LONDON — Everybody loves a secret. No surprise, then, that the unveiling last fall of a “secret railway” beneath London streets has proven a first-class hit with visitors to London’s new Postal Museum.

WHITBY, ENGLAND — “You’re from Toronto?” asks my cabbie in this picture-perfect North Sea hamlet. Yes, indeed. “Tell me, what does the Six mean?”

SANARY-SUR-MER, FRANCE - If it weren’t for my favourite dystopian novel, I wouldn’t be here, in this picturesque town, gazing out at a perfect scoop of a harbour, where fishing boats and pleasure craft jostle for room.

LEIPZIG, GERMANY - It’s a bright afternoon, and I’m nursing a warm cappuccino at a café in Old Leipzig’s pedestrian-friendly heart.