Dublin, Ireland

With reminders of its stirring history and rich culture on every corner, Ireland's capital and largest city is a sightseer's delight. Dublin punches above its weight in arts, entertainment, food, and fun. While bullet-pocked buildings and dramatic statues keep memories of Ireland's struggle for independence alive, today's Dublin is lively, friendly, and extremely accessible.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's capital, always overshadowed by Dublin, is a classic second city. As its primary industries became less key to the world economy, this former boomtown hit hard times — which worsened as sectarian strife came to dominate city life for the last decades of the 20th century. But today the Troubles are an ever more distant memory, and this fine, rejuvenated city is booming with glittering architecture and an energized commercial metabolism. Visit the fantastic Titanic Belfast Museum, take a guided tour through Unionist as well as Nationalist neighborhoods, and share a pint with an opinionated local. While some tensions still simmer, people from all walks of life work, eat, and play together in Belfasts's thriving city center.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the historical, cultural, and political capital of Scotland. For nearly a thousand years, Scotland's kings, parliaments, writers, thinkers, and bankers have called Edinburgh home. Today, it remains Scotland's most sophisticated and entertaining city. It's a place of stunning vistas — nestled among craggy bluffs and studded with a prickly skyline of spires, towers, domes, and steeples. The city hums with life. Historic, monumental, fun, and well organized, Edinburgh is a tourist's delight.

London, England

London is the L.A., D.C., and N.Y.C. of Britain — a living, breathing, thriving organism…a coral reef of humanity. Blow through the city on a double-decker bus, and take a pinch-me-I'm-in-London walk through the West End. Ogle the crown jewels at the Tower of London, gaze up at mighty Big Ben, and see the Houses of Parliament in action. Cruise the River Thames, and take a spin on the London Eye. Hobnob with poets' tombstones in Westminster Abbey, visit with Leonardo, Botticelli, and Rembrandt in the National Gallery. Enjoy Shakespeare in a replica of the Globe theater and marvel at a glitzy, fun musical at a modern-day theater. Whisper across the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, then rummage through our civilization's attic at the British Museum.