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.

The German capital holds a world cultural record with three opera houses, two concert halls and eight symphony orchestras. This is the heart of Germany, with a stoic beat that echoes through grand public buildings, glorious museums and theatres, urbane restaurants, bustling pubs and raucous nightclubs. Today, structures of steel and glass tower over streets and parks and gardens are again lush. With its field of new skyscrapers and hip clubs and fashion boutiques, post millennium Berlin has recast itself as the Continent's capital of cool.

The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of the country. It is a picturesque city situated on both banks of the Danube. Bratislava Castle dominates the town, around the castle you find a couple of interesting museums, such as the Museum of Jewish Culture and the Municipal Museum. Opposite is the Blue House, which houses the Exhibition of Arts and Crafts. Other noteworthy sights are: St. Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava's Town hall, the beautiful Slovak National Theatre.

Budapest looks its most beautiful at dawn, yet it is also spectacularly appealing at night. Even more exceptional is the perfect contrast between the right and left banks. Buda is built upon hills, the feet of two of them - Castle Hill and Gellért Hill - almost stand in the water. Facing it is Pest, as flat as a pancake. This is a vibrant city: it throbs with life morning, noon and night; visitors arriving from other countries get the feeling that something interesting is happening round every corner. Budapest is a remarkable and wholly unpretentious place.

Dresden, founded in 1206, is a metropolis of unique art treasures and lively culture. Center of the German Baroque par excellence, its highlights include the magnificent palatial buildings around the Theaterplatz and the Brühl Terraces, and the many art treasures in the state museums. No history book on architecture can leave out the Dresden Zwinger, The Frauenkirche Church, Semper Opera House and Royal Palace as well as many other historical monuments and ensembles that determine the image of the city.

Surnamed "Pearl of the Adriatic," Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful cities on the Croatian coast. Many buildings in the old city center testify of its glorious past and its Venetian influence. The walls of Dubrovnik girdle a perfectly preserved complex of public and private, sacral and secular buildings representing all periods of the city's history, beginning with its founding in the 7th century. Nowadays, Dubrovnik is a tranquil touristic and cultural center hosting many musical, art and theater events year round.

Kraków is one of the oldest cities of Poland and one of the cultural and artistic centres of the country, the former seat of the Polish kings and national capital. Among the hightlights of the city are: the Royal Castle and Cathedral on Wawel Hill; the medieval Old Town with its beautiful Market Square; the 14th-century buildings of the Jagiellonian University; as well as Kazimierz, the historical centre of Kraków's Jewish religious and social life. Kraków hosts many annual artistic events.

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.

Nürnberg had suffered a lot of damages during the war but nowadays has regained its vitality and is now a symbol of postwar prosperity. Many of Nürnberg's most important buildings, including some of the finest churches in Germany have been restored. The Altstadt (Old City) is a medieval walled city with large pedestrian walkways. Don't miss the city's churches: Frauenkirche St. Lorenze Kirche and St. Sebaldus Kirche and the Albrecht Durer House where the artist lived for 20 years.

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.

Art lovers call Salzburg the Golden City of High Baroque; historians refer to it as the Florence of the North, or the German Rome; and music lovers know it as the Festival City - birthplace of Mozart and home of the world-famous Mozart Festival. Several beautiful castles and palaces dot the city. While Salzburg is a visual pageant of Baroque motifs, music is the element that shapes the life of the city. It is heard everywhere: in churches,castles, palaces, and, of course, concert halls.

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.

City of music, cafes, waltzes, parks, pastries, and wine - that's Vienna in a nutshell. Vienna doesn't hurry, and, as you saunter through its stately streets, marveling at its Baroque palaces, neither should you. Explore churches filled with statues of golden saints and pink-cheeked cherubs, wander through treasure-packed museums, or while away an afternoon in one of those countless meccas of mocha (the inevitable cafés), you will feel lapped in lashings of rich, delicious, whipped cream - the beloved Schlagobers that garnishes most Viennese pastries.

Much of Warsaw's historic center was painstakingly recreated and today's Old Town buildings are closer to the original architecture than they were ever before. It has a wealth of shops and restaurants to potter around in. The city also boasts many green spaces, with leafy parks where rowing boats cruise past outdoor cafés, during the summer, and free classical concerts attract. In addition, the Former Jewish ghetto is a stark reminder of the unforgiving hand of history. The nightlife scene is equally surprising, with the city's increasingly well-dressed youth flocking to the countless bars and clubs of a city that now hums after dark.

Zagreb is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative center of Croatia. Surnamed the "city of museums" as there are more of them per square foot than any other city in the world, Zagreb is also a vibrant destination with a variety of modern shops, quality restaurants and sports/recreational facilities. The historical part of the city to the north of Ban Jelačić Square is comprised of the Upper Town and Kaptol, a medieval urban complex of churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings that are exceptionally popular with tourists on sightseeing tours.