From Beijing to Brooklyn, the constant evolution of urban areas is enough to make you question why anyone would ever need a weekend escape in the country. Now that you can gamble at a beachfront casino, combine your daily run with happy hour, and hang glide in tandem, all within city limits, why not seek out a metropolis and stick around? One Italian standby is getting new attention for its classic cuisine (although we suggest partaking in the gourmand’s tour of Milan when impossibly skinny models aren’t sashaying down the catwalk). Even traditional Paris is up to new tricks, offering visitors lessons on how to fit in. Loosen up your shoulders: it’s time for shrug practice.