Europe

(Third of three parts)

(1 of 2 on Portugal)

Two of Portugal’s most remarkable monasteries — Alcobaça and Batalha — lie within 12 miles of each other 80 miles north of Lisbon. One celebrates a tragic love, and the other, victory in war.

Above Zermatt, Switzerland, the Glacier Palace (P.O. Box 378, 3920 Zermatt, Switzerland; phone +41 27 966 81 00, fax +41 27 966 81 01) is a 990-square-meter “palace” (sometimes a wedding venue) hollowed out of the surrounding glacier. Attractions inside the palace include ice sculptures, a 10-meter-long ice slide and a scenic viewpoint.

The palace is accessible year-round from two elevators behind the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car station. Admission is CHF8 ($8).

If the tide is out, you can walk a quarter-mile cobblestone causeway to St. Michael’s Mount. Don’t worry if you linger on your tour of the castellated mansion atop this tidal island, a mirror image of Normandy’s famed Mont-St-Michel directly across the English Channel. When the tide comes rushing in, a motorboat ferry will carry you back.

Most visitors travel to the island for the sole purpose of wandering the public, grand rooms of the castle, owned and continuously lived in by members of the St. Aubyn family since 1646.

Americans get the shortest vacations in the industrial world. With so little time, the pressure is on to make all the right choices when planning a trip. But how to select the right destination!? It ultimately depends on your interests and your tastes — and what your experienced travel writer tells you.

12 days / 12 nights, May 12-24, 2013. Highlights: Venice / Roman mosaic at Basilica of Aqui­leia / star-shaped town of Palmanova / day trip to Lipica and Piran in SLOVENIA / Cividale del Friuli outdoor market / Butterfly House in Bordano. Land, $3,895. Single supp., $550. Intimate France (Oakland, CA; 800 / 676-1247).

12-day / 10-night river cruise in HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA, AUSTRIA and GERMANY. Highlights: In Budapest, Hungary, Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion / walking tour of Bratislava, Slovakia / wine-and-music evening in Vienna, Austria / Melk Abbey / Linz / medieval Regensburg, Germany / Munich. Cruise only, $2,499-$4,698; including land, $3,189-$5,388. Single supp. is cruise-only price plus 50% plus $390 for land portion. AmaWaterways (Chatsworth, CA; 800 / 626-0126).

12-day / 11-night North Atlantic whale-watching cruise aboard 105-passenger M / V Ortelius. Departures June-October 2013. Highlights: Hansweert, NETHERLANDS / Aberdeen, SCOTLAND / in Shetland Island waters, minke whales, white-beaked dolphins / Pictish stone ruins on Fair Isle / glaciers, bird-watching on NORWEGIAN island of Jan Mayan / look for blue whales, orcas, polar bears, walrus near Alkhornet / Longyearbyen. Cruise, from €1,500 (near $1,937) quad porthole to €2,900 suite. Single rate is base times 1.7.

8 days / 7 nights, departing June 8 & 22 and July 6, 2013. Highlights: City tour of Reykjavik / Deildartunguhver hot springs / Akureyri / Goðafoss waterfall / whale-watching / lava formations, birds at Lake Myvatn / Dettifoss / Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier / Skógar Folk Museum / horse show / Þingvellir National Park, site of Viking Parliament. Land, from $2,105. Brekke Tours & Travel (Grand Forks, ND; 800/437-5302).

Since I first discovered it in March 1999, I have stayed seven times at the Balmoral House Hotel (156-157 Sussex Gardens, London, W20 1UD, U.K.; phone 020 7723 7445, fax 7402 0118), my most recent stay ending June 4, 2012. In all, I’ve stayed there over 50 nights.