Rome is a vivid blend of sound, movement, history, and art. Church bells and traffic echo off ancient stone as workers, tourists, and café crowds move through the city. From the Colosseum and Roman Forum to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica, Rome's monuments are world-famous. Its sculptures, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, and Bernini's fountains make its art and architecture unsurpassed. Rome belongs not only to Italy, but to the world.

Amalfi charms with its sunlit Piazza del Duomo, winding alleys, Byzantine-influenced cathedral, and small beach. Nearby Atrani, one of Italy's most beautiful villages, offers ancient churches and whitewashed lanes for a quiet day. Visit the magical Grotta dello Smeraldo for its emerald waters, and don't miss Pompeii, where you can walk Roman streets and enter ancient houses and temples.

Dubrovnik, dubbed by Lord Byron the pearl of the Adriatic and by George Bernard Shaw a place to seek paradise on earth, is a UNESCO World Heritage city of red-tiled roofs, green hills, and the blue Adriatic. Its thick medieval walls encircle Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces, and fountains. It also featured prominently in Game of Thrones. Its ancient ramparts, surviving centuries of sieges, remain deeply inspiring.

Trogir, a tiny island town on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast linked by bridges to the mainland and Čiovo, is easy to explore on foot. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is famed for its Romanesque churches and Venetian Renaissance-Baroque buildings. Highlights include the 13th-century Cathedral of St. Lawrence, its Chapel of St. John, bell tower views, and remarkably intact medieval walls, palaces, churches, and towers.

Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage city, rises from a lagoon on more than 100 small islands linked by canals. A gondola ride passes under the Rialto Bridge and along the Grand Canal. At Piazza San Marco, St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace reflect Venetian power. Art highlights include the Gallerie dell'Accademia and Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Nearby Murano is known for glassblowers, and Burano for colorful shops and lace makers.