WHAT YOU WILL SEE:

London, England
London is a blend of old and new, pace and buzz alongside peace and tranquility, and an amazingly diverse cultural scene. The sounds of Brit-pop and techno pour out of Victorian pubs; experimental theater is popping up on stages built for Shakespeare's plays; upstart chefs are reinventing the bland dishes that British mums have made for generations; and Brits are even running the couture houses of Dior and Givenchy. In food, fashion, film, music, the visual arts, and just about everything else, London, as it moves deeper into the 21st century, stands at the cutting edge again, just as it did in the 1960s. But rest assured, traditional London survives, basically intact under the layer of hip. From high tea at Brown's to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the city still abounds with the culture and charm of days gone by. London has grown less English and more international. The gent with the bowler hat has long gone out of fashion; today's Londoner might have a turban, a Mohawk, or even a baseball cap. It's becoming easier to find a café au lait and a croissant than a scone and a cup of tea. The city is home to thousands of immigrants and refugees, both rich and poor, from all reaches of the world. Yet it?s a decidedly royal city, studded with palaces, court gardens, coats of arms, and other regal paraphernalia; yet it's also the home of the world's second-oldest parliamentary democracy. (Iceland was the first.) There's so much to discover - more than 30,000 shops, world class galleries and museums, dramatic new landmark buildings, and an endless choice of restaurants, bars, clubs and live music venues, and, of course, theatre.

Paris, France
Paris assaults the senses, demanding to be seen, heard, touched, tasted and smelled. Gaze rapturously at its breezy boulevards, impressive monuments, and great works of art and magic lights. Savor its gourmet pastiche of cheese, chocolate, wine and seafood. Paris is a city of vast, noble perspectives and intimate, ramshackle streets, of formal espaces verts (green open spaces) and of quiet squares. This combination of the pompous and the private is one of the secrets of its perennial pull. Another is its size. Paris is relatively small as capitals go, with distances between many of its major sights and museums invariably walkable. You'll still find classic sights like the Tour Eiffel, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Coeur, and all those atmospheric cafes, as well as trendy new projects like the Grande Arche de La Défense, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, the Cité de la Musique, and the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand. And don't forget the parks, gardens, and squares; the Champs-Elysées and other grand boulevards; the river Seine and its quays. Paris's beauty is still overwhelming, especially at night, when it truly is the City of Light.

Milan, Italy
Milan is Italy's window on Europe, its most sophisticated and high-tech metropolis. In the 1700s, the Habsburgs dominated Milan, a legacy that left it with scores of neoclassical buildings in its inner core and an abiding appreciation for music and work. Milan also boasts La Scala, one of Europe's most prestigious opera houses, and a major commercial university (the alma mater of most of Italy's corporate presidents). In addition, it's the site of several world-renowned annual trade fairs. Milan is one of Europe's top shopping cities, with an incredible concentration of sophisticated, high style boutiques -- and that's only fitting because Milan is the dynamo of the Italian fashion industry. Dolce & Gabbana, Ferré, Krizia, Moschino, Prada, Armani, and Versace have all catapulted to international stardom from design studios based here. Milan is all about worldly pleasures. Shopping is of almost religious significance. Theatre and cinema flourish in this fashionable milieu, as does a hopping club scene and a slew of tempting restaurants.