The effervescent city of Marseille possesses a unique charm and character. The best way to appreciate France's second-largest city is to sample its soup.   Bouillabaisse .  For first timers, getting the correct pronunciation is hard. Spelling it is even harder. For first timers, it’s easier to have a bowl of...

Sights, sounds, the self and a schloss -l'Invitation au voyage in the snowy Bavarian Alps.   There are elephants in the room. I am of course referring to the ubiquitous and recurring elephant patterns of my bed’s headboard, as well as on the couvre-lit, the couch and cushions in the room...

From a rocky gorge to Spain’s oldest bullfighting ring, Ronda is not just a place to see monumental architecture but also dreams and dramas.   Through the large glass paneled windows blurred by the cold mist of the Andalusian winter, the clip-clop of well-shod hooves from the carriage horses striking the...

Vienna was Freud's perfect place for his theories on the human psyche. Austria's pulsating capital can also be every traveler's waking dream and art aficionado's nirvana.   Otto Ernst Wiesenthal does not need a palace. He is happy in his thriving cosmos in Vienna’s 7th district, not far from the former...

There aren't many places left in Phuket where travelers can find peaceful retreats. But if you know where to look, the island could be yours.   I n Surin, that raw idyllic stretch, about 7 km of imperceptibly inhabited coastline across the Andaman Sea, which lies on the west coast of Phuket,...

Mallorca, an enchanting Spanish island in the Mediterranean, has lured generations of artists, writers, poets, celebrities, and musicians, inspiring their works and legacies.   W hen William Graves opened the door of his father’s old casa in the undulating hillside of Deià on the island of Majorca, his eyes twinkled. Elena, whom...

There are many ways to discover Italy's powerhouse. In Milan, you take a spade and dig; the odds of uncovering ancient relics are high. You could also take a good pair of shoes, and the odds of discovering the city are as good as the way you strut.   "I would...

With its mild Mediterranean winter climate, Spain's largest island in the Balearics is a travel secret hiding in plain sight. Overflowing with an endless array of galleries, restaurants, baroque churches and medieval streets, Palma is a winter city to enjoy sans the madding crowd.   I knew that you brought a...

Barcelona's appeal begins with its iconic buildings, and the best way to appreciate them is to know the artist behind the city's most impressive landmarks.   My first glimpse of La Sagrada Familia, a fanciful-looking cathedral and the most imposing landmark in the city of Barcelona, is of curious tourists gazing toward...

Bulgaria's capital is a city steeped in a layered past, a contemporary urban cool with its sights firmly set on the future.   A t magic hour, when cotton clouds roll in and drape a cool shade over the land below, a girl lights a candle at the St. Nedelya Cathedral. Military...