The great cities of Europe are more than just tourist destinations

The first concept, when a traveller thinks of a holiday in Europe, is its geography: the idea of a stretch of land that covers from the Atlantic through to the Ural Mountains, that constitutes a geographical entity called Europe.

Many of us remember fondly what has made our own journeys to Europe special - a street market on the Rue de Buci, a Sunday stroll through the Jardins des Luxembourg and the incomparable view upstream from the Pont Neuf. But for others, it is the shimmer on the surface of the Venetian lagoon, the remains of ancient civilisations that litter the Mediterranean or the wisteria-draped townhouses of London’s Georgian squares that generate the same fond attraction. Even in an age of globalization, the great cities of Europe are more than just tourist destinations; they are integral to the history and culture of the entire globe.

But despite its ancient heritage and soul, time on the old continent moves at the same restless pace as elsewhere. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Europe has changed dramatically. Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and the Baltic States are now part of the European Union, the boundaries of which stretch from Portugal to the western edge of Russia. For travellers, this has brought a wealth of new opportunities. There are now luxury hotels in places as far apart as Tallinn and Dubrovnik. And Berlin itself, the Reichstag now transformed by Norman Foster’s extraordinary glass dome, has recovered its place as one of the continent’s most important and culturally vibrant cities.