Latest City Guides

• Seattle

  And Seattle? The lucky Northwest hub of all that is cool and caffeinated can lay claim to three: dark green, of course, for its abundant parks and forests. Rainy gray, naturally, for its famously dank skies. And a marine blue for its spectacular neighboring sound.

• Sydney

  In Sydney, the largest, oldest, and most beautiful of Australia's cities, the monumental doesn't figure prominently. There are no great pyramids, no historic ruins, no monuments or buildings that warrant a tedious day of touring, except perhaps its Opera House and Harbor Bridge. But those two landmarks aside, it's Sydney's colorful neighborhoods and their inhabitants that will give you the most enjoyment.

• Las Vegas

  Las Vegas is a city so fabled and so fictional that its reputation not only precedes it, it practically has its own address and personal staff. So finding what you love – the glitter, the showmanship, the desert history, the Bugsy Siegel stories, the Howard Hughes tales, the building of Hoover Dam, the reviving of countless celebrities' careers – may take a moment of quiet and reflection in a city that truly is up at all hours.

• Amsterdam

  Your first impression of Amsterdam may be how much it resembles a giant outdoor museum. Indeed, 6,700 building in the city center are protected monuments, virtually intact from the Golden Age of the 17th Century, during which time Amsterdam rose to spectacular wealth, political power and cultural heights.

• New York City

  There are cities that look back and cities that gaze long but chief among the cities for looking up is that horn-honky, glass-gleamy, culture-cool megalopolis, New York City.

• Munich

  The city center contains many of Munich's most notable sights, including the two Pinakothek modern art museum, the Schrannenhalle, an old grain market filled with delicatessens and food stalls, and the traditional beer halls.