The capital of Portugal, Lisbon is a city open to the sea and carefully planned with 18th-century elegance. Its founder is said to be the legendary Ulysses, but the theory of an original Phoenician settlement is probably more realistic. Known in Portugal as Lisboa, the city was inhabited by the Romans, Visigoths and, beginning in the 8th century, the Moors. Much of the 16th century was a period of great prosperity and overseas expansion for Portugal. Tragedy struck on All Saints' Day in 1755 with a devastating earthquake that killed about 40,000 people. The destruction of Lisbon shocked the continent. As a result, the Baixa (Lower City) emerged in a single phase of building, carried out in less than a decade by the royal minister, the Marques de Pombal. His carefully planned layout of a perfect neo-classical grid is still evident and remains the heart of the city.There are still remains of pre-quake Lisbon in the Belйm suburb, which survived the destruction, and the old Moorish…

New York City comprises 5 boroughs sitting where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean. At its core is Manhattan, a densely populated borough that’s among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers. Its iconic sites include skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building and sprawling Central Park. Broadway theater is staged in neon-lit Times Square.

Gustavia is the main town and capital of the island of Saint Barthélemy. Originally called Le Carénage, it was renamed in honor of King Gustav III of Sweden.

Portsmouth is a port city and naval base on England’s south coast, mostly spread across Portsea Island. It’s known for its maritime heritage and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The dockyard is home to the interactive National Museum of the Royal Navy, the wooden warship HMS Victory, where Nelson died in the Battle of Trafalgar, and HMS Warrior 1860. The Tudor ship Mary Rose is also conserved in a dockyard museum.

Marigot is the main town and capital in the French Collectivity of Saint Martin.

Kralendijk is the capital of Bonaire, a Dutch island in the Caribbean Sea. Colorful architecture dots the shopping street of Kaya Grandi. The Bonaire Museum displays archaeological finds, shells and old photos. Off the coast is Bonaire National Marine Park, with a coral reef sheltering tropical fish. This stretches west to Klein Bonaire Island, where the sandy beaches provide a nesting ground for sea turtles.

Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island. It’s known for its old town center, with pastel-colored colonial architecture. The floating Queen Emma Bridge connects the Punda and Otrobanda neighborhoods across Sint Anna Bay. By the water is the 19th-century Rif Fort, now housing a shopping center. City restaurants serve dishes influenced by the island's mostly Dutch and Afro-Caribbean cuisines.

Ocho Rios is a port town on the north coast of Jamaica. A former fishing village, it’s now a resort with a cruise ship harbor and a busy bay beach that’s lined with hotels. The surrounding parish of Saint Ann is home to rainforest, rivers and waterfalls. Dunn’s River Falls is a terraced, 180m mountain waterfall with lagoon pools, surrounded by trees.

Gustavia is the main town and capital of the island of Saint Barthélemy. Originally called Le Carénage, it was renamed in honor of King Gustav III of Sweden.

Saint John is a city on the Bay of Fundy, in New Brunswick, Canada. It’s known for the Reversing Rapids, a phenomenon caused by bay tides colliding with the Saint John River. Food and craft stalls fill the Saint John City Market, in an 1876 building. On a peninsula nearby, trails wind through Irving Nature Park’s salt marshes, volcanic rock and forests. The 1913 Imperial Theatre stages plays, concerts and dance.

Fort-de-France is the capital of the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French overseas territory. It’s known for colonial architecture, ornate iron balconies, tropical flowers and beaches. La Savane park has a statue of Napoleon I’s wife Joséphine, a native of the island. Exhibits at the Martinique Museum of Archaeology and Prehistory focus on the island’s history, especially the pre-Columbian period. .

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a French archipelago south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Sparsely populated Miquelon-­Langlade island contains the Grand Barachois lagoon, home to seabirds and seals. The busier Saint Pierre island has a distinct French atmosphere, with a cathedral and the Musée Heritage, which celebrates regional history. An island nearby, Île-aux-Marins, features an abandoned fishing village.

Marigot is the main town and capital in the French Collectivity of Saint Martin.

Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the Grenadines, with an area of about 0.46 sq. miles and a population of about 271. The population is centered in an unnamed village, located on Station Hill, a hilltop in the south-west of the island. It is an isolated community, accessible only by boat.

Port Elizabeth is a city on Algoa Bay in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. A major port, it's also known for its numerous beaches. The Donkin Heritage Trail takes in the Old Hill neighbourhood's Victorian landmarks. Coastal boat tours spot whales and rare seabirds, while wildlife reserves outside the metropolitan area are home to elephants, rhinos and other big game.

St. George’s is the capital city of the Caribbean island of Grenada. In the town center, the 18th-century Fort George offers panoramic views of the island and St. George’s Bay. Nearby, Fort Matthew was formerly a battleground and, later, an asylum, and has underground tunnels. The Grenada National Museum hosts exhibits about the history of the region, including the plantation economy and the whaling industry.

Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, is a port city on the island’s southwest coast. It's known for its British colonial architecture, 17th-century Garrison and horseracing track. Near the central National Heroes Square, which fringes the Constitution River, Nidhe Israel Synagogue and its museum explore the island’s Jewish history. Carlisle Bay is home to 6 shipwreck dive sites, Browne’s Beach and a yacht club.

Basseterre is the capital of the Caribbean island federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It’s the gateway to popular Saint Kitts beaches like South Friars Bay. At the city’s heart, Independence Square has an Italian-inspired fountain. Just off the Circus traffic circle, with its Victorian Berkeley Memorial Clock Tower, is the National Museum. In the stately Old Treasury Building, it explores the islands’ colonial past.