A beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture, the Kurhaus in Merano (aka Meran), Italy, is a reminder of this South Tyrolian city’s importance as a spa town in the second half of the 19th century. Opened on New Year’s Eve, 1914, this grand building, designed by Viennese Secessionist architect Friedrich Ohmann, was built to expand on the original spa that served Europe’s upper class as the town’s popularity grew. Renovated in the 1980s, it now serves as a stylish...

Travelers can experience many of Monaco’s attractions with a day trip from the French Riviera or an excursion from a cruise ship. The tiny Principality of Monaco is the second-smallest country in the world (the Vatican is smaller); however, it seems larger when you try to visit all of its top sights in a single day.

The Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the Monaco Cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum are all conveniently clustered in Monaco-Ville. The high ground of Monaco-...

My wife and I took a private tour of the Balkan countries with Bulgarian guide Martin Semerdjiev (martinert@yahoo.com). We selected him after seeing a reader’s report in ITN (Dec. ’18, pg. 36). It was a bit of a risk to sign on to spending 24 days with one person, but we were very pleased with the result.

Starting and ending in Sofia, Bulgaria, we did a loop, going to Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Romania. Martin planned where we would...