Its downtown is a wholly different place, with chic Middle Eastern restaurants along Ben Gurion Avenue, freshly planted palm trees in Paris Square and throngs of tourists skipping off cruise ships in the renovated port.

BBC: Hip Haifa, Israel��s third city

The glitzier of the two options occupies a 30, 000-square foot lot on Palm Island in Miami Beach, Fla.

FORBES: Infamous Estates: Homes With Notorious Histories And Criminal Pasts Come To Market

Flanked by palm trees and encompassing 24, 500 square feet, the St.

FORBES: The Most Opulent And Lavish Amenities Invading Luxury Homes

For his part, Pope Francis will begin the Church's most important liturgical season on Sunday with a Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square.

BBC: Pope Francis visits Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo

Kicking off Holy Week is the lively and colourful celebration of Palm Sunday, when the grey St Peter's Square turns into a sea of green.

BBC: Easter in Rome

Frank McKinney, a real-estate developer, says he regrets the number of water features he put into a 15, 000-square-foot spec house he built several years ago in Palm Beach County, Fla.

WSJ: High Water Marks