By Audrey Sykes— Europe’s ski towns are scattered across the Alps and serve as ideal winter getaways for those living up north. Innsbruck, Austria is one of the favorites and one of the cheapest. It’s bigger than surrounding towns, with a larger population and thus a lot more to offer in terms of quality and » Read more

By C.H. Kwak in Berlin— ‘Tis the season… to shop and drink mulled wine, that is. Christmas markets in Berlin have been spreading faster than bedbugs in New York. Today there are over 60 markets in Berlin. You really don’t need me to tell you where to go, since you will stumble onto one at » Read more

By Marc Justin in Florence— There are a couple of well-kept secrets about Florence’s contemporary art scene: 1) It exists, and 2) a lot of it is free. You may now fold up your wallet, unzip your artistic inhibitions and check out these suggestions for partaking in the Florence art scene of today: 1. Le » Read more

By Nicole Arriaga in Rome— When it comes to holiday festivities, Rome doesn’t exactly turn into tinsel town. That’s partly because the holiday season in Italy is focused on the religious aspects of the celebration, rather than on leaving presents under the Christmas tree. Christmas traditions in Italy Italians wait to give gifts to children » Read more

Laura Mongillo in Florence— When people think of Italian fashion their mind usually goes straight to Milan and Rome. But it’s actually Florence that is the birthplace of many of Italy’s most famous designers and fashion houses such as Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Emilio Pucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and the up and coming Patrizia Pepe. With all » Read more

The holidays are upon us and New York City is abuzz with hurried shoppers and jubilant tourists enjoying the winter decor. With the city’s holiday transformation also comes the temporary transformation of city squares and spaces into pop-up holiday marts. These little boutiques are great for last-minute shoppers and those looking for unique gifts and » Read more

By Joann Plockova in Prague— It’s that time of year when Prague’s skies have turned gray and will stay that way for longer than most of us like. However, being the colorful city that it is—in terms of the variety of its activities options—Prague offers numerous ways to escape the gray and bring some color » Read more

By Cynthia Kane in Madrid— If shopping is on the agenda while you’re in Madrid, you’ll surely come across price tags that will make you scratch your head. The good news is that although most trendy stores will drain your funds, there are some spots that won’t. Clothing: Lefties Multiple locations, including: Calle Carretas, 10 » Read more

By C. H. Kwak— Type “Bordeaux” into Google and the all-knowing gods of auto-suggest will fill in “wine” for you. But I was inspired by my friend Emilie, a Bordelaise who doesn’t drink. She’d always told me there was plenty to do in Bordeaux that doesn’t involve red wine. I recently spent a week in » Read more