The art of enjoying life is perfected in Barcelona, where restaurants on Las Ramblas welcome nightly guests for leisurely four-hour dinners; where tapas bars serve so many dozens of little delicacies that customers often spend entire chunks of the day just eating through the menu; and where the nightclubs go till dawn. The city is great fun to explore, whether you're having a drink at a port nightspot or people-watching on the crowded beach or tripping around the tiny streets of the Gothic Quarter.

Plaza Catalunya is the central point of Barcelona, but fashionistas will be more familiar with Paseo de Gracia or Paseo de Colon. For photo ops, pose by the 164-foot-tall Monument a Colon (Christopher Columbus statue) or the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.