If immersing yourself in cultures and languages different from your own interest you, then Europe is the place to go. On a landmass about the size of the United States, you can experience the traditions, sites and cuisines of dozens of countries that have unique and intertwined histories. What’s more, you can enjoy climates ranging from the warmth of Italy and the French Riviera to the Arctic elements of Scandinavia and Russia. With so much of our past and so many of our customs tied to the ways of Europe and the British Isles, traveling to those regions can help you understand the places that ancestors of many North Americans – including you, perhaps – called home, as well as enjoy the modern vitality of many cities and towns.