Rome is one of the world's most thrilling cities, with unmatched history around every corner. Its streets mix ancient ruins with lively cafés, piazzas, and restaurants serving pasta and pizza. Highlights include the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, and the Spanish Steps. Best explored on foot, gelato or espresso in hand, Rome offers a powerful blend of grandeur, beauty, and everyday life.

Salerno, at the north end of the Gulf of Salerno, has an old town above ancient Salernum and Europe's oldest medical school (11th c.-1812). Main sights: the Romanesque cathedral (1085; remodeled) with Paestum columns, sarcophagi, 1099 bronze doors, and the tombs of Gregory VII and St. Matthew; plus a hilltop Lombard castle with wide views. The seafront has a modern promenade, and Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi is the main street. It's a base for Paestum, Pompeii, Amalfi, and Ravello.

Perched above the sparkling Tyrrhenian coast in southern Italy, Agropoli charms with its medieval old town, narrow lanes and sweeping sea views. This laid-back gateway to the Cilento region offers a taste of authentic Campania, where coastal scenery, traditional cuisine and nearby archaeological treasures combine for an appealing shore visit.

Giardini Naxos, on a sweeping Sicilian bay, is a scenic base for sun, sea, and history. It was Sicily's first Greek settlement, with nearby Taormina's hillside town, Roman and Greek ruins, and the famous Greek theatre overlooking the sea and Mount Etna. Etna, one of Europe's most active volcanoes, rises over vineyards, lava fields, cacti, and citrus groves. Enjoy the beach, the views, and a glass of local wine.

Valletta, on Malta's Sciberras Peninsula, is a compact Baroque capital ringed by massive defensive walls. Built by the Knights of St John, it holds grand palaces, churches, and the flower-filled Upper Barrakka Gardens, where noon cannon fire echoes across the harbor. St John's Cathedral hides a lavish gold interior and a Caravaggio. Nearby are Mdina's car-free medieval streets, the Hypogeum and Tarxien, and Fort St Elmo. Malta gained independence in 1964 but still shows strong British ties.

Sarandë, Albania's southern harbor, is a 20-minute boat ride from Corfu and enjoys 300+ sunny days a year. It offers turquoise beaches, a lively seafront boulevard lined with bars, restaurants, and shops, and great access to nearby sights: 16th-century Lekuresi Castle with views over Corfu and the sea, the Blue Eye Spring with crystal-clear water, and Butrint, a UNESCO-listed ancient Greek and Roman city with streets, a theatre, a basilica, and mosaics.

Kotor, Montenegro, is a fortified old town set between Lovćen mountain and the Adriatic at the end of the Bay of Kotor, Europe's southernmost fjord. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it has Venetian-era stone streets, terracotta roofs, cathedral towers, and thick walls. Quieter and often more authentic than Dubrovnik, it's known for cats, the maritime museum, cafés, and the 1,350-step climb to St John's Fortress for sweeping bay views.

Dubrovnik, Croatia's walled "Pearl of the Adriatic," is a striking medieval fortress city rising from the sea. Its thick stone walls, old town, baroque churches, fountains and Stradun street have made it a filming location for Star Wars, Robin Hood and Game of Thrones. Once a maritime republic and still scarred by the 1991 siege, it now offers wall walks, Lovrijenac and Srđ views, beaches like Banje, great seafood, and trips to Lokrum.

Split, on the sunny Dalmatian Coast, is a romantic Adriatic city built around Diocletian's Palace, a vast Roman monument and living historic heart. Beyond its stone walls, the old town mixes bars, restaurants and quiet corners. Highlights include St Domnius Cathedral, the palm-lined seafront, Marjan Hill, Sustipan, nearby Hvar and Brač, Krka's waterfalls, and UNESCO-listed Trogir.

Wander Ravenna's historic streets and you may miss its treasures until you step inside the churches: some of the world's finest Byzantine mosaics, dazzling with colour, fill the city's UNESCO-listed monuments. Highlights include the 525 AD Basilica di San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, famed for its starry mosaic sky. Dante finished Paradiso here. Sample Sangiovese, piadina, and local olive oil.

Trieste is a treasure on a historic frontier of cultures, nestled on the Slovenian border and returned to Italy in 1954. Wealth from trade shaped its grand piazzas and striking architecture, and the Bora wind blows fiercely in winter. Visit Piazza Unità d'Italia, the central square by the sea, sip coffee in Italy's coffee capital, stroll the Canale Grande, see Neptune's fountain at Piazza della Borsa, and don't miss Miramare Castle, Trieste Cathedral, and the old town below.

Venice is a timeless floating city of canals, bridges and masks, where a lagoon of 100+ islands invites you to travel through history. Drift by gondola or vaporetto past the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge, then slip into quiet side streets away from the crowds. In Piazza San Marco, see St Mark's Basilica, the Campanile and the Doge's Palace, linked by the Bridge of Sighs. Take island trips to Murano for glass, Torcello for cathedrals, and Burano for lace and bright painted houses.