Plot Synopsis

Each one-hour episode of METROPOLIS focuses on a different city -- New York, Rome, San Francisco, London, Paris and New Orleans -- using locals with hands-on knowledge to guide viewers through each location, revealing surprising untold stories about mouth-watering foods and fascinating histories that define the growth and present day experience of their great city. The show unveils hidden gems, like how New York's grid system was forced to accommodate an ancient Native American trail that today gives the Flatiron building its unique shape. Plus, the guides look at the moments when each city overcame the challenges of its environment through technological ingenuity; when its men and women found new ways of using the resources in their landscape and when unsung heroes helped shape the cities. On Sunday, January 4, 2015 from 9-11pm ET/PT, Travel Channel premiered the first two of these six specials but had no other programs on its schedule at that time. At 9pm ET/PT, METROPOLIS covered Manhattan, showcasing some of the best restaurants, bars and famous landmarks in modern city, while showing what it took to make this small island in New York's harbor define the term metropolis. Then at 10pm ET/PT, METROPOLIS moved across America to San Francisco, where the program uses graphics, re-enactments and celebrities to reveal how a diverse population overcame disaster to transform a Spanish port into a tech and cultural capital, which now boasts some of America's most famous foods and landmarks.