The crossing-places
Istanbul between two continents, port cities, capitals. Everybody here is halfway to somewhere else.
Ancient Smyrna, Turkey's third city. The most relaxed, most secular, most Mediterranean of the big cities — a bay-front Korso and excellent seafood.
The actual city is a collection of microclimates and neighborhoods you wouldn't think were the same place. Forget the Golden Gate photo — go to a neighborhood and walk it.
The city that ran the industrial empire, then ran most of the 20th century's cultural one. Museums are free. The pubs are the point.
Two empires, two continents, 1,500 years of being the capital of the world. The Bosphorus runs through dinner.
Two square kilometers of principality on a Mediterranean rock. The casino is the cliché; the actual draw is the gardens, the palace, and one of the best aquariums in Europe.
Canada's most populous city — half global multicultural lab, half small-town friendly. The neighborhoods are the trip: Kensington, Little Italy, Greektown, Chinatown, Little India.