Voyage of the Vikings

Boston is America's revolutionary birthplace and intellectual capital, a supremely walkable city where the Freedom Trail connects sixteen historic sites past Italian North End bakeries and Beacon Hill's gaslit streets. Must-do experiences include walking the Freedom Trail, eating a lobster roll at the Union Oyster House, and exploring the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. September and October bring peak fall foliage; spring brings the Marathon and blooming gardens.

Portland, Maine, is America’s most exciting small food city, perched on a Casco Bay peninsula where the Old Port’s brick-and-granite streets house more restaurants per capita than nearly any U.S. city, fueled by legendary Maine lobster and Gulf oysters. Must-dos include a lobster roll on the working waterfront, browsing the Portland Museum of Art’s Winslow Homer collection, and a ferry ride to Casco Bay’s car-free islands. Visit September and October for New England’s spectacular fall foliage and the finest weather.

Sydney, on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, is a charming harbour city where Scottish-Acadian heritage meets raw Atlantic beauty, serving as the gateway to the legendary Cabot Trail — one of the world's most spectacular coastal drives. Visitors should savour the island's renowned seafood chowder and traditional oatcakes while exploring the colourful waterfront boardwalk. The peak season stretches from late June through October, when autumn's fiery foliage transforms the highlands into a tapestry of crimson and gold.

Corner Brook sits on Newfoundland's west coast at the head of the Bay of Islands, framed by the Long Range Mountains and steeped in maritime history dating to Captain Cook's 1767 survey. Must-dos include visiting nearby Gros Morne National Park, tasting pan-fried cod tongues, and taking in the bay panorama from Cook's monument. July through September offers the best weather, with autumn foliage adding dramatic color.

Red Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Labrador's coast where sixteenth-century Basque whalers operated the world's largest whaling industry, leaving remarkably preserved shipwrecks and onshore tryworks. Must-dos include visiting the National Historic Site museum, taking a boat to Saddle Island's tryworks ruins, and watching for whales and icebergs in the Strait of Belle Isle. Visit July to August for the warmest weather and best wildlife sightings.

Paamiut is a small Greenlandic town on the Davis Strait coast, set against a dramatic backdrop of ice-capped mountains and drifting icebergs in one of Earth's most sparsely inhabited regions. Must-dos include kayaking among icebergs, whale watching from the harbor, and tasting fresh Arctic char and halibut. Visit June to September for midnight sun and the warmest conditions.

Nanortalik, Greenland's southernmost town, sits amid fjords of staggering granite walls and drifting icebergs at the edge of the inhabitable Arctic. Must-dos include boat excursions to Tasermiut Fjord's 1,500-meter granite spires, visiting the open-air museum of Inuit heritage, and tasting traditional Greenlandic cuisine. July through September offers the only navigable window for visiting.

Prince Christian Sound is Greenland's most dramatic navigable passage — a forty-kilometer corridor between thousand-meter cliffs and hanging glaciers that expedition ships from Seabourn to Silversea transit when ice conditions permit. Navigate July through September for humpback whale encounters, iceberg-studded waters, and the visceral Arctic experience that empties every cabin and fills every open deck regardless of weather.

Reykjavik, the world's northernmost capital, distils the entire improbable beauty of Iceland into one compact, creatively charged city. The soaring basalt columns of Hallgrímskirkja dominate a skyline of primary-coloured rooftops, while the Harpa Concert Hall shimmers beside the harbour like a captured aurora. Day trips from the city unlock the Golden Circle's geysers and Geysir hot spring, the black sand beaches of Vík, and the ethereal glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón. Geothermal pools — from the legendary Blue Lagoon to intimate neighbourhood hot pots — offer warmth year-round. June and July bring the bewitching midnight sun.

Eidfjord is a fjord village of fewer than a thousand residents at the innermost tip of Norway's Hardangerfjord, framed by towering peaks and the vast Hardangervidda plateau. Visitors should not miss the 182-metre Vøringsfossen waterfall and the ancient rock carvings at Hæreid, both within easy reach of the waterfront. The prime season stretches from late May through early September, when endless Nordic daylight illuminates the glacial waters and the surrounding Hardanger orchards are in full bloom.

Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, is a city that rebuilt itself from wartime ruin into one of the continent's most exhilarating architectural laboratories — a skyline of Cube Houses, the pencil-thin Westerkade skyscrapers, and the breathtaking Markthal arching over an indoor food market of extraordinary abundance. The Boijmans Van Beuningen collection ranks among Europe's finest, while the art district of Witte de With pulses with galleries and design studios. Day-trip to Kinderdijk's nineteen iconic windmills, a UNESCO World Heritage site rising from the polders just south of the city. Spring and early summer offer the finest conditions.