Brighton was one of the first of the great seaside resorts of Europe. A fashion for sea water cures around the middle of the 18th century coincided with the beginnings of modern seaside tourism generally, and the result was the transformation of the old fishing town of Brighthelmstone into the modern sea resort of Brighton.

Brighton tourism
George IV built the city’s most famous landmark, the Royal Pavilion, and his patronage made Brighton famous and fashionable. By the time of the arrival of the railway connection between London and Brighton in 1841, the age of modern tourism had truly descended on the bright city by the sea, bringing an estimated 250,000 annual visitors already before 1850.

Today Brighton is a more popular destination than ever, with some 8 million tourists visiting each year. The Royal Pavilion and the Brighton Pier are still essential parts of the city and links to its past, but a true cultural renaissance has occurred during the last decade that has transformed Brighton into something much more than just a seaside resort.

Arts and culture
Brighton and Hove (together given city status in 2000) is today one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the UK, with world-class arts and culture, a world-famous music and club scene, an incredible nightlife, great shopping, top-class restaurants and a deep-seated tolerance of alternative lifestyles. Brighton is well known for its gay scene, and the city’s bohemian traditions are alive and well.

Brighton is a growing, confident and forward-looking city. A state-of-the-art library was built for the new Cultural Quarter in the North Laine area, and several new hotels are planned both for here and the new Urban Village next to Brighton Station.

Bruges (Brugge) is without doubt one of the gems of northwest Europe, offering the visitor a rich combination of history and Flemish architectural splendours in a compact city centre, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

The city followed this up by becoming a European Capital of Culture two years later. Its importance as a destination belies its relatively small size (Bruges’ population stands at around 117,000), attracting millions of visitors year round.

There is no doubt that a visit to Bruges is a rewarding experience. The city is a sheer pleasure just to wander around, discovering street after street of pretty Flemish buildings, delightful restaurants and bars, and more than its fair share of imposing historic monuments.

The climb to the top of the Belfry tower is not to be missed, neither is a boat ride along the picturesque waterways of the old city.

The city’s name is believed to derive from the Old Norse bryggja, meaning landing stage or wharf, and Bruges’ fortunes reached their zenith in the 13th and early 14th centuries, when the city was the most important trading centre in northwestern Europe.

Things went downhill until the late 19th century, when Bruges once more came ‘back to life’, ironically almost entirely due to Georges Rodenbach’s novel Bruges la Morte, which awakened international interest in what had become a sleepy backwater.

Modern Bruges is a dynamic, friendly, place, with a strong arts culture and all the ingredients of a successful tourist centre.

From its breathtaking medieval centre to its 21st-century temple to Surrealism, the new Magritte Museum, Brussels offers the visitor a great deal more than just beer and chocolate.

Brussels’s compact city centre is clustered with bars, restaurants and museums set along cobbled streets which open suddenly into the Grand-Place. With its ornate guild houses, impressive Town Hall and buzzing atmosphere, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful square in the whole of Europe.

Léopold II’s Parisian-style boulevards (Belliard and La Loi) are lined with embassies, banks and grand apartment buildings, while Sainte Cathérine, the Art Nouveau district of St-Gilles and Ixelles draw an arty crowd with their cool shops and restaurants.

The Bruxellois take pride in their self-effacing, intellectual sense of humour, underpinned by a strong appreciation of the bizarre. The city has a long-running love affair with the Surrealist art movement, pioneered by René Magritte, and with classic comic strips, epitomised by Hergé’s boy hero, Tintin. There’s a telling irony in the fact that the city’s best-known landmark is the Manneken-Pis, a tiny statuette of a urinating boy.

Bucharest (Buchuresti), located between Transylvania’s Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea, in southeastern Romania, is an often misunderstood city. Its lovely neoclassical buildings and wide tree-lined boulevards inspired the nickname ‘Paris of the Balkans’ a century ago, but many gems are obscured by post-Stalinist, North Korean-style grey housing blocks built, intentionally, to hide finer architectural moments. To spot Byzantine-style chapels and bell-towered mansions visitors have to work a little. Impressions depend on how deep a sightseer goes.

On the side streets of the historic centre are bars, eateries (French, Italian, Transylvanian), antique shops, a 15th-century court attributed to Vlad Dracul, and Piata Revolutiei, the heart of the 1989 protests that ended communism here in a sudden, bloody swoop (culminating with the execution of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife).

In the ritzy north (reached easily by metro) is a local favourite, the sprawling Herastrau Park, with boat rides and an open-air Village Museum displaying traditional homes. Locals are equally fond of classical music (particularly works by Bucharest’s own George Enescu), which is played often at the 19th-century Romanian Athenaeum.

Romania joined the EU in January 2007, and the sense of a new dynamism all over town is evident in construction projects (though sadly nothing in terms of a tourist office as of yet). Bucharest enjoys a temperate climate, but mid-summer is not a good time to visit, as temperatures soar, air conditioning is rare and many of the locals leave for the coast.

Only two decades ago Budapest was trapped in a communist-era time warp, but these days it is a city seriously going places. It has moved from an Eastern European backwater to the capital of a European Union member state, and once again crowds of Europeans are discovering the charms of a city that not only boasts beautiful architecture, but also offers visitors first-rate attractions.

Even though the young in this city of almost 2 million are eager to adopt Western European values, they still retain a deep relationship with Hungary’s fascinating past and value the traditions and history of the Magyar people highly. This has made Budapest a wonderful mix of old and new, and the political, intellectual, commercial and cultural capital of Hungary.

Cambridge is one of England’s prettiest cities, with its cobbled streets, medieval buildings, museums, restaurants and pubs, not forgetting one of the world’s oldest universities.

Dotted by parks, gardens and threaded by the River Cam, Cambridge has plenty to offer visitors. Its biggest appeal is Cambridge University, which boasts 31 colleges and over 80 Nobel Prize winners. Notable students have included Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and no less than 15 British Prime Ministers.

However, explore beyond the city’s academic assets, and you’ll discover vibrant pubs, bars, restaurants and attractions that will entice any discerning city break fan.

Cannes’ moment of glory takes place in May, with the International Film Festival, when images of the stars descending the red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals are flashed across TV screens worldwide. For many, this city on France’s Côte d’Azur is synonymous with the glamour of this event. Often overlooked, however, is the fact that Cannes is France’s second most important city (after Paris) for business tourism. 

Tourists jostle with conference-goers, outnumbering business travellers only in the summer months. Their interests lie in the long, curvaceous, sandy beaches of La Croisette, the luxury cruise boats of the Old Port, the palatial hotels, the designer shops lining the famous promenade and the gastronomic delights of the Côte d’Azur.  This modern city grew up from a small fishing town on the south coast of France. In the 11th century Cannes was owned by monks whose budget, fattened by wealthy pilgrims, allowed them to expand beyond their monastery to the nearby Island of St Honorat. They built a square tower on the top of the hill as a lookout post for Saracen pirates. It still stands next to the Castre Museum, in Le Suquet, Cannes’ Old Town that was built on the site of a Roman military camp.

Today, tourism has largely replaced spirituality on the Cannes mainland. It was Lord Brougham, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose visit to Cannes in 1834 established the city’s reputation as a health resort among the British aristocracy. The trend spread to the French establishment and the arrival of the railway increased Cannes’ accessibility. Soon the international aristocracy were playing golf and enjoying the hot and dry Mediterranean climate.

The Welsh capital has changed dramatically over the last decade, and there is still major renewal going on, as is evidenced by the amount of building and reconstruction that is taking place. Most noticeable of all, particularly for the visitor emerging from the railway station, is the looming modernity of the Millennium Stadium, which dominates the skyline on the western edge of the city centre. Both in the city centre itself and at the equally impressive Cardiff Bay development, home to the Wales Millennium Centre, the air of optimistic rejuvenation is still strong.

Home to the Welsh National Assembly, Cardiff has virtually reinvented itself since the low points of the 1970s and 1980s. Back then it was difficult to believe that less than a century earlier, the city had been one of the great powerhouses of the British Empire, exporting vast amounts of coal from the nearby Valleys and steel from the huge plants in South Wales. When these industries all but died out during the last quarter of the 20th century, prospects appeared bleak. Yet, thanks to government and European Union encouragement, new employers have moved in to help fill the economic void, and the result is a city that has more to offer and attracts more visitors than ever before.

Even now, however, visitors should not go to Cardiff expecting the cosmopolitan sophistication of larger, longer established capitals. Located in the south of Wales and looking onto the Severn Estuary, the city was only officially recognised as a capital in 1955, and it retains a friendly ‘small town’ quality that spirited self-promotion and inward investment have not entirely shaken off, perhaps to its benefit. Even so, it has a vibrant atmosphere and a lively music scene and nightlife, due in part to the presence of more than 30,000 students based at the city’s universities.

The central area, with its seven delightful Victorian shopping arcades and traffic-free streets, extends from the railway station to the impressive castle. This is Cardiff’s traditional commercial and social heart but, increasingly, Cardiff Bay, 2km (1 mile) or so to the south, has been gaining ground in the entertainment and leisure stakes, as well as becoming an important administrative centre.

Indeed, Cardiff Bay has altered beyond recognition, from its past as the world’s largest coal exporting port to a modern sport and leisure complex. It is also Europe’s largest waterfront development, and it has a wealth of leisure activities available both on and off the water. The Bay is home to a number of attractions such as Techniquest Science Discovery Centre, Craft in the Bay, The Welsh Assembly at the Pierhead, Butetown History and Arts Centre, Goleulong 2000 Lightship, the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and the Wales Millennium Centre, a stunning international arts centre. The Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village provides further options for family entertainment.

Wales as a whole has grown in self-esteem since the Welsh National Assembly was formed in 1999, and Cardiff has been a focal point in the development of the nation’s new, empowered identity. In 2005 it celebrated its centenary as a city and 50 years as Welsh capital, giving it yet another boost of confidence. It can truly be said that the first decade of the 21st century has been highly successful for Cardiff, and there are further developments underway, including a new 30,000-seat stadium for Cardiff City Football Club that is expected to be complete by late 2008 and a major £700 million International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay that will feature a 50m (165ft) swimming pool and a 250m (829ft) Olympic standard canoe slalom centre, both due to open in 2008, as well as a real snow ski dome and a sports arena that will host ice hockey, gymnastics, judo and other sports. The complex will also feature casinos, restaurants, hotels and a 120m (400ft) viewing tower that will offer panoramas across South Wales and the Bristol Channel.

Cologne (Köln) is a vibrant German city famous for its awe-inspiring cathedral, Romanesque churches and atmospheric brewhouses.

Despite its strong religious background, Cologne has a reputation as a goodtime town and its Carnival is one of the biggest in Europe. Visitors can sample the city’s famous hospitality in its brewhouses – Cologne boasts more breweries than any other European city.

Cologne also offers some fine museums featuring rich Roman remains and an important artistic heritage.

Despite losing most of its historic centre in WWII, a small proportion of Cologne’s Altstadt survives, right by the river. But the major draw for visitors is Cologne’s cathedral, known as the Dom, arguably the world’s greatest gothic edifice and Germany’s most visited attraction.

Boasting stunning modern architecture, world-class restaurants and cutting edge design, Copenhagen has much to offer visitors.

Canals, lakes and the sea form the backdrop to modern Copenhagen and are a reminder of the city’s heritage as a major Baltic port. 

Despite being the largest city in Scandinavia, Copenhagen nevertheless retains a disarmingly provincial, small-town atmosphere. Gabled houses, narrow streets and delicate spires add it its appeal. Copenhagen is also Europe’s greenest – much of the centre is reserved for pedestrians, strict anti-pollution laws are enforced and bikes often outnumber cars on the streets. Green spaces (including the world-famous Tivoli) abound, while, in the summer, locals throng to pavement cafés and restaurants.