In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

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Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

On a recent visit to Oslo, I found a vibrant city of interesting contradictions and surprises. For instance, it's a mistake to think of it as a homogenous city of blond, blue-eyed Nordics. Immigrants make up almost a quarter of its 540,000 population. The once-seedy area of Grunerlokka is being revitalized with ethnic markets and cafes. When I was there, about 100 Afghan refugees seeking asylum had pitched tents outside Oslo Cathedral, staging a hunger strike to protest deportation.<br>
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It's the capital of a socially progressive constitutional monarchy, and its people are devoted to its royal family, which is pretty progressive itself. In 2001, Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the throne, married Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, a single mother with a son born out of wedlock.<br>
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-- Beverly Beyette<br>
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Read more: <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2006/nov/26/travel/tr-oslo26">Oslo is Norway's grand prize of a cosmopolitan city</a><br>
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<i>Pictured: A view along Karl Johans Gate.</i>

Oslo, Norway

( Beverly Beyette )

On a recent visit to Oslo, I found a vibrant city of interesting contradictions and surprises. For instance, it's a mistake to think of it as a homogenous city of blond, blue-eyed Nordics. Immigrants make up almost a quarter of its 540,000 population. The once-seedy area of Grunerlokka is being revitalized with ethnic markets and cafes. When I was there, about 100 Afghan refugees seeking asylum had pitched tents outside Oslo Cathedral, staging a hunger strike to protest deportation.

It's the capital of a socially progressive constitutional monarchy, and its people are devoted to its royal family, which is pretty progressive itself. In 2001, Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the throne, married Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, a single mother with a son born out of wedlock.

-- Beverly Beyette

Read more: Oslo is Norway's grand prize of a cosmopolitan city

Pictured: A view along Karl Johans Gate.