Madrid, Spain

Madrid pulses with 24-hour energy: grand Bourbon boulevards frame the 3.2-million-strong capital, yet every corner hides a tiled tapas bar where jamón ibérico is sliced by hand. The Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen form a golden triangle of art that spans Velázquez to Guernica, while Retiro Park and rooftop siestas keep the city’s heartbeat (and its 6.2 million metro souls) gracefully in rhythm.