Sailing into the stony harbor of the island of Malta, surrounded by ramparts and turrets, you realize that this strategic and much fought-over rock midway between Sicily and Africa has had a long and difficult history. But its parade of foreign rulers (Phoenician, Roman, Greek, Arab, Norman, Sicilian and British -- to name a few) make it a fascinating place to explore today.

The imposing capital city of Valletta is a monument to this hard-...

An endearing slice of Portugal is the Douro River Valley, the winding, terraced region that produces the country’s beloved port wine. This is Portugal’s answer to Germany’s romantic Rhine River Valley. But, unlike the Rhine, the Douro was never a strategic military location, so, rather than castles and stony ramparts, visitors encounter farms and sleepy villages. The only thing fortified here… is the wine.

The Douro region, where port is produced,...

On a recent trip to Great Britain, I decided at the last minute to snip two days off from my time in London and go somewhere I've never been before: the Orkney Islands. Perched just an hour's ferry ride north of the Scottish mainland, these islands are remote, historic, and -- for the right traveler -- well worth the effort.

Orkney has two draws unmatched elsewhere in Scotland: some of the finest prehistoric sites in northern Europe,...