuilt following a fire.) The Stradun {main street), with beautiful late-Renaissance houses on each side, runs along a valley that, until 1272, was a marshy channel dividing the Latin island of Ragusa from the forest settlement of Dubrovnik. No motor vehicles are allowed inside the walls, and, except for the Stradun, the Old Town is a maze of picturesque narrow streets, many of them steep and twisting. Two 14th-century convents stand at the ends of the city; the Franciscans guarded the western gate, while the Dominicans kept the eastern. The Rector’s Palace was the seat of government of the Dubrovnik Republic. Other notable structures include numerous fortresses, a 16-sided fountain and bell tower, and a 15th-century Jewish synagogue that is among the oldest in Europe. (The island of Lokrum is famous for its gardens and orange groves; it also includes a fortress and monastery.)