There's no Alpine experience quite like Switzerland, with the Alps' dramatic snowcapped peaks, historic castles, emerald green valleys, and quaint medieval villages, you may forget all about the adventurous skiing that awaits you.

This isn't your average metropolis. Barcelona, the proud capital of the ancient nation of Catalan, has a quirky blend of timeless elegance and innovative spirit. Vast museums and celebrated structures find their homes among lively markets and outdoor cafes, and experiments in art and fashion are apparent in the laid-back bar and lounge scene, which moves out to the beaches and rooftops in summer months. There's sand, sangria and plenty to do in this super-cultural locale.

This city, which serves as a gateway between Asia and Europe, has more than enough sites to keep you enthralled through the day and into the bustling nightlife. See the stunning Blue Mosque; cruise the gorgeous shoreline, shop the Grand Bazaar, and then, before you jump into a cafe for dinner, rejuvenate in a luxurious Turkish bath. 

Visiting Venice is like unwrapping a present for the senses: The toll of church bells; beribboned gondoliers churning their oars; the sharp scent of coffee; glass chandeliers twinkling; and slender, twisting streets suddenly turning onto sun-filled market squares. The elegant piazzas and glistening waterways of this northern Italian city breathe ancient urban grandeur and romance

Before You Go: Need-to-know info

Entry requirement: Passport
Language: Italian
Currency: Euro
Flight time: 10 hours from NYC, 14 hours from LA, 14 hours from Dallas
Getting around: Vaporetto, traghetto (a gondola with fixed stops), gondola, water taxi

When To Go: Venice at its best

Best weather: April to June, September, and October. July and August are hottest months, and the canals may smell when it's hot. Tourism swells May through September.
Best prices: Winter (excluding the Christmas holidays and Carnevale week), early spring, and late autumn.

What To Do

Take a canal tour: No trip is complete without a gondola ride -- so cuddle up and glide through the enchanting Venetian canals (it'll run you about $75–100 for up to a 50-minute ride).

Visit Piazza San Marco: Pigeons, tourists, and street entertainers flock to this lively plaza, home to the glittering gold and mosaic-embellished Basilica di San Marco and the fresco-filled Palazzo Ducale. Tour the palace and cross the Bridge of Sighs, so named because it was the last view Venetian prisoners had before facing their fate.

Get lost: You're likely to get turned around in Venice, but getting lost was never so much fun. Labyrinthine streets will reveal new discoveries at every turn. Don't pass up that off-the-beaten-path shop selling candy, Carnevale masks, or marbled paper.

Travel by vaporetto: These boats, which carry Venetians just as city buses carry passengers in less liquid locales, are the best way to see the Grand Canal.

Eat fine Italian cuisine: Water, water everywhere provides some of the best seafood in Europe, and the Italian touch creates risotto beyond compare. Best bets include Trattoria Madonna, canal-side Ristorante Da Raffaele, and Harry's Bar, where the Bellini was invented and still reigns supreme.

See Ponte di Rialto: This bridge over the Grand Canal also serves as a marketplace, the perfect spot to buy a gondolier's hat or assorted souvenirs.

Take day trips: Just a short vaporetto ride away are: Murano, the birthplace of Venetian glass; Burano, known for its candy-colored houses and fine lace; and Torcello, site of two lovely 11th-century churches and plenty of prime picnic spots.

With stunning art and monuments everywhere you look, and life-changing meals waiting to be eaten around every corner, Rome is truly a feast for the senses. The city is nirvana for art lovers and history buffs, though if you skipped those classes in college it's the perfect place to get a crash course in Western Civilization.

Rome contains as many perfect backdrops for romance as it does churches and ancient ruins. Think centuries-old piazzas you can amble through at sunset, charming gelaterias filled with tables for two, and the Spanish Steps, one of the landmarks on which Gregory Peck wooed Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. All this means it's a perfect destination for couples -- a city that inspires a lust for life can't help but enhance your lust for each other.

Before You Go: Need-to-know info

Language: Italian
Currency: Euro
Flight time: 9 hours from NYC, 14 hours from LA

When To Go: Rome at its best

Best weather: Although the weather is pleasant all year long, it's nicest in May, June, September and October, when average highs are in the 70s. July and August are often uncomfortably hot (not to mention unpleasantly crowded with tourists).
Best prices: Late fall and winter are when you'll find deals (tourist levels pick up around Easter and peak in July and August).

What To Do

See cultural treasures: There's a staggering wealth of art and architecture in Rome, especially from the classical and Renaissance eras. You'll find yourself awestruck by the experience of wandering through the Coliseum and the ruins of the Forum, and easy to be overwhelmed when gazing at Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.

Shop till you drop: The area around the Spanish Steps is filled with enough high-end boutiques to keep intrepid shoppers occupied for days (or until your credit cards protest). You'll find excellent leather goods, ties, stationery, perfume and the brilliant fashion for which Italy is internationally famous.

Mangia!: Food and drink should be a central focus of any trip to Italy. Some of the Roman culinary delights you shouldn't deprive your palate of: fried artichokes, lamb, and all manner of pasta, especially cacio e pepe (with pecorino and black pepper) and amatriciana (with tomatoes, red pepper and unsmoked bacon called guincale). On the beverage front, punctuate your mornings with small, strong cups of cappuccino (a place called Sant'Eustachio, near the Pantheon, is widely believed to serve the best) and your evenings with, of course, lots of the local vino.

Finding a get-away destination that allows for both lazy days at the beach and epic sight-seeing is hard enough, but when you add life-changing food to your wish list it becomes a very tall order. One of the few places that satisfies all those demands: Sicily. Due to its position as the largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily has played host to a wide variety of cultures -- including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Normans and Moors -- over the centuries, and they left it with a diverse array of world-class landmarks. 

Of course, its location in the middle of the Mediterranean also means the island is blessed with beautiful beaches and dotted with glamorous seaside resort towns. The best vantage points for seeing the island's natural and historical beauty can be found in the unspoiled countryside and the smaller cities such as Taormina, Agrigento, Siracusa and Selinunte. You can divide up your days between sight-seeing and sun-soaking, and spend your evenings feasting on the region's mouthwatering cuisine and local wines -- a recipe for romantic bliss if we ever heard one.

Before You Go: Need-to-know info

Entry requirements: Passport
Language: Italian
Flight time: To Rome, 8 hours from NYC, 13 1/2 from LA, plus a 1 hour flight to Catania, Sicily
Getting around: Car, taxis, buses

When To Go: Sicily at its best

Best weather: The weather is mild and sunny all year long, with average highs in the 60s during the "off season" of November through April, and in the 80s during the summer months, when tourism peaks.
Best prices: Prices drop in the late fall and winter, and reach rock bottom in January and February. This can be a brilliant time to go as you'll also have many of the sights to yourself and be able to mix and mingle with the locals more freely than you could during the high season. You should be able to get a discount during the "shoulder season" of September and October, when highs are still in the 70s and 80s but the summer crowds have gone.

What To Do

Mangia e bevi: Sicily's cuisine is unique -- part Southern Italy with a North African influence -- and uniquely delicious. Think lots of fresh fish and vegetables. Perhaps Sicily's most addictive signature delicacy is arancini (fried rice balls), though the island's desserts are also to die for. Cannoli are just the beginning. Wash it all down with blood orange juice at breakfast, and at all other times with the island's signature fruity, full-bodied wines.

Glimpse ancient cultures: Sicily possesses architecture and ruins that are arguably as impressive as those of Athens or Rome. You'll find them along the island's eastern edge, from the shadow of Mt. Etna to the town of Siracusa, and on the western shore in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, a breathtaking collection of well-preserved classical ruins.

Live la dolce vita: In the coastal resort towns like Taormina you can bask in the sun with European jet-setters, who flock here for the beautiful beaches and sybaritic atmosphere. You can also soak up the sweet life by going for a drive into the island's heartland, where you'll find vistas of vineyards, olive groves and citrus orchards, and small farming communities that haven't changed in decades, if not centuries.

Travel to Portugal and you'll find romance in the form of temperate weather, delectable local cuisine, picturesque river cruises, and a robust wine country. While you're there, don't miss out on the other attractions that make Portugal a must-visit destination, like great golfing, white sandy beaches, and quaint historic villages.