14 Nights Europe, Mediterranean

The "Eternal City", with its 2,700 years of ancient history, is simply incomparable. Its formidable legacy is rooted in a plethora of masterpieces, including The Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, The Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter's Basilica and Piazza Novana.

One of the world's greatest cultural centres is stretched around the Bay of Naples and lies at the foot of Mount Vesuvius in one of the most outstanding scenic settings in the Mediterranean. It hosts extraordinary works of art and architecture in classical Greek and Roman styles.

Capri is beautiful - seriously beautiful. There's barely a grubby building or untended garden to blemish the splendour. Steep cliffs rise majestically from an impossibly blue sea; elegant villas drip with wisteria and bougainvillea; even the trees seem to be carefully manicured.

Capri is beautiful - seriously beautiful. There's barely a grubby building or untended garden to blemish the splendour. Steep cliffs rise majestically from an impossibly blue sea; elegant villas drip with wisteria and bougainvillea; even the trees seem to be carefully manicured.

Basking between the fiery orange bastions of its medieval citadel and a glittering moon-shaped bay that's lined by a magnificent beach, Calvi has a long and venerable history. Locals insist that Christopher Columbus was born here, in the one Genoese city on Corsica that the French could never capture, while Admiral Nelson lost his right eye besieging the citadel on behalf of Pascal Paoli.

This delightful fishing village port is a gateway to Nice, Cannes, the Grand Corniche, Èze and Monte Carlo, Monaco?the best of the wealthy playground known as the French Riviera. It is set like a jewel amidst the sheltering promontory of Cap Ferrat.

France's second largest city and largest port offers gorgeous coastline, the Provence sun and cosmopolitan charm. Remnants of its decorated 2,600-year history include a 19th-century basilica and cathedral and the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde church. The city has several museums, including the Archaeology and Fine Arts museums.

The capital of the Spanish island of Menorca is best known for traditional Georgian buildings of its hilly old quarter and the mysterious 2,000-year old monoliths. It is also noted for inventing mayonnaise and gin, and for producing Spain's second most popular cheese.

The capital of Catalonia boasts the bustle of the world's busiest seaport, the medieval romance of its Gothic Quarter, and a feast of Catalan Art Nouveau buildings - including the great creations of Antonio Gaudí. The "Great Enchantress" remains one of the most exhilarating cities in Europe, decorated with the grandeur of Picasso, Miró and Dalí.

This Balearic Island has a split personality. It's a 2,600-year-old Phoenician island steeped in monumental Renaissance architecture. It's also an offbeat, uncanny party spot known for one of the hottest club scenes in the world.

This Balearic Island has a split personality. It's a 2,600-year-old Phoenician island steeped in monumental Renaissance architecture. It's also an offbeat, uncanny party spot known for one of the hottest club scenes in the world.

La Goulette, known in Arabic as Halq al-Wadi, is the port of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

In 1530 Malta was given to the Knights Hospitallers, who built a Christian stronghold and the capital, Valletta, behind whose fortifications youll find Renaissance splendors that seem to be untouched by time.

Giardini Naxos is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina on the island of Sicily in southern Italy.

Enjoy Sorrento's history of ancient city walls and its landscape of sea, mountain, deep valleys and citrus groves. Take a boat excursion to explore inlets, grottoes or archaeological finds. Shop Via S. Cesareo for handicrafts, corals and cameos, or silver jewels. Do a walking tour on ancient Greek-Roman paths to admire picturesque villages and terraced olive groves. Tour nearby resorts in Naples, Pompei, Capri, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello.

The "Eternal City", with its 2,700 years of ancient history, is simply incomparable. Its formidable legacy is rooted in a plethora of masterpieces, including The Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, The Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter's Basilica and Piazza Novana.