Mulhouse, France

Mulhouse sits in southern Alsace on the Ill River and the Rhône-Rhine canal, with roughly 110,000 residents. First documented in 803, the town joined France only in 1798 after centuries as an independent republic. Its industrial wealth grew from 18th-century calico printing, now documented in the 1857 printed-textile museum. The Cité de l'Automobile holds the world's largest car collection, over 450 vehicles including some 120 Bugattis, while the Cité du Train ranks as Europe's largest railway museum. The 1866 Saint-Étienne Protestant Temple rises above the rooftops with the city's tallest spire.