Set on the vine-clad banks of the Main River and embellished with beautiful baroque masterpieces and delightful Franconian wineries, this lively university city of Wurzburg serves as a suitably picturesque starting point for Bavaria’s Romantic Road.

Cumbria, England's most northwestern county, is considered one of the most beautiful in the country. Valleys and fells are home to idyllic villages, high rolling moorland and plenty of lakes. While climbing, biking and hiking are popular, literary connections draw visitors to Grasmere and Rydal. Keswick, Ambleside and Windermere offer hotels and restaurants. Driving is the best way to get around sites such as Wordsworth's Dove Cottage and The World of Beatrix Potter.

Kilkenny is over 400 years old, but it sure doesn’t show its age. Yes, it's an awe-inspiring throng of medieval cathedrals, castles, abbeys and other massive stone buildings, but Kilkenny loves to party. An endless stream of arts festivals celebrating theater, comedy, bluegrass and dance is constantly pumping the city with new life, toe-tapping energy and international flavor.