Quebec is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec. The city has a population of 517,000, and the metropolitan area has a population of 766,000, making it the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about 233 km (145 mi) to the southwest. The narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River proximate to the city’s promontory, Cap-Diamant (Cape Diamond), and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning “where the river narrows”. Charles Dickens once called Quebec Gibraltar of North America. Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the ‘Historic District of Old Québec’. read more…
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has been called the “Venice of the North” for its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010. read more…
The Pantanal is one of the world’s largest tropical wetland areas, and is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometres (54,000 and 75,000 sq mi). Various subregional ecosystems exist, each with distinct hydrological, geological and ecological characteristics; up to 12 of them have been defined. read more…
Périgueux is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of the départment and was the capital of the historic County of Périgord. The city has 30,000 inhabitants and is the biggest city in the Dordogne department. River Isle flow from east to west through the city. read more…
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain, with 95,000 inhabitants. Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the large municipal park in the centre of the city. read more…
Most of the park’s historic structures are located in the vicinity of the four landscaped blocks between Chestnut, Walnut, 2nd, and 6th streets. The park also contains Franklin Court, the site of a museum dedicated to Benjamin Franklin and the United States Postal Service Museum. An additional three blocks directly north of Independence Hall, collectively known as Independence Mall, contain the Liberty Bell Center, National Constitution Center, Independence Visitor Center, and the former site of the President’s House.
Most of Independence National Historical Park’s buildings and land are contained within the broad plaza called Independence Mall, which is bookended by the National Constitution Center on the north, Independence Hall on the south, and Fifth and Sixth Streets on the east and west, respectively. The Mall was created in the 1950s by city planner Ed Bacon, who demolished “blocks of Victorian architecture” to bring an open space to the heart of historic Philadelphia in front of Independence Hall. Most of the buildings that previously occupied the site of Independence Mall were late nineteenth-century buildings that replaced earlier buildings destroyed by fire in 1851 and 1855. Proponents of the mall thought these buildings were eyesores because of their contrast with the historic nature of the area. As plans emerged, retailers on Market Street resisted, arguing that the demolition was out-of-scale with the comparatively small landmark at its southern end.
By 1959, when the bulldozers finished work on Independence Mall, only the Free Quaker Meetinghouse remained. The building had been used as a warehouse for plumbing supplies before its restoration as part of the project. In 1961, the building was moved 38 feet west and 8 feet south to its present location to allow for the widening of Fifth Street. To plan for the celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, the National Park Service relocated the Liberty Bell from Independence Hall to the glass-enclosed Liberty Bell Pavilion, as the Independence Hall could not accommodate the millions expected to visit Philadelphia that year. In 1997, the National Park Service announced a plan to redesign Independence Mall. As part of the plan, several new public buildings were constructed. The Independence Visitors Center was opened in November 2001, the National Constitution Center was opened in July 2003, and the Liberty Bell, which had been housed in a glass pavilion, was moved into the Liberty Bell Center in October 2003. Exhibits include coverage of slavery in US history and its abolition. At the corner of 6th and Market Street, a President’s House memorial outlines the site of the former mansion and commemorates the slaves who worked there. The former building had been demolished in portions starting in 1835, and its remnants were removed during the creation of Independence Mall.
Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country’s Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Liège, and 45 km (28 mi) southwest of Aachen. Spa has a total population of 10,600. read more…
Salamanca is a city in northwestern Spain, the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the community of Castile and León. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. With a metropolitan population of 229,000 in 2012 according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Salamanca is the second most populated urban area in Castile and León, after Valladolid (414,000), and ahead of Leon (187,000) and Burgos (176,000). It is the most important university city in Spain and supplies 16% of Spain’s market for the teaching of the Spanish language. Salamanca attracts thousands of international students, generating a diverse environment. read more…
Mexico City (also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country’s largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. As an “alpha” global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial and cultural centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs. read more…
