As far as Olympic host cities go, once their 15 minutes is up, the Summer alum always manage to stay relevant, while the Winter lot fade away into obscurity. Think about it -- who's heard from Squaw Valley, Lake Placid, Albertville, or Lillehammer lately?...more >

You'd think the place responsible for such idyllic snackage as waffles and sprouts would be simple and uncomplicated - au contraire, friend-o. Because of ongoing political, historical, and most everything else-ical differences between the minority Dutch-speaking Flemish and the majority French-speaking communities, not to mention its status as the unofficial capital of the European Union...more >

Some of the most fun you can have with the Argentine capital is trying to pronounce it correctly - it's somewhere in the ballpark of: boo way nahs / eye race (good, not great, that's about a B- effort). Then again, actually visiting Buenos Aires' sprawling, 48-barrio greater urban area of 13-million-plus people has its moments, too. In the last couple of years, BA has made serious strides in becoming one of those mandatory go-before-you-die sort of spots...more >

These days, London has set its sights determinedly on the East—the East Side of the city to be exact. The area, comprising the East End, the Docklands, Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs has been beefing up its business muscle for the past ten years and is preening for its debut as the site of the 2012 summer Olympics . . . more >

Ah, Milan – that most stylish of Italian cities that doesn't really feel like it's in Italy at all. Compared with the throbbing, pizza-filled laneways and side streets of Rome or Naples, Milan's wider walkways, Neoclassical piles and modern vibe (well, 19th century) make it a unique, distinctive place, as tied to northern Europe as it is to the rest of the peninsula . . . more >

SOMEWHERE buried deep within the rolling green hills that comprise Lazio's tranquil countryside, right where the Aniene river meets the Tiber, you'll find an obscure little town first founded in 735 BC by a pair of twins, Romulus and Remus (the former killed the latter in a disagreement over what to name the place - so it goes when you're raised by wolves). Not much to say about Rome, really...more >

John the Baptist checked quite a few things off his bucket list before getting decapitated by Herod Antipas: hung with Jesus, became the undisputed human-dunking champion of the world, made a few prophesies here and there. But having the oldest European-founded city in the United States named after him (San Juan = St. John) - now that might be the highlight of his CV, however millennia-and-a-half posthumous...more >

magine New York. Now, imagine New York being twice its size, and having nearly 12 million people in it. And that's just the city -- with the suburbs, Sao Paulo jumps to nearly twenty million. Now, imagine inadequate public transport, a monstrous traffic problem and some major issues with crime...more >

For those who thrive on the energy of urban life, Tokyo is a dangerous proposition. Come here once, and each city afterwards will seem just a little less impressive. Nobody does buzz like this explosive pop-culture capital, and yet, nobody keeps its chaos quite as organized, as if the drama of the day-to-day were a carefully choreographed dance number . . . more >

On the prime cut of beef that is the north shore of Lake Zurich, this high-finance, gold stashhouse of a city is a big-time thumbtack on the international business travel map. Yet, behind its tough guy capitalist image lies the heart of an artist. A very hygienic and rich artist . . . more >