Travel Guides

5 Days in Vilnius

A baroque old town, a tiny republic with a constitution and a hard recent past. Five days in Lithuania's capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Valletta

A fortress capital built after a siege, with temples older than the pyramids and warm water into November.

5 Days in Tirana

Painted blocks, Hoxha's bunkers and strong coffee. Five days in Albania's capital, planned around what's open in November.

5 Days in Sydney

A harbour you can ride across for the price of a bus fare, ocean beaches by train and a mountain range two hours away.

5 Days in Riga

A medieval Old Town, 800 Art Nouveau buildings and a market in zeppelin hangars. Five days in Latvia's capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Perth

Sun, a long white coast and the Fremantle Doctor. Five days in the most isolated big city on Earth.

5 Days in Paphos

Roman mosaics in the morning, a swim in the afternoon, mountain monasteries and the goddess of love in between.

Bases: Paphos, Coral Bay, Latchi

5 Days in Melbourne

Laneways, trams, serious coffee and a very large cricket ground. Five days in Melbourne, planned properly.

5 Days in Kotor

A walled town at the end of a deep bay, a mountain behind it, and cruise ships in front. Five days, planned around all three.

5 Days in Hurghada

Warm water, long boat days and a very long hotel strip. Five days on the Red Sea, with a straight verdict on every excursion.

Bases: Sakkala, El Gouna, Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh

5 Days in Hobart

A small harbor city under a big mountain, with convict ruins, a wild museum and the best day trips in Australia.

5 Days in Chania

A Venetian harbor, an Ottoman skyline and the best beaches in Crete, an hour or two away. Five days, planned for the off-season too.

5 Days in Cairns

The reef on one side, the oldest rainforest on the other, and a stinger season to plan around.

5 Days in Brussels

A capital that doesn't try to impress you, then does it anyway. Five days of guildhalls, surrealists, frites and beer.

5 Days in Adelaide

A tidy, walkable city with wine country on its doorstep and an island of wildlife a ferry away. Five days, planned properly.

3 Days in Uluru

A red rock, a ring of domes and a lot of respect. Three days at Uluru and Kata Tjuta, planned around the heat.

3 Days in the Whitsundays

The most photographed beach in Australia, an outer reef a long boat ride away, and a stinger season to plan around.

Bases: Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island

3 Days in Skopje

An Ottoman bazaar, a city rebuilt after 1963 and a square full of statues, with a canyon half an hour away. Three days, planned properly.

3 Days in Sarandë

Greek ruins, Ottoman castles and a blue spring, planned for a month when the beach bars are shut.

Bases: Sarandë, Ksamil

3 Days in Santorini

A drowned volcano, a Bronze Age town under ash and a sunset everyone wants. Three days, honest about the crowds.

3 Days in Rethymno

A Venetian harbor, a fortress on the hill and two monasteries within an hour's drive. Three days in Crete, planned for the off-season.

3 Days in Novi Sad

Serbia's calm second city: a Habsburg fortress above the Danube, a rebuilt old town and wine hills 20 minutes away.

3 Days in Mostar

A 16th-century bridge, a city that was split in two and a river that stays emerald green. Three days, planned properly.

3 Days in Meteora

Six monasteries on sandstone pillars, a short November day and a timetable that decides everything. Planned by weekday.

3 Days in Luxor

Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and the sunrise balloon, with the ticket traps explained. Three days in the world's biggest open-air museum.

3 Days in Luxembourg

A fortress city in a gorge, a castle on a rock and trains that cost nothing. Three days in the Grand Duchy, planned properly.

3 Days in the Gold Coast

Forty kilometers of beach, a rainforest an hour inland, and the theme parks, told honestly.

Bases: Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta

3 Days in Chișinău

A rebuilt capital, Soviet towers and the biggest wine cellars on earth. Three practical days in Moldova.

3 Days in Bruges

A medieval city that stopped growing and got famous for it. Three days to see it before and after the coaches.

3 Days in Brisbane

A river city that gave up pretending to be a big country town. Three hot, easy days, with storms in the afternoon.

3 Days in Bled

Sleep at the lake and you get what the day trippers miss: the empty shore at dawn, the lights at dusk and Bohinj without a tour bus.

3 Days in Berat

A thousand windows, a lived-in castle and a wine village, plus a long day trip to the stone city of Gjirokastër.

3 Days in Aswan

Philae by boat, a felucca on the Nile, a Nubian village and Abu Simbel, with the dam told honestly. Three days at Egypt's southern gate.

3 Days in Agios Nikolaos

A lake in the middle of a harbour town, a leper island and Zeus's cave. Three days in eastern Crete, planned for the shoulder season.

Bases: Agios Nikolaos, Elounda

5 Days in Split

A Roman emperor's retirement home that never emptied out. Five days in Split, planned for the off-season.

5 Days in Ljubljana

A small, green capital with a dragon, a castle and one architect. Five days in Ljubljana, with two day trips, planned properly.

5 Days in Dubrovnik

A walled city that survived an earthquake and a siege and now shares itself with cruise ships. Five days, planned around the crowds.

5 Days in Copenhagen

Candles in every window, bikes in every lane and dark by four. Five days in Denmark's capital, planned for the cold months.

5 Days in Cairo

The pyramids, Tutankhamun's gold at the new museum, a thousand years of mosques and a city that never goes quiet. Five days, planned.

3 Days in Bratislava

A small capital on the Danube that rewards a slow walk: castle, cobbles, a ruin on the border and wine just up the line.

5 Days in Telluride

A box-canyon mining town with a steep mountain behind it. Four ski days, one day off, honest notes on expert terrain, passes and flights.

Bases: Telluride, Mountain Village

5 Days in Stowe

Vermont's biggest peak, a small ski area with a big reputation, and honest notes on ice, wind holds and weekend crowds.

Bases: Stowe village, Mountain Road, Spruce Peak village

5 Days in Steamboat

A Colorado ski town with real cowboys and real Olympians. Four ski days in the trees, one day off in the hot springs.

Bases: Mountain Base Area, Old Town

5 Days in San Diego

Balboa Park, a carrier deck, sea lions at La Jolla Cove and tide pools at the edge of Point Loma. Five days in San Diego, planned by area.

5 Days in Mammoth Lakes

California's high Sierra ski mountain, where the season runs into June. Four ski days, one day off, and honest notes on the drive.

Bases: The Village at Mammoth, Main Lodge, Town of Mammoth Lakes

5 Days in Kauai

Cliffs seen from a boat, a red canyon, a bay calm in July and rough in January. Five days on Kauai.

Bases: Poʻipū, Princeville and Hanalei, Kapaʻa

5 Days in the Big Island of Hawaii

Two coasts, five volcanoes and an eruption that comes and goes. Five days on the Big Island, with the traps and closures that matter.

Bases: Kailua-Kona, Kohala Coast, Hilo, Volcano

3 Days in Savannah

Oglethorpe's squares, the house museums, Forsyth Park and a day on Tybee. Three days in Savannah, planned honestly.

3 Days in Charleston

Pastel houses, harbor forts and an honest account of who built them, planned by day with plantation advice and hurricane facts.

5 Days in Zion and Bryce Canyon

Red cliffs and a river you wade up in Zion, then hoodoos and star-filled nights in Bryce. Five days, with the permits and the honest drives.

5 Days in Yosemite

Waterfalls, granite walls, giant sequoias and the high country. Five days in Yosemite, built around when roads and falls are actually open.

5 Days in Yellowstone

Geysers, wolves, a 308-foot waterfall and a loop that never doubles back. Five days in Yellowstone for late May to early October.

5 Days in Revelstoke

North America's biggest vertical, a railway town at the bottom. Four ski days, one day off, and an honest word on how steep it is.

Bases: Downtown Revelstoke, Revelstoke Mountain Resort

5 Days in the Great Smoky Mountains

America's most visited national park, planned around its parking lots, seasons and closed trails. Five days, both sides of the mountain.

5 Days in Grand Canyon and Sedona

Red rocks, a night sky, and the Grand Canyon's South Rim. Five days in Arizona with the fees, the shuttles and the heat rules.

5 Days in Banff and Jasper

Two parks, one 232 km road and a reservation system for the lakes. A June to September plan that says what is closed and what costs extra.

3 Days in Glacier National Park

Cedar forest, a 50-mile mountain road, and a glacier you can still hike to. Three days in Glacier, with the 2026 shuttle rules.

3 Days in Acadia National Park

A granite island where the mountains meet the sea: sunrise on Cadillac, popovers at Jordan Pond and lobster on a working dock.

Bases: Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor

5 Days in Washington DC

Memorials at dawn, free museums, a half-smoke on U Street and Mount Vernon on the river. Five days in Washington DC, with the booking rules.

5 Days in Toronto

Canada's biggest city eats, argues and builds in every language, and it rewards anyone who walks off the tourist strip.

5 Days in Seattle

Pike Place, the Space Needle, oysters, a ferry and Mount Rainier when the clouds lift. Five days in Seattle, planned for real weather.

5 Days in Orlando

A full day at Kennedy Space Center, one theme park, Winter Park and a spring. Orlando planned for people who want more than queues.

5 Days in Oahu

Pearl Harbor, a palace, three kinds of beach and a shrimp truck. Five days on Oahu, planned by side of the island.

Bases: Waikīkī, North Shore, Kailua

5 Days in Maui

A volcano at sunrise, a reef in a crater, a road with 59 bridges and a beach every day. Five days on Maui, with what's open after Lahaina.

Bases: Kāʻanapali, Kīhei and Wailea, Pāʻia

5 Days in Boston

The Freedom Trail, a lobster roll, Fenway Park, Harvard and a day in Salem. Five days in Boston, planned around the closing days.

3 Days in Philadelphia

Independence Hall, the Rocky Steps, roast pork and a prison with a wagon-wheel plan, with the booking traps and the 250th year explained.

3 Days in Nashville

Songwriters, hot chicken, honky-tonks and an Opry night, planned by day with the closing days and booking traps you should know about.

3 Days in Memphis

Elvis, the blues, soul and a Mississippi River bridge walk, planned around the closing days and the ticket tiers.

5 Days in Whistler

North America's biggest ski area, one mountain at a time. Four ski days, one day off, and honest notes on passes and the highway.

Bases: Whistler Village, Upper Village, Creekside, Squamish

5 Days in Vancouver

Mountains, ocean and a lot of rain. Five days in Vancouver, planned so the weather can't spoil it.

5 Days in San Francisco

Fog, hills, cable cars and the best burrito of your trip. Five days in San Francisco, planned by neighborhood so you climb less.

5 Days in Salt Lake City

Four ski days in the Cottonwood Canyons and one in the city, with honest notes on passes, the ski bus and parking reservations.

Bases: Downtown Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights and Sandy, Snowbird, Alta

5 Days in New York

The Statue of Liberty, the Met, a pastrami sandwich and a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. Five days in New York, planned by neighborhood.

5 Days in New Orleans

Music, cemeteries, gumbo and a hard history, planned by neighborhood, with the closing days and the tours you must book ahead.

5 Days in Montreal

Canada's French-speaking city, planned by neighborhood and by weekday: five days on foot and by metro, with a Tuesday start.

5 Days in Miami

Beaches, Cuban coffee, Art Deco and a swamp, planned by neighborhood with the closing days, the fees and the hurricane-season catch.

Bases: South Beach, Mid-Beach, Key Biscayne

5 Days in Los Angeles

A city of villages stitched together by freeways. Five days in Los Angeles, planned by area so you never cross town twice.

5 Days in Chicago

Cloud Gate, the Art Institute, deep dish, blues until 2am and the new Obama Center. Five days in Chicago, planned by neighborhood.

5 Days in Breckenridge

A gold-rush town with a ski mountain behind it. Four days on the five peaks, one for history, honest notes on prices and altitude.

Bases: Main Street, Peak 8, Peak 9 and Beaver Run, Frisco

5 Days in Big Sky

Montana's big mountain, planned by the part of the mountain. Four ski days, one Yellowstone day, honest notes on the tram and the cold.

Bases: Mountain Village, Town Center, Bozeman

5 Days in Banff

Three ski areas, one national park. Four ski days, one day on foot, and honest notes on prices, buses and cold.

Bases: Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore

5 Days in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula

One Alaska road trip, planned by tide, tunnel and boat schedule. Summer only, and honest about Denali.

3 Days in San Antonio

The Alamo, four Spanish missions and the best Tex-Mex in the country, planned by neighborhood with the booking rules that matter.

3 Days in Quebec City

A walled French town on a cliff above the St. Lawrence. Two days on foot inside the old city, one day out to the falls and the island.

3 Days in Mont-Tremblant

One mountain, a pedestrian village and a very cold, very French weekend. Three days in Quebec's biggest ski resort.

Bases: Pedestrian Village, Old Village and Lac Mercier, Saint-Jovite

3 Days in Las Vegas

The Strip, old Fremont Street and the desert around them, planned with the booking traps, the heat and the park fees.

3 Days in Fairbanks

Alaska's Interior in winter: deep cold, short days and the best odds in the US of seeing the northern lights. Three days in Fairbanks.

3 Days in Austin

Brisket, bats, two-stepping and a spring-fed pool, planned by day with the closing days and lines you should know about.

5 Days in Vail

Colorado's biggest ski mountain, planned by the part of the mountain. Four ski days, one day off, honest notes on prices and the altitude.

Bases: Vail Village, Lionshead, Avon

5 Days in Park City

A silver town that became a ski town. Four ski days, one day off the mountain, and the real price of a lift ticket.

Bases: Park City, Canyons Village

5 Days in Lake Tahoe

Four days on Heavenly and Kirkwood, one day on the lake, and a base where you can walk from the gondola to dinner.

Bases: South Lake Tahoe, Stateline

5 Days in Jackson Hole

The steepest big mountain in the lower 48, a cowboy town at its foot and elk by the thousand, with honest advice on who should ski it.

Bases: Teton Village, Jackson

5 Days in Aspen

Four mountains on one ticket, a silver town under them and a bill to match. Five days in Aspen Snowmass, planned honestly.

Bases: Aspen, Snowmass Village

5 Days in Tokyo

The biggest city on earth that somehow runs on time. Five days, one day trip, and the practical rules that changed in 2026.

5 Days in Seoul

Royal palaces, night markets, K-everything and the world's most guarded border, an hour apart. Five days in Seoul, planned properly.

5 Days in Osaka

Japan's kitchen, loud and proud. Five days of street food, castles, a day trip to Himeji and Kobe, and one for Nintendo.

5 Days in Kyoto

A city of gates, gardens and queues. Five days planned by area and by the clock, so you reach each gate before the tour buses do.

5 Days in Busan

Korea's second city is a port with mountains, beaches and a lot of raw fish. Five days in Busan, planned day by day.

5 Days in Xi'an

The first capital of China, with a wall you can ride and a noodle as wide as a belt. Five days, planned properly.

5 Days in Xiamen

A harbor city with a car-free colonial island, earthen castles in the hills and a medieval port nearby. Five days, booking rules included.

5 Days in Shanghai

A treaty port that became a skyline. Five days in China's biggest city, with the entry rules and apps sorted out first.

5 Days in Lijiang

A UNESCO old town that is mostly shops, and a 5,596-meter mountain that is not. Five days at 2,400 meters, planned honestly.

5 Days in Lhasa

The Potala, the Jokhang, monastery debates and a turquoise lake, on the guided tour foreigners need. Five days in Lhasa.

5 Days in Hong Kong

A funicular up to the skyline, dim sum for breakfast, a ferry for pocket change and one day across the water in Macau.

5 Days in Hangzhou

A lake, a tea hill and a canal in the old Southern Song capital. Five days planned around what is free, what needs booking and what closes.

5 Days in Guilin

Karst peaks, a river on the 20 yuan note and rice terraces. Guilin, Yangshuo and Longji in five days, with the practical part done properly.

5 Days in Guangzhou

The city that taught the world Chinese food, ran China's foreign trade for a century and still starts the day with tea. Five days, planned.

5 Days in Chongqing

A mountain city of stairs, fog, monorails through buildings and very red hotpot. Five honest days in the 8D city.

5 Days in Chengdu

Pandas, tea houses, numbing peppercorns and a 71-meter Buddha. Five days in Sichuan's capital, planned honestly.

5 Days in Beijing

Imperial palaces, one Great Wall day and the rules nobody explains: passports, real-name tickets, Alipay and a blocked internet.

3 Days in Zhangjiajie

Three thousand sandstone pillars, a 326 m elevator and a cave in the sky, with tickets that need your passport.

3 Days in Pingyao

A Ming walled town that grew rich lending money, and the sculpted saints in a village temple nearby. Three days, planned properly.

3 Days in Kunming

The City of Eternal Spring is mostly a gateway. Give it three days and you get gulls, ancient bronzes, a lake and a forest made of stone.

3 Days in Huangshan

Granite peaks, twisted pines and a night above the clouds, then two UNESCO villages, with tickets that need your passport.

3 Days in Harbin

Ice palaces that light up at dusk, a Russian cathedral, red sausage and minus 25. Three winter days in China's northernmost big city.

3 Days in Dunhuang

A Han garrison at the end of the Gobi, with the best Buddhist murals in China and dunes at the edge of town. Three days, planned properly.

5 Days in Zurich

Switzerland's biggest city, planned honestly: what's worth the francs, what isn't, and which pass really saves money.

5 Days in Verona

A Roman arena, a medieval river city and one very famous balcony. Five days in Verona, planned properly, with Lake Garda on day four.

5 Days in Turin

Royal palaces, a great Egyptian museum, bicerin and white truffles. Five days in Italy's first capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Toulouse

A city of brick, blue woad money and airliners. Five days in Toulouse, planned around what is actually open.

5 Days in Strasbourg

A cathedral, a canal quarter, a German-built district and a wine road on the doorstep. Five days in Alsace's capital.

5 Days in Rome

Ancient ruins, popes, Baroque fountains and cacio e pepe. Five days in the Eternal City, with the tickets you really have to book.

5 Days in Paris

Everything in Paris is famous and half of it needs a time slot. Five days, one area a day, planned around the closing days.

5 Days in Palermo

Gold mosaics, market noise, street food and the sea at the end of the bus line. Five days in Sicily's capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Normandy

Gothic Rouen, white cliffs, the D-Day beaches and a tidal abbey. Five days across Normandy from two bases, honest about the car.

5 Days in Milan

Leonardo, a marble cathedral, opera and the best aperitivo in Italy. Five days in Milan, planned around the booking windows.

5 Days in Marseille

France's oldest city, a working port with a national park inside it. Five days of harbor, hills, swimming coves and fish stew.

5 Days in Lugano

Italian life on a Swiss lake: funiculars, olive paths, three castles and a river valley, planned day by day with winter limits flagged.

5 Days in Lucerne

A small lake town with a covered bridge and three famous mountains within an hour, planned day by day with the passes explained.

5 Days in Interlaken

Two lakes, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, and a lot of cable cars. Five warm-season days planned with passes, prices and closure dates.

5 Days in Genoa

Slate roofs, painted palaces and focaccia dipped in cappuccino. Five days in Italy's most underrated port city.

5 Days in Geneva

Calvin, the Red Cross, the UN and one very tall fountain. Geneva is small, expensive and a lot more interesting than its banker image.

5 Days in Catania

A black lava city under an active volcano, with Etna, Taormina and Syracuse close enough for day trips. Five days, planned properly.

5 Days in Cagliari

A Pisan hill town, a city beach and the best sand in southern Sardinia. Five days in Cagliari, planned properly.

5 Days in Bologna

A red-brick university town with 38 km of porticoes and the best table in Italy. Five days, planned properly.

5 Days in Bari

A working port with a pasta street, a saint and a sea wall, and the easiest base in Puglia for trains to the coast, the trulli and Matera.

5 Days in Avignon

A pope's palace, a broken bridge and a train line to half of Roman France. Five days in Provence from its most practical base.

5 Days in Ajaccio

Napoleon's birthplace, a bay of sandy beaches and Corsica's wild west coast within reach. Five days in Ajaccio, planned properly.

3 Days in Lake Como

A lake shaped like an upside-down Y, with villas on every arm. Three days, planned around boats and closing days.

3 Days in Bern

A medieval peninsula in a river bend, six kilometers of arcades and a capital that isn't called one. Three days, planned properly.

3 Days in Annecy

A medieval old town on a river that leaves the cleanest big lake in the Alps. Three days, planned around the buses and the season.

5 Days in Serre Chevalier

250 km of pistes in the larches, France's highest town with its Vauban walls, and hot baths at the end of the valley.

Bases: Briançon, Chantemerle, Villeneuve, Le Monêtier-les-Bains

5 Days in Salvador

Brazil's first capital, where drums, dendê oil and the orixás still set the calendar. Five days in Salvador, planned honestly.

5 Days in Saas-Fee

A car-free glacier village, planned day by day: the Allalin, Hohsaas, a long sledge run and a thermal-bath day, with real pass prices.

5 Days in Rio de Janeiro

Mountains that drop into the sea, beaches with their own etiquette and a city that sings at night. Five days in Rio, planned honestly.

5 Days in Paraty and Ilha Grande

A colonial gold port that floods on purpose, then a car-free island with no roads. Rio's green coast, planned properly.

Bases: Paraty, Vila do Abraão

5 Days in Megève

A village a baroness built for her ski holidays, with nearly 400 km of forest runs, a serious dining scene and a spa town next door.

Bases: Megève, Saint-Gervais-les-Bains

5 Days in Madonna di Campiglio

Four ski days across three valleys, a World Cup night slalom and the resort where Sissi came to walk. Five days in the Brenta Dolomites.

Bases: Madonna di Campiglio, Pinzolo, Folgarida, Marilleva

5 Days in Les Arcs and La Plagne

425 km of pistes, two resorts, one cable car. Four ski days and one valley day, with honest notes on where to sleep.

Bases: Arc 1950, Arc 1800, Belle Plagne, Plagne Centre

5 Days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Two towns forced into one, Germany's highest mountain and a World Cup downhill, with painted houses and a gorge for the day off skis.

Bases: Garmisch-Partenkirchen

5 Days in Florianópolis

A beach island with a cold Atlantic side, a calm bay side and oysters. Five days, planned by coast, with honest notes on season and traffic.

Bases: Lagoa da Conceição, Jurerê, Campeche

5 Days in Bormio

An old spa town with one of the World Cup's hardest downhills, three ski areas on one pass and hot springs the Romans knew.

Bases: Bormio, Santa Caterina Valfurva, Valdidentro

5 Days in Baqueira-Beret

Spain's biggest ski resort sits on the Atlantic side of the Pyrenees, in a valley with its own language.

Bases: Baqueira 1500, Vielha, Salardú, Arties

5 Days in Alta Badia

Four ski days from Corvara to Lagazuoi, a World Cup slope and star chefs in the huts. Five days in a Ladin valley of the Dolomites.

Bases: Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, San Cassiano

3 Days in Kranjska Gora

A small ski area under a World Cup slope, with Planica next door and a second ski day on Vogel when the home runs are done.

Bases: Kranjska Gora

3 Days in Foz do Iguaçu

The falls sit in two countries and each side shows you something different. Three days, tickets and the border sorted.

5 Days in Tenerife

One volcano, two climates and potatoes boiled in salt. Five days in Tenerife, planned properly.

Bases: Puerto de la Cruz, Costa Adeje

5 Days in Schladming

A mining town whose racing mountain ends at the edge of the old town. Four mountains on one pass, a night run and a glacier day.

5 Days in Saalbach Hinterglemm

270 km of mostly blue and red pistes in one valley, with an après-ski scene that starts before the lifts close. Four ski days and a day off.

Bases: Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Leogang

5 Days in Mayrhofen

The Harakiri, a sunny Ahorn and a glacier up the valley. Four ski days, one off, and the pass question answered.

5 Days in Mallorca

Mountains, a cathedral and coves that really are that blue. Five days around the island, with the beaches sorted by coast.

Bases: Palma, Alcúdia, Cala d'Or

5 Days in Málaga

A Moorish castle, a Roman theater, Picasso's hometown and sardines on a stick. Five days in Málaga, planned properly.

5 Days in Madrid

A capital that eats late, shares its art generously and keeps two of Spain's best old cities a short train ride away.

5 Days in Grindelwald and Wengen

Three ski areas under the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, planned day by day with prices, trains and one day off the skis.

Bases: Grindelwald, Wengen

5 Days in Flims Laax

216 km of pistes, the biggest superpipe in Europe and a lift pass that changes price every day. Flims, Laax and Falera, planned day by day.

Bases: Laax, Flims, Falera

5 Days in Barcelona

Gaudí's roofs, Roman walls and a beach inside the city. Five days in Barcelona, planned around timed tickets and what is actually open.

3 Days in Santiago de Compostela

A granite city that exists because of a tomb, with rain on the roofs and an octopus on every table.

3 Days in San Sebastián (Donostia)

Three city beaches, a pintxo bar on every corner and a fishing town down the coast for txakoli. Three days in Donostia, planned properly.

3 Days in Salamanca

A golden sandstone university city where students have been crowding the same streets since 1218.

3 Days in Cádiz

A tiny old town on a sandy island, three city beaches and the best fried fish in Andalusia. Three days in Cádiz, with a day trip to Jerez.

3 Days in Bilbao

A steel town that rebuilt itself around a titanium museum, and still eats better than almost anywhere in Spain.

5 Days in the Faroe Islands

Eighteen islands, more sheep than people and weather that makes the plans. Five days, with the fees and tolls spelled out.

5 Days in São Miguel

Crater lakes, hot springs and a stew cooked in the ground. Five days on the Green Island, planned around the weather.

5 Days in Reykjavík

A small capital with a lot of volcano under it. City, geysers, waterfalls and hot water, with the prices written down.

5 Days in Porto

Granite, tiles and a river full of port. Five days in Portugal's northern capital, with the Douro Valley on day four.

5 Days in Phuket

Thailand's biggest island is a Chinese-Thai town, a row of beaches and a harbor full of tour boats. Here's how to use all three.

Bases: Kata, Karon, Kamala, Patong

5 Days in Madeira

Cliffs, clouds, irrigation channels and grilled beef on a laurel stick. Five days in Madeira, planned properly.

5 Days in Lisbon

Seven hills, wet cobbles, tiles and fado. Lisbon in five days, with the closures and queues you need to know about.

5 Days in Krabi

Limestone cliffs, longtail boats and a monsoon that decides your plan. A beach holiday in Thailand's Andaman south, with real prices.

Bases: Ao Nang, Railay, Klong Muang

5 Days in Koh Samui

A big island with busy beaches, quiet temples and a Gulf rainy season that ends just before January.

Bases: Chaweng, Lamai, Bophut, Choeng Mon

5 Days in Ilulissat

A town of 5,000 people and sled dogs at the mouth of the world's most productive glacier. Five days, and which months to choose.

5 Days in Hoi An

Lanterns, tailors and a beach that is losing a fight with the sea. Five days in Vietnam's most photographed old town, planned honestly.

5 Days in Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon by any name: French boulevards, Chinese temples, war history and a street food scene that never really sleeps.

5 Days in Hanoi

Motorbikes, lakes, ancient temples and a bowl of pho on every corner. Five days in Vietnam's capital, planned honestly.

5 Days in Chiang Mai

Temples inside a moat, mountains at the edge of town and northern food that is not Bangkok's. Five days, planned for first-timers.

5 Days in Bangkok

Gilded temples, river boats, a weekend market and some of the best street food on Earth. Five days in Thailand's capital, planned honestly.

5 Days in the Algarve

Atlantic cliffs in the west, a warm lagoon in the east, and straight talk about the crowds in between.

Bases: Lagos, Carvoeiro, Tavira

3 Days in Ninh Binh

Rivers that run through mountains, a tenth-century capital and rice fields in between. Three days in Vietnam's karst country.

3 Days in Hue

Vietnam's last imperial capital: citadel walls, emperors' tombs, a spicy noodle soup and a lot of drizzle.

3 Days in Coimbra

Portugal's student city on a hill: a baroque library, men in black capes singing fado, and a Roman town a bus ride away.

3 Days in Akureyri

Iceland's northern capital, with Mývatn and the whales a drive away. Three days, with winter honestly accounted for.

5 Days in Zakopane

Poland's winter capital: a steep mountain of natural snow, easy slopes down the road, wooden villas, thermal pools and grilled oscypek.

Bases: Zakopane, Białka Tatrzańska

5 Days in St. Moritz

The town that invented the Alpine winter holiday, planned day by day: three big mountains, a train to Italy, and ways to keep the bill down.

Bases: St. Moritz, Celerina, Pontresina

5 Days in Sölden and Obergurgl

Three summits over 3,000 m and two glaciers in Sölden, a quieter, higher area in Obergurgl. Four ski days and a spa day in the Ötztal.

Bases: Sölden, Obergurgl

5 Days in the Portes du Soleil

Twelve villages, two countries and one pass. A five-day plan from Morzine and Avoriaz, with honest notes on snow, lifts and prices.

Bases: Morzine, Avoriaz

5 Days in Livigno

A duty-free valley at 1,816 m with two ski sides, one pass, an Olympic freestyle past and a tunnel you have to wait for.

5 Days in Jasná

Slovakia's biggest ski resort, planned by sector: four ski days on both sides of Chopok and one day for caves, a town and thermal water.

Bases: Jasná, Liptovský Mikuláš

5 Days in Ischgl

Tyrol's loudest après-ski town under a high ski area that crosses into Switzerland. Four ski days and one off, planned for confident skiers.

5 Days in Davos and Klosters

Five mountains on one pass, a 12 km run to Küblis and a town that sells itself in January. Davos and Klosters, planned day by day.

Bases: Davos, Klosters

5 Days in Andorra

A country the size of a ski resort, run by a French president and a Spanish bishop. Five days on its slopes and in its valleys.

Bases: Soldeu, Pas de la Casa

5 Days in Alpe d'Huez

250 km of pistes, Europe's longest black run and 21 hairpins. Five days in Alpe d'Huez, with honest notes for beginners and experts.

Bases: Alpe d'Huez, Oz-en-Oisans, Vaujany, Auris-en-Oisans

5 Days in Zermatt

A car-free village under the Matterhorn, planned day by day: four ski days, a day in Italy, the Gornergrat train and fondue.

5 Days in Žabljak

Montenegro's highest town, 18 glacial lakes and Europe's deepest canyon, planned for summer hiking and winter snow alike.

5 Days in Verbier

A freeride legend with 410 km of linked slopes and a lot of raclette. Five days in Verbier, four of them on skis, planned from the village.

5 Days in Val Gardena

Four ski days, one lap around the Sella massif and a valley where Ladin is the home language. Five days in the Dolomites.

Bases: Ortisei, Santa Cristina, Selva

5 Days in Val d'Isère and Tignes

300 km of pistes, two glaciers and a season from late November to early May. Five days across Val d'Isère and Tignes, one sector at a time.

Bases: Val d'Isère, Tignes

5 Days in St. Anton am Arlberg

Austria's biggest ski area, where alpine skiing was taught for the first time. Four ski days and one off, planned for good skiers.

Bases: St. Anton, Lech

5 Days in Sarajevo

Ottoman bazaar, the corner of 1914 and two Olympic ski mountains 30 km away. Five days in Sarajevo, with and without snow.

Bases: Jahorina, Bjelašnica

5 Days in Les 3 Vallées

600 km of pistes, 7 resorts and one pass. Five days across Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens, with honest notes on prices and snow.

Bases: Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens

5 Days in Kopaonik

Serbia's biggest ski resort, planned sector by sector: red runs, a few blacks, kafana lunches, night skiing and a day off the snow.

Bases: Konaci, Vikend Naselje, Brzeće

5 Days in Kolašin

Montenegro's unfinished ski town: cheap lift passes, no snow cannons, a primeval forest and a 13th-century monastery down the road.

Bases: Kolašin, Kolašin 1600

5 Days in Kitzbühel

A medieval town under the most famous downhill in the world. Four ski days and one town day, with the snow question answered honestly.

5 Days in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Three ski areas that don't quite join up, an Olympic past that just got a second chapter, and one very expensive main street.

5 Days in Chamonix

Four ski areas that don't touch, the highest cable car in France and a glacier you reach by train. Five days in Chamonix, planned properly.

Bases: Chamonix, Argentière

5 Days in Bansko

Bulgaria's biggest ski resort, planned day by day: three ski days, a stone Old Town, Rila Monastery and a soak in hot springs.

Bases: Bansko, Dobrinishte

5 Days in Sithonia

The calm middle leg of Halkidiki: long sandy beaches, pine hills and Mount Athos on the horizon. Five outings from one base.

Bases: Nikiti, Neos Marmaras, Vourvourou, Sarti, Toroni

5 Days in Rhodes

A walled medieval town, a white village under an acropolis and sandy bays. Five days on Rhodes, planned around the October season.

3 Days in Mykonos

A car-free white town, the sacred island of Delos and beaches that go quiet in October. Three days, planned properly.

5 Days in Tallinn

Hanseatic walls, Soviet concrete and a startup scene, all in one small capital. Five days in Tallinn, planned properly.

5 Days in Prague

Gothic towers, serious beer and a dry sense of humor. Five days in Prague, planned so the crowds work for you instead of against you.

5 Days in Ohrid

Fewer churches than the legend says, and better ones than you expect. Five days in Ohrid, built around real opening hours.

5 Days in Nuremberg

An imperial city, a rally city and a trial city, rebuilt on red beer, bratwurst and gingerbread. Five days in Franconia's biggest city.

5 Days in Munich

Beer halls, royal palaces and a surf wave in a city park. Five days in Bavaria's capital, planned around real opening hours.

5 Days in Leipzig

Bach's city, the cradle of 1989 and a beer that tastes of salt. Five days in Saxony's liveliest city, planned properly.

5 Days in Heidelberg

A castle ruin, the oldest university in Germany and a Neckar valley full of wine. Five days in Germany's romantic old town.

5 Days in Hamburg

Brick warehouses, harbor ferries, Sunday fish and the Reeperbahn after dark. Five days in Germany's Hanseatic port, planned properly.

5 Days in Freiburg

A university town at the edge of the Black Forest, with water in the gutters, wine on the hills and mountains on the tram map.

5 Days in Dresden

A city that was flattened, rebuilt after 1945 and still looks like a painting. Five days in Saxony's capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Cologne

A cathedral, a Roman colony and a beer served in 0.2 liter glasses. Five days in Cologne, planned properly.

5 Days in Berlin

A capital that was cut in two for 28 years and is still rebuilding itself. Five days in Berlin, planned properly.

5 Days in Zlatibor

Pine-covered hills, a gondola nine kilometers long, and the cheese, kajmak and pršut Serbs drive for hours to buy. Five days in the west.

5 Days in Vrnjačka Banja

Serbia's favorite spa: warm springs you drink from, a river promenade of twenty-odd bridges, a forested mountain and the great monasteries.

5 Days in Veliko Tarnovo

The medieval capital of Bulgaria, stacked on the cliffs above a looping river. Five days of tsars, painted churches and Revival-era crafts.

5 Days in Varna

The oldest gold ever found, Roman baths by the port, a park the size of a town and the Black Sea at its feet. Five days on Bulgaria's coast.

5 Days in Szeged

A city the Tisza wiped out in one night in 1879, rebuilt in Art Nouveau and paprika red.

5 Days in Sofia

Roman streets in the metro, gold domes, socialist statues and a mountain at the end of the tram line. Five days in Bulgaria's capital.

5 Days in Sibiu

A Saxon town whose rooftops watch you through half-closed eyes, with shepherd villages and fortified churches all around.

5 Days in Plovdiv

Thousands of years on seven hills, a Roman theater still in use and a whole city that runs on aylyak. Five days in Bulgaria's second city.

5 Days in Niš

The city where Constantine was born, a tower built of skulls and a burek tradition older than any other in Serbia. Five days in the south.

5 Days in Kosovo and Metohija

The cradle of medieval Serbia, its greatest monasteries still under guard. Five days in the province, and the history behind it.

5 Days in Eger

A baroque town that held off an Ottoman army, then spent the next centuries digging wine cellars into its hills.

5 Days in Cluj-Napoca

Transylvania's student capital, Romanian and Hungarian at once, with a salt mine down the road that has a Ferris wheel inside.

5 Days in Budapest

Two cities on one river, thermal water under both, and a hundred years of history you can still see on the walls.

5 Days in Bucharest

Belle Époque palaces, a dictator's concrete dream and the best mici in Romania, all in one loud, likable capital.

5 Days in Istanbul

Two continents, three empires and a ferry ride between them. Five days in Istanbul, planned properly.

5 Days in Cappadocia

Fairy chimneys, painted cave churches and a sky full of balloons. Five days in Cappadocia, planned properly.

5 Days in Athens

The Acropolis, a lot of marble and even more souvlaki. Five days in the city that invented democracy, planned properly.

5 Days in Antalya

Roman gates, mountain ruins and a sea that stays warm into November. Five days in Antalya, planned properly.

5 Days in Wrocław

A German city that became Polish in 1945, on a dozen islands with a bronze dwarf on every corner. Five days, planned properly.

5 Days in Warsaw

A capital destroyed on purpose and rebuilt by hand, with the best museums in Poland. Five days in Warsaw, planned properly.

5 Days in Gdańsk

A Hanseatic port rebuilt from rubble, where the war began and communism started to end. Five days on the Baltic, planned properly.

5 Days in York

Romans, Vikings, a cathedral the size of a town and a pub for every day of the year. Five days in York and a day by the sea.

5 Days in Vienna

An empire's capital that kept the palaces, the cake and the manners. Five days in Vienna, with a day on the Danube.

5 Days in Salzburg

A prince-archbishop's baroque capital, built on salt and remembered for Mozart. Five days in Salzburg and the lakes and mountains around it.

5 Days in Oxford

Eight centuries of scholars, three dozen colleges, a river for punting and a pub for every great writer. Five days in Oxford.

5 Days in London

Two thousand years of history, free museums, a pub on every corner and a river through the middle. Five days in London, without the queues.

5 Days in Liverpool

A great port, two cathedrals, two football clubs and the band that changed everything. Five days in Liverpool, and a pint at the Phil.

5 Days in Innsbruck

An emperor's town at the bottom of a mountain wall. Five days in Innsbruck, half of them in the old town and half above it.

5 Days in Graz

Austria's second city, with a Renaissance old town, a friendly alien on the river and pumpkin seed oil on everything. Five days in Graz.

5 Days in Bath

A Roman spa, a Georgian stage set and the only hot springs in Britain. Five days in Bath and a trip to Stonehenge.

5 Days in Gothenburg

Dutch canals, giant cinnamon buns, Sweden's best seafood and islands on a tram ticket. Five days in Sweden's harbor city.

5 Days in Venice

A city built on water that shouldn't exist and somehow still does. Five days to see past the crowds and find the Venice Venetians live in.

5 Days in Valencia

A Gothic old town, futuristic white architecture, a park where a river used to be, the beach and the home of paella.

5 Days in Utrecht

A medieval canal city with cafés at water level, a tower you can see from everywhere and the whole country within an hour by train.

5 Days in Tromsø

An island city 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, with northern lights in winter and the midnight sun in summer. Five days in Tromsø.

5 Days in Stockholm

Fourteen islands, a sunken warship, a medieval old town and the best cinnamon buns in the world. Five days in Sweden's capital.

5 Days in Seville

Orange trees, Moorish palaces, tapas at the bar and flamenco after dark. Five days in the most Andalusian city of all.

5 Days in Rovaniemi

A town burned in 1944 and rebuilt in the shape of a reindeer's antlers, on the Arctic Circle. Five days in Finnish Lapland.

5 Days in Rotterdam

The Dutch city that was bombed flat in 1940 and rebuilt itself as Europe's boldest playground of modern architecture.

5 Days in Pécs

Hungary's southern city: Roman tombs, Ottoman domes, glazed Zsolnay roofs and a wine country half an hour away.

5 Days in Oslo

A fjord at the bottom of the street, a forest at the end of the metro and a new waterfront of museums. Five days in Norway's capital.

5 Days in Nice

The capital of the Riviera: a Baroque old town, a pebble beach seven kilometers long and Monaco twenty minutes away by train.

5 Days in Naples

Loud, beautiful, chaotic and generous. Five days in the city that gave the world pizza, with Pompeii and Vesuvius on the doorstep.

5 Days in Maastricht

The most southern, most Burgundian and least Dutch-feeling city in the Netherlands, with Belgium and Germany a short ride away.

5 Days in Lyon

France's capital of food, on two rivers, with Roman theaters, secret passages and Beaujolais an hour up the road.

5 Days in Inverness

The last battle, the most famous loch, dolphins in the firth and a fiddle in every pub. Five days in the capital of the Highlands.

5 Days in Helsinki

A white Empire-style capital on the Baltic, a fortress on six islands and a sauna on every shore. Five days in Finland's capital.

5 Days in Granada

The last Moorish kingdom in Europe, a palace like nothing else, free tapas with every drink and the snowy Sierra Nevada behind it all.

5 Days in Glasgow

Free museums, red sandstone, Mackintosh, curry and a gig every night. Five days in Scotland's biggest and friendliest city.

5 Days in Galway

Buskers on Shop Street, a session in every pub and the Atlantic at the end of the road. Five days in the west of Ireland.

5 Days in Florence

The city where the Renaissance began, small enough to cross on foot in half an hour and too rich to see in a week.

5 Days in Edinburgh

A castle on a volcano, a medieval spine, a Georgian New Town and a pub on every close. Five days in Scotland's capital.

5 Days in Dublin

Georgian squares, rebel history, writers in every pub and a pint that tastes better here. Five days in Ireland's capital.

5 Days in Cork

A market, a harbor, two stouts that aren't Guinness and a city that calls itself the real capital. Five days in Ireland's south.

5 Days in Cardiff

A Victorian castle, Welsh cakes from the griddle, rugby on a Saturday and the sea at the end of the street. Five days in the Welsh capital.

5 Days in Brașov

A Saxon merchant town under a forested mountain, with castles, bears and fortified churches all within an hour.

5 Days in Bordeaux

A city of pale stone built on wine money, with Saint-Émilion and the Atlantic each less than an hour away.

5 Days in Bergen

A Hanseatic wharf, seven mountains, a lot of rain and the fjords on the doorstep. Five days in Norway's west coast capital.

5 Days in Belfast

The city that built the Titanic, lived through the Troubles and now pours one of the best pints in Ireland. Five days in Belfast.

5 Days in Thessaloniki

Roman emperors, Byzantine gold, a lost Jewish city and the best breakfast in Greece. Five days in Thessaloniki, planned properly.

5 Days in Heraklion

Minoan palaces, Venetian walls, bougatsa at the Lions and raki that arrives without asking. Five days in Crete's capital, planned properly.

5 Days in Corfu

A Venetian town the Ottomans never took, cricket on the main square and pastitsada on Sunday. Five days in Corfu, planned properly.

5 Days in Kraków

A royal city the war left standing, a Jewish town Nazi Germany destroyed, and a lot of pierogi. Five days in Kraków, planned properly.

5 Days in İzmir

Turkey's most easygoing big city, on a gulf that turns orange every evening. Five days in İzmir, planned properly.

5 Days in Belgrade

Two rivers, one fortress, late nights and a lot of grilled meat. Five days in Serbia's capital, planned properly.