The best places to buy red lingerie. Every December, Romans buy new red lingerie to wear when they usher in the New Year. As a result, the city is home to many shops that specialize in red underwear. For the finest lingerie in Rome (red and otherwise), visit the via Frattina area. Try Vanita, via Frattina 70, which has beautiful lace slips, hand-embroidered silk items and a good selection of beachwear. Also visit the elegant shop Tomasiini, via Sistina 119, run by Luisa Romagnoli. Romagnoli's silk slips are works of art. Gentry, via Frattina 100, sells designers' men's lines, including Valentino and Cardin.

The world's most beautiful crèèches. During the Christmas season, Rome is decorated with creches rather than lights and Santas. The three most beautiful are the Spanish Steps, in the Piazza Navona and in St. Peter's Square. The oldest Roman creche, in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, contains figures crafted by Arnolfo di Cambio, the most celebrated architect of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. However, the creche most beloved by Romans is at S. Maria d'Aracoeli, at the top of 122 stairs on the Capitoline Hill. It features the Santo Bambino. Every afternoon from Christmas Day to Epiphany (Jan. 6) children recite poems in front of the creche. Cosma e Damiono, via dei Fori Imperiali, houses an 18th century Neapolitan masterpiece-the only creche on display year-round.

The best ice cream in Florence. Vivoli's, via Isola delle Stinche 7, behind Santa Croce Square, is one of the best places in the world to buy ice cream. The lines are long, but the choice of flavors is great and the ice cream out-of-this-world.

SPAIN

The best bull in town. While bullfights may seem barbaric to animal lovers, the Spanish believe the odds between man and bull are even. They see bullfights as a match between man and the untamed elements. The Spanish sense of fair play in a bullfight can be gruesome to the uninitiated. A recent match pitted a matador against the bull who had gouged out his eye. In the rematch, the bull's eye also was removed. An eye for an eye, so they say! The rematch was one of the most heavily attended events in Spanish history. Incidentally, the matador won. In Madrid, bullfights can be seen nearly every Sunday and Thursday from Easter through October at Las Ventas, Plaza de Toros Monumental, or at the smaller ring, Vista Alegre. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the counter at Calle Victoria 9, near the Puerta del Sol. But you usually can get a ticket at the door. Shows generally start at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. (Make sure you buy tickets for the shady side of the ring, even though they are slightly more expensive.)

Pamplona: the ultimate machismo. Each July in Pamplona, the ultimate display of machismo takes place. The townsmen pit their lives against hundreds of bulls set loose in the streets and herded toward the bullring. To display their courage, the men run before the bulls, often injuring themselves. Festivities begin when a rocket is fired from the town hall. Then bands of bagpipers march through town announcing the running of the bulls. Young people roam the streets singing, dancing and drinking. The celebration was made famous by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises. All this revelry is in the name of the town's patron saint, San Fermin, a bishop and martyr from Pamplona. Buried in Amiens, France, his body mysteriously disappeared. The body was miraculously found six centuries later and legend says that, although it was midwinter, the trees burst into leaf.

The best nude beach. The Costa Brava has a number of lovely secluded beaches perfect for nude sunbathing. Cabo de Creus has clean water and little caves hidden among the rocks.

IRELAND

The oldest pub in Ireland. The Brazen Head, Bridge Street, Dublin, is the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to the 12th century. It is five minutes away from the antique shops on Francis Street and it's a perfect break from your shopping. The Guinness here is superb; the brewery is only a stone's throw away and the smell of hops stays with you for hours after you've moved on.

The holiest mountain. Ireland's holiest mountain is Croagh Patrick in County Mayo. More than 2,500 feet high, it was from here that St. Patrick reputedly banished all snakes from the island. Each Garland Sunday, the last Sunday in July, 60,000 pilgrims clamber to the summit.