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Obidos is one of Portugal's well-preserved middle age towns. Walls that can be climbed for excellent views over the town and the surrounding area surround it. You can climb a small hill nearby for even better views. From the hill you will also get a good idea of the enormous size of the well-preserved aqueduct that connecting the town with a nearby lake.
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Antoni Gaudi's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Spain
The most famous masterwork of Antoni Gaudi, a Roman Catholic cathedral, planned in 1884. The last 15 years of his life, until his death in 1926, Gaudi worked entirely on this project, but didn't live to see the church completed. The work is now continued by world-renowned architects and sculptors.
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A beautiful and grande cathedral, full of gold gilt that came from the New World when Spain was the Ruler of All and was able to plunder it at will for the enrichment of the fatherland. This amazingly realistic rendering of human forms where Christ presides in glory above St. James our interlocutor to the savior and is flanked by the prophets on one side and the apostles on the other. All are surrounded by the 24 elders of the Apocalypse
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The French Riviera, or The Cote d'Azur runs along the coast from the Italian border, through Monaco, and continues to Cannes and almost to the steep south slopes of the Alps. The two most famous french resorts, Nice and Channes are in this region.
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The Pisa Tower, Italy
The Tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the Cathedral. Its construction began in the august of 1173 and continued (with two long interruptions) for about two hundred years, in full fidelity to the original project, whose architect is still uncertain.
In the past it was widely believed that the inclination of the Tower was part of the project ever since its beginning, but now we know that it is not so. The Tower was designed to be "vertical" (and even if it did not lean it would still be one of the most remarkable bell towers in Europe), and started to incline during its construction.
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Alcazar Tower, Segovia, Spain
Built in the eleventh century and rebuilt in the early fifteenth, it has a dashing, even romantic intimacy with its site that is difficult to equal. Muslim influence is seen in the name and in the building itself, particularly the interior.
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Avila castle
A three-mile hike from the Praia do Forte Resort Hotel are the hilltop ruins of a fortified
medieval manor house, formerly owned by Garcia d'Avila, a mere bailiff to the governor of
Salvador.
In 1549, the Portuguese monarchy awarded him over 308,000 square miles of prime
acreage, upon which he would build the largest secular edifice in colonial Brazil. Exactly
how he built it remains a mystery - some claim he dismantled a castle in Portugal and reassembled it here.
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Chateau de chambord, france
The Chateau of Chambord in one of the loveliest Renaissance buildings in the Valley of the Loire. Chambord, ch?teau, park, and village in the department of Loire-et-Cher in central France. The ch?teau of Chambord was a retreat for French kings, especially Louis XIV It was under his auspices that French dramatist Moli?re's Monsieur de Pourceaugnac and Le bourgeois Gentilhomme were first produced there.
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Chateau de Chenonceaux, France
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Chateau de pierrefonds, France
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Coliseum, Rome
The Coliseum (Coloseum, Colosseum), was built during the reign of Emperor Vespasiano c. 72 AD and dedicated in 80 AD by his son Titus. The popular name of Coliseumcame about because the immense oval stadium was situated next to a colossal statue of Nero. The original name of this ancient Roman sports arena, the largest arena of its kind, is The Amphitheatrum Flavium
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Court of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain
The Alhambra is not only the most important, but also the best conserved Arabian palace of its epoch. The name Alhambra means "the red one" and refers to the color of the mountain on which it is built. There are two entrance doors, in the north the Puerta de las Armas and in the south the Puerta de la Justicia
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| Eifel Tower in Paris was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel's was unanimously chosen. The tower has three platforms. A restaurant (extremely expensive; reservations absolutely necessary), the Jules Verne is on the second platform. The top platform has a bar, souvenir shop, and the (recently restored) office of Gustave Eiffel.
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Endless Nights, Monte Carlo, Monaco
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Fortress at Bonifacio Corsica, France
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Hotel de Ville, Paris, France
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Papal Benediction, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City |
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Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy
Built 3200 years ago for Pharaoh Rameses II, the so-called Flaminian Obelisk was brought to Rome from Heliopolis by Augustus and erected in the Circus Maximus. It made its way here in the 16th century.
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Plaza de cibeles, Madrid
Plaza de Cibeles, an elegant fountain surrounded by palaces and overlooked by the Puerta de Alcal? gateway.
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Plaza San Pietro, Vatican City
The Vatican City is well known for the magnificent St Peter's Basilica, and the adjacent St Peter's Sqyare, created by Bernini in the 17-th century. The city is entirely within the city of Rome, separated from it by a wall. Don't miss the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Gardens.
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Ponta da Piedade, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal
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Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy
Inhabited urban bridge across the Arno. three great segmented arches on massive piers, with arches above. The corridor above the shops is by Vasari
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Santa Maria Degli Angeli, Assisi, Italy
The obelisk of Trinitia Dei Monti stands at the top of the Spanish Steps. It is decorated with a copy of the inscriptions on the obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo.Originally the obelisk was not decorated with the inscriptions. It is believed that Emperor Hadrian ordered that the obelisk be extracted from Egypt in the second century AD.
In 1789, Pope Sixus V removed the obelisk from the Garden of Sallust and reerected it in front of the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in the Trinita dei Monti.
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Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy
The fountain is highly symbolic with intellectual connotations. A tall and sober Arch of Triumph (the palace of Neptune) dominates the scene from on high. It is comprised of an order of four Corinthian columns and is surmounted by an attic with statues and a balustrade. A large niche at the centre of the arch lends balance and symmetry to the whole ensemble. A smaller-niche to the left contains the statue of Abundance by F. Valle, and above this is a fine relief depicting Agrippa approving the plans for the Aqueduct by Andrea Bergondi. The niche on the right contains the figure of Salubrity, also by F. Valle, with a relief above of the Virgin showing soldiers the Way, by G. B. Grossi.
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Trinita dei Monti Church, Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy
The obelisk of Trinitia Dei Monti stands at the top of the Spanish Steps. It is decorated with a copy of the inscriptions on the obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo.Originally the obelisk was not decorated with the inscriptions. It is believed that Emperor Hadrian ordered that the obelisk be extracted from Egypt in the second century AD.
In 1789, Pope Sixus V removed the obelisk from the Garden of Sallust and reerected it in front of the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in the Trinita dei Monti.
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Victor Emmanuel II Monument, Rome, Italy It is an imposing monument built up in 1885 according to architect G.Sacconi's plan to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the kingdom of Italy.It rises in Piazza Venezia and is called also 'Victorian'. It was built, using white limestone, in 1885 and was inaugurated in 1911 but it took almost twenty years to be completed. Besides, being the symbol of Italian unity since 1921, it also considered the altar of the Italian land
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Acropolis Evening, Athens, Greece
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.
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Cappadocia, Turkey
For millions of years, the mighty volcanoes of the Central Anatolian Plateau erupted and spewed their contents across the land that would become the cradle of civilization. Blessed with a moderate climate and fertile soil, one of the world's earliest known communities was founded 10,000 years ago at Catalhoyuk along the river banks of the Casambasuyu near Konya. Mankind's first nature painting was found here and it portrays the most recent eruption of Hasan Dagi almost 9000 years ago. Today, its snow capped peaks dominate the Konya plain, awash in golden hues where vast wheat fields blend subtly with the ochre colored soil and the monochromatic palette is interrupted only where rivers flow and tall poplars flaunt their greenery.
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Corinth Canal, Greece
The Corinth Canal, which provides a maritime short cut between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf, traces a straight line across the isthmus, the narrow neck of land joining the Peloponnese to mainland Greece.
Begun in 1882 by the French and completed in 1893 by the Greeks, the Canal is nearly 4 mi/6.4 km long, 26 ft/7.9 mtrs deep and 27 yards/24.7 mtrs wide at waterlevel. The walls rise to 260 ft/79.2 mtrs at the highest point. The site of the ancient city-state of Corinth lies 4.5 mi/7 km SW
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Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion, Greece
Visit the Temple of Poseidon, god of the sea. The temple construction is similar to the Parthenon in Athens to the goddess Athena, and the Temple of Aphaia (the goddess of light) on nearby Aegina.
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In Amongst the Rocks, Goreme, Turkey |
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Karpathos, Dodecanese Islands, Greece |
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Meteora Monastery, Greece
The Meteora monasteries rise at the centre of Greece, where Pinios river emerges from the deep canyons of the Pindus range and surges into the Thessalian plain.
These are gigantic rocks etched by time into a variety of shapes; grey stalagmites rising towards the sky, they appear as nature's gift to the pious who, dnven by faith, have opted for solitude and a life of worship.
Precariously hanging over the sinister abysses, with the Pindus range at their back and the vast plain, woods, gorges and picturesque villages below, these unwordly hermitages compose one of the most breathtaking sites on earth.
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Rock Tombs, Dalyan, Turkey
Kaunos is one of the most mysterious cities in the Mediterranean region. It's situated among Marmaris, K?yce?iz and Sar?germe. The waters of K?yceyiz lake fall into the Mediterranean Sea by a natural canal. The canal, which is approximately fifteen metres in width, seperates Kaunos from Dalyan. On a steep slope just opposite the town of Dalyan, sizeable rock tombs which belong to the people of Kaunos are seen. These rock tombs are the landmark of Kaunos and Dalyan
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Santorini, Cyclades Islands, Greece
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