Paris
Paris is confident that it's the world's most beautiful, fashionable and artistic capital. Visit just once and it's hard to disagree. Walking through the heart of Paris you often feel like you've wandered onto an art film set; much of the city has been scrubbed clean in recent years and it's never looked more fabulous.
London
One of the world's great cities, vibrant London manages to shine in the greyest weather and its diversity defies a simple definition. This sprawling city has drawn people for centuries, looking for something and finding the unexpected. London is the capital of Great Britain and the largest city in Europe.
Paris
Paris is confident that it's the world's most beautiful, fashionable and artistic capital. Visit just once and it's hard to disagree. Walking through the heart of Paris you often feel like you've wandered onto an art film set; much of the city has been scrubbed clean in recent years and it's never looked more fabulous.
Barbados
A long-time favourite Caribbean destination, Barbados has all the sandy beaches, sunny weather and laid-back tropical charm that you could ever wish for.
Oslo
Oslo is considered a global city and ranked "Beta World City" in studies performed by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. For several years, Oslo has been listed as one of the most expensive cities in the world along with such other global capitals as Copenhagen, Paris, and Tokyo. In 2009, however, Oslo regained its status as the world's most expensive city. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.
Edinburgh
Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its spectacular, rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.
Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament.
Amsterdam
Its name is derived from Amstellerdam, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel.Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighbourhoods and suburbs were formed.
Zürich
Zürich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking giants.Most of the research and development centers are concentrated in Zürich and the low rate of tax attracts overseas companies to set up their headquarters there.According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe.
Nice
It is the largest city of the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), the 5th largest city of France with a population of 348,721 in 2007 and the four-largest urban area after those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille with a population of 955,000.
The area of today’s Nice is believed to be among the oldest human settlements in the world. One of the archaeological sites, Terra Amata, displays evidence of a very early usage of fire.
Rome
The city of Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river within the Lazio region of Italy. Rome's history spans over two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was a major political and cultural influence in the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over seven hundred years from the 1st Century BC until the 7th Century AD.
Cannes
A former Lord Chancellor of England, Lord Brougham, is credited with having "invented" Cannes when he was detained there while on a trip to Italy in 1834, because a quarantine order prevented him from crossing the River Var into Nice. Milord Brougham, a former Chancellor of all England, so liked the place that he built an Italianate villa on a hill outside the town and persuaded those friends who would listen to live there too, during the winters as the climate was so mild.
Marrakech
Founded in the 11th century, Marrakech was once the capital of an empire that stretched from Spain to Senegal. In days of old, Marrakech's location on the crossroads of ancient caravan routes from Timbuktu made it a key destination for trade and reprieve for weary sub-Saharan traders carrying gold, salt and slaves bound for Europe. Today, Marrakesh is a reverberating collision of Africa and Europe, west and east, Bohemia and high culture, Arab cities and Berber villages.
Dubai
The earliest recorded mention of Dubai is in 1095, and the earliest settlement known as Dubai town dates from 1799. Dubai was formally established in the early 19th century by the Al Abu Falasa clan of Bani Yas, and it remained under clan control when the United Kingdom assumed the protection of Dubai in 1892. Its geographical location made it an important trading hub and by the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port.