Shrouded in myth and legend, Athens is a city where every step lands you directly in history. Temples, shrines and statues pepper the ancient cityscape, each dedicated to iconic Greek luminaries like warrior goddess Athena or Poseidon, God of the sea. Gaze up at the world-famous Acropolis and feel the speechlessness that only this place can produce.

Across the Adriatic from Italy lies Dubrovnik, the unofficial capital of Croatia's dazzling Dalmatian Coast. Its subtropical climate has made this fortified city an ideal port for merchants and seafarers since the 7th century, and an equally ideal backdrop for our Sailors (and Hollywood location scouts) ever since.

Albania's best-kept secret is getting harder to keep. Sarandë, draped along the cerulean edge of the Ionian Sea directly across from Corfu, is the kind of place that makes you feel like a discovery, even as the rest of the world slowly catches on. Its name traces back to a Byzantine monastery of the Forty Saints, and that sense of ancient devotion still lingers in the air, woven between the scent of sea salt and freshly brewed raki.

If Greece's islands each had a designation.. the leader, the wild one, the free spirit.. Corfu would be the effortlessly chic tastemaker. Simply dripping in history, its narrow cobblestone alleys hide a world of adventure worthy of a fantasy film. Stumble upon landmarks like the Old Town's former Venetian opera house, the Palace of St. Michael & St. George housing a remarkable Museum of Asian Art, and the Saint Spyridon Church, whose patron saint was said to have expelled the plague from the island. It's not that Corfu is pretentious; it's simply the classic Hollywood starlet of Greek islands, radiating a worldly sophistication that naturally makes you want more.

Simply hearing the word "Mykonos" triggers something.. eyes widen, smiles broaden, memories (or dreams) of sunset seafood dinners by the waves and delicately tiled mosaic walkways come flooding back. Those who've never been will discover a world they've never seen; those returning will understand why Mykonos only gets better. Beach umbrellas peppering an eternal coastline, a pelican population as teeming as its local fishermen, and copious shades of blue in every direction, Mykonos just has that special something.