Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona

9 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Shopping Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Passeig de Gràcia is one of the major avenues in Barcelona (Catalonia) and one of its most important shopping and business areas, containing several of the city’s most celebrated pieces of architecture. It is located in the central part of Eixample, stretching from Plaça Catalunya to Carrer Gran de Gràcia. Passeig de Gràcia is regarded as the most expensive street in Barcelona and in Spain.   read more…

Greenwich Park in London

8 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Greenwich Park from the observatory © Mx. Granger

Greenwich Park from the observatory © Mx. Granger

Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers 74 hectares (180 acres), and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. It commands views over the River Thames, the Isle of Dogs and the City of London (Simon Jenkins rated the view of the Royal Hospital with Canary Wharf in the distance as one of the top ten in England).   read more…

Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels

7 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Miguel Discart/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Miguel Discart/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Jewish Museum of Belgium (French: Musée juif de Belgique, Dutch: Joods Museum van België) is a museum in the Sablon/Zavel neighbourhood of Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of the Jews in Belgium.   read more…

Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany

6 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Villa Medici di Castello in Florence © Sailko/cc-by-2.5

Villa Medici di Castello in Florence © Sailko/cc-by-2.5

The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. They were also recreational resorts for the leisure and pleasure of their owners; and, more prosaically, they were the centre of agricultural activities on the surrounding estates. In 2013, the Medici villas were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.   read more…

Tiananmen Square in Beijing

5 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  5 minutes

National Museum of China © flickr.com - Nagyman/cc-by-2.0

National Museum of China © flickr.com – Nagyman/cc-by-2.0

Tiananmen Square or Tian’anmen Square is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (“Gate of Heavenly Peace”) located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China in the square on 1 October 1949; the anniversary of this event is still observed there. The size of Tiananmen Square is 765 x 282 meters (215,730 m² or 53.31 acres). It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.   read more…

HaKirya in Tel Aviv

4 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  9 minutes

Sarona Compound © Doraharon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sarona Compound © Doraharon/cc-by-sa-3.0

HaKirya, or The Kirya (lit.: The Campus), is an area in central Tel Aviv, consisting of an urban military base north of Kaplan Street, and a civilian area south of it. HaKirya contains the Tel Aviv District‘s government center and the major Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base Camp Rabin, named for Yitzhak Rabin. It was one of the first IDF bases and has served as the IDF’s headquarters since its founding in 1948. Being located in a dense urban environment, the base serves mainly command, administrative, communications, and support functions.   read more…

European Political Community (EPC)

3 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, with participants from 44 European countries, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.   read more…

Royal Palace of Caserta

2 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

© Editor04082022/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Editor04082022/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Royal Palace of Caserta (Italian: Reggia di Caserta) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europe during the 18th century. In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as “the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space”. The Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest former royal residence in the world, over 2 million in volume and covering an area of 47,000 . and a floorspace of 138,000 square meters in the distributed in the five storeys of the building.   read more…

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The nave © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (French: Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule, Dutch: Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele), usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top