VIENNA, AUSTRIA – They are often referred to as the crown jewels of European architecture – over 200 regal buildings located in this compact capital that were literally fit for kings.

LIGIST, AUSTRIA – As the gallant white stallion pranced around the outdoor ring snorting and sniffing and casting a menacing eye towards a nearby barn filled with mares, a young Austrian man turned to some friends and said: “I think the horse has had too much schilcher.”

GRAZ, AUSTRIA – Graz is one of the most charming places in a country dominated by charming cities and towns. A city of 250,000 - the second largest in Austria - Graz is located just a few hours from Venice and the Italian influence is seen everywhere here; in how the people dress (far trendier than in either Vienna or Salzburg); and the style of architecture, which reminds a visitor of colourful Tuscan cities.

THE HAGUE - This city is often referred to as the “Third Option” because it’s usually the third place most tourists to The Netherlands visit after stops in first Amsterdam and then Rotterdam. But just a few hours after I arrive in stately Den Haag, as it’s called by the Dutch, I quickly realize this remarkable city that drifts off into the North Sea in South Holland should have been my first stop.

UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS -: The residents of this handsome city that looks like it jumped off the pages of a Dutch fairytale are quick to tell me “we are the heart of The Netherlands.”

I hang over an enormous copper bowl cradled in a hammock like a tea bag waiting to be submerged. My spa therapist Julia encourages me to relax. So I close my eyes and take a deep, nervous breath in anticipation of what’s to come.

LAGUARDIA, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN - A cloud of doubt hangs over Juan Manuel Lavín Santamaria’s head as he surveys the dark sky forming above this picturesque medieval Basque town.

I must confess, I have a love, hate relationship with observation (Ferris) wheels — I “love” the view they offer but “hate” how they disturb iconic skylines like London and Singapore. However, while I may find the massive urban wheels to be more eye sore than eye candy, millions of people disagree — they’re the ones who stand in long lineups and pay for the slow motion “thrill” of riding in one of the wheels’ futuristic observation pods.

I step into the lobby of the posh Merrion Hotel and pause when I see people wearing audio devices and admiring priceless works of art. I’m left to wonder: Is this the best hotel in Dublin or the National Gallery?

I love cemeteries, because they’re alive with history. European gravesites especially fascinate me. A stroll through Paris’ Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where the likes of Chopin and Jim Morrison are buried, or Edinburgh’s 16th-century Greyfriars Kirkyard with its touching legend of Greyfriars’ Bobby (a faithful Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding the gravesite of his master), or London’s Westminster Cathedral, where kings, queens, explorers and the giants of English literature lie in crypt...