Easygoing, liberal Amsterdam is "different." Its citizens, bubbling along happily in their multiracial melting pot, are not so easily poured into the restrictive molds of trade and industry. More important, you can enjoy Amsterdam, its culture, history, and beauty, without stretching the limits of your credit cards. Few skyscrapers mar the clarity of the sky and the populace mostly walks or bikes from place to place. The historic center recalls Amsterdam's Golden Age as the command post of a vast trading network and colonial empire, when wealthy merchants constructed gabled residences along neatly laid-out canals.

Athens was named after Athena the goddess of wisdom. Scented with mythology, Athens is a sociable city enlivened by outdoor cafes, pedestrian streets, parks, gardens and urban eccentrics. Almost every house and apartment has a balcony bulging with geraniums, and many of the city's streets and squares are fringed with orange trees. Even though you've probably come here to see the "glory that was Greece," perhaps best symbolized by the Parthenon and the superb statues and vases in the National Archaeological Museum, your best moments may come sitting at a small cafe, sipping a tiny cup of the sweet coffee.

Brussels is sumptuous, historic and luxuriously cozy. What makes Brussels special? For visitors, it's full of delights - Grand Place, mussels with chips, pralines, under crowded museums, intimate hotels, Art Nouveau, Horta, Tintin and unbelievable beers. Modern edifices are only a few steps from the cobbled streets, splendid cafés, and graceful Art Nouveau architecture that speak to the city's eventful past. The city's spirit survives in traditional cafes, bars, bistros, and restaurants. Whether elegantly Art Nouveau or eccentrically festooned with posters, curios, and knickknacks, such centuries-old establishments provide a warm, convivial ambience that is peculiarly Belgian.

In the last few years, Madrid has gained the reputation of being one of Europe's most active and attractive cities for its nightlife and cultural activities. Capital of Spain since 1562, Madrid's museums host, among others, Dalís, Mirós and Picasso's Guernica. Madrid is a city of great contrasts: the Old City, the Madrid of the Hapsburgs, the Royal Palace, the Puerta de Alcala, the Retiro Park. At night, the city changes gears with its famous Madrid nightlife. The city's endless energy is hard to resist, and its sociable style invites you to jump right in.

The country's principal political, economic, financial, educational center, Moscow is one of the oldest and most beautiful Russian cities. It is the site of the famous Kremlin and is world-renowned for its architecture and performing arts culture. Its museums and galleries are some of the largest and most important in the world, housing frequent art exhibitions. Moscow is also well known as the site of Saint Basil's Cathedral, with its elegant onion domes, as well as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Big-city style and rural charm, Alpine character and Mediterranean verve, art treasures and the Oktoberfest, traditional customs and high technology, beer gardens and haute cuisine, operas and in bars; these are all ingredients that makes Bavaria's state capital so endlessly fascinating, and so popular with visitors from all over the world. Sprawling Munich is one of Germany's major cultural centers, second only to Berlin in terms of museums and theaters. It's also one of Germany's most festive cities, and its location, at the foot of the Alps, is idyllic. Munich's self-imposed image is that of a fun-loving and festival-addicted city - typified by its Oktoberfest.

Oslo abounds with sights of interest, such as museums, parks, urban districts with listed buildings and a well-developed array of shops. As most sights are within walking distance of each other, you can leave your car behind. Oslo City Hall is located in the city center only a few hundred meters from the city's main street and overlooks Oslo Fjord filled with moored pleasure craft, shrimp trawlers, cruise ships, charter boats and ferries to all the islands. Oslo has a wide variety of restaurants, bistros and bars. Most are located within such a limited area that they are within walking distance of each other. In addition, each quarter of the city has an unusual atmosphere all worth visiting.

Paris assaults the senses, demanding to be seen, heard, touched, tasted and smelled. Gaze impressive monuments and savor its gourmet pastiche of cheese, chocolate, wine and seafood. Paris is a city of vast perspectives and intimate streets, of formal espaces verts (green open spaces) and of quiet squares. Paris is relatively small as capitals go, with distances between many of its major sights and museums invariably walkable. Unforgettable walks exhibiting the best of Paris: stroll down the Champs-Elysees for the chic grand boulevard experience and Rue Cler for a more intimate snapshot of Parisian living.

Rome is Italy's treasure, packed with masterpieces from more than two millennia of artistic achievement. Modern Rome has one foot in the past, one in the present. Find a cafe at summer twilight and watch the shades of pink turn to gold and copper before night finally falls. That's when another Rome comes alive; restaurants and cafes grow more animated and after dinner you can have a gelato (or an espresso in winter) or stroll by the fountains or through Piazza Navona, and the night is yours.

Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a "window to Europe," Saint Petersburg served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years. Nowadays it became a major European cultural center, and the most important Russian port on the Baltic. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main tourist attractions are: the Hermitage, the Mariinsky Theatre, and the Russian Museum. The most famous inhabitants of this city were Dostoyevski, Pushkin, Tschajkovski, and Tcherniavski.

Built on 14 islands around one of Europe's largest and best-preserved medieval city centers, the Swedish capital is superbly positioned, with stunning and extremely varied scenery in every direction. To the west, Lake Mälaren branches out among lush, idyllic landscapes. To the east the magnificent Stockholm archipelago stretches seaward, an enchanting maritime world of more than 24,000 islands and islets. The Old Town is particularly spectacular, and walking around the city's waterways and parks is a glorious way to spend a weeklong stretch of European summer.