Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Happy birthday, Colorado Springs! How does it feel to be 140 years old? It must feel good to find yourself repeatedly placed on lists of America's best cities.  Then, again, would anyone expect less of the city that hosts the Garden of the Gods? I expect your people are "never gonna stop going round and round." [2005]

Athens, Greece

Want to try time travel? Leave the modernity of Omonoia Square behind, descend into the Athens Metro, and re-emerge one stop away, at Monastiraki. That short underground tube ride will teleport you back 2500 years. There are few cities around the world where such magic is possible, but this is one of them. [2006]

Freiburg, Germany

Public space surrounds the Freiburg Cathedral, right in the center of town. From the minster's spire, cafe umbrellas make the street look like a garden in bloom. Perhaps, it is not surprising that the Green Party has been more popular here than in any other German city. [1984]

Stratford, Virginia, USA

The Lees were one of the "first families of Virginia," and this was the house they built in the 1730s to affirm their status in society. It became the command-and-control center of the tobacco business that dominated the plantation. The most famous American born here was....   I don't have to tell you, do I? [2010]

Helsinki, Finland

Have you admired the graceful beauty of the main terminal at Dulles International Airport? It was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. His father, Eliel, designed this building to serve as the central railway station in Helsinki half a century earlier. The style is called national romanticism. [2005]

Paphos, Cyprus

Paphos is one of the premier places of Cyprus, so important it was, at one time, the island's capital. The town is built around a harbor, and the harbor is dominated by the castle. Actually, today it is dominated by Mediterranean yacht culture. [2004]

Dublin, Ireland

Temple Bar is a lingering little bit of medieval Dublin that has survived into the 21st century (with some government help). This whole elongated stretch along the River Liffey is known as Temple Bar: 'Temple' after a land-owning family, and 'bar' after the sand bar that was used as a pathway along the river. [2004]