Best Warm-Weather Destinations in Europe

As you journey down the fabled Amalfi Coast, your route takes you past rocky cliffs plunging into the sea and small boats lying in sandy coves like brightly colored fish. Erosion has contorted the rocks into shapes resembling figures from mythology and... Read more

Once a medieval city famed for the peaceful and prosperous coexistence of its three religious cultures—Islamic, Jewish, and Christian—Córdoba is a perfect analogue for the cultural history of Spain's Iberian Peninsula. Strategically... Read more

Once a pleasure dome to Roman emperors and now Italy's most glamorous seaside getaway, Capri (pronounced with an accent on the first syllable) is a craggy island at the southern end of the Bay of Naples. The boom in cruises to the Naples area (almost 1... Read more

To Greeks, Crete is the Megalonissi (Great Island), a hub of spectacular ancient art and architecture. Fabled as the land of King Minos, it is a unique world where civilization is counted by the millennium. From every point of view travelers discover landscapes... Read more

Undoubtedly the most extraordinary island in the Aegean, crescent-shape Santorini remains a mandatory stop on the Cycladic tourist route—even if it's necessary to enjoy the sensational sunsets from Ia, the fascinating excavations, and the dazzling... Read more

As you approach Provence there's a magical moment when you finally leave the north behind: cypresses and red-tile roofs appear; you hear the screech of cicadas and breathe the scent of wild thyme and lavender. Along the highway, oleanders bloom against... Read more

"Charming" and "breathtaking" are adjectives that get a workout when you're traveling in Italy, but it's rare that both apply to a single location. The Cinque Terre is such a place, and this combination of characteristics goes a long way toward explaining... Read more

It's no wonder that all roads lead to the fascinating and maddening metropolis of Athens. Lift your eyes 200 feet above the city to the Parthenon, its honey-color marble columns rising from a massive limestone base, and you behold architectural perfection... Read more

Midway down the Italian peninsula, Tuscany (Toscana in Italian) is distinguished by rolling hills, snowcapped mountains, dramatic cypress trees, and miles of coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea—which all adds up to gorgeous views at practically every... Read more

The Croatian island of Hvar bills itself as the "sunniest island in the Adriatic." Not only does it have the figures to back up this claim—an annual average of 2,724 hours of sunshine—but it also makes visitors a sporting proposition, offering... Read more

Italy's capital is one of the great cities of Europe. It's a large, busy metropolis that lives in the here and now, yet there's no other place on earth where you'll encounter such powerful evocations of a long and spectacular past, from the Colosseum to... Read more

In the 15th century Florence was at the center of the artistic revolution that would later be known as the Renaissance. Today the Renaissance remains the main attraction here—the abundance of art treasures is mind-boggling. Florence's is a subtle... Read more

This sprawl of pebble beaches and zillion-dollar houses has always captivated sun lovers and socialites. Today's admirers know not to miss the Côte d'Azur's textbook points of interest: animated St-Tropez; the Belle Époque aura of Cannes... Read more

The fourth-largest Greek island and, along with Sicily and Cyprus, one of the great islands of the Mediterranean, Rhodes it was long considered a bridge between Europe and the East. Today, its diversity ensures it remains a polestar of tourism as well:... Read more

If your idea of nirvana is palatial villas, rose-laden belvederes, hanging wisteria and bougainvillea, lanterns casting a glow over lakeshore restaurants, and majestic Alpine vistas, heaven is Lake Como. In his Charterhouse of Parma, Stendhal described... Read more