Reims Cathedral

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims) – The cathedral of Reims, France

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims), is the cathedral of Reims, France. The seat of the town’s Archdiocese, and for a time a place of coronation of French kings, Reims Cathedral is a remarkable work of Gothic architecture and art. Visitors can climb the Cathedral’s towers to take in the artistic masterpiece from above for better views of the sculptures, gilding details, and architecture. The UNESCO World Heritage site includes the Palais of Tau and the Abbey of Saint Remi.

Before the current cathedral was built, a Carolingian basilica once stood on the grounds, though it burnt to the ground in a fire around 1210. That church was likely constructed over the ruins from ancient Roman baths.

The cathedral was reconstructed and drastically expanded during the 13th century,in order to better accommodate large crowds who attended royal coronations. A 1233 revolt over taxation and legal issues set the cathedral’s construction back a few years, resuming in 1236 after troubles were resolved with mediation through the King and the Pope. Construction continued in various phases over the cathedral, even into the 14th century.

The cathedral was designed in the classical Gothic style architecture, featuring a façade decorated with many intricate sculptural details. The statues on the façade include local bishops, prophets, apostles, and Jesus, and a scene of Crowning of the Virgin. The scene of the Visitation includes the figure of Elizabeth.

Inside, the cathedral was adorned with tapestries, including a special one representing the life of Mary. This and other works of art, are housed in the Palace of Tau, along with the treasury with rare and unique objects, like Sainte Ampoule, the holy flask. The traditional Gothic style is lightened using structural changes, such as more wall openings and more natural light, which shines through the detailed stained glass, created by Marc Chagall.

The neighboring abbey features a 9th century nave, containing the remains of Archbishop St. Remi, who died in 533. Reims was once an important Christian city, home to many important archbishops including Remi, the most famous of them who was known for the baptism of Clovis.

Admission charges are 7.50 € for adults. Minors and people within the 18-25 age group are freely admitted.

Navy Pier in Chicago

Navy Pier in Chicago

The top tourist attraction in Chicago, Navy Pier is an entertainment center of the city. Navy Pier extends out onto the Lake Michigan, and features rides and attractions, restaurants, theaters, museums, and souvenir shops. The pier’s amusement park, Pier Park, offers a Ferris wheel, carousel, and swings to entertain while providing great views of the city. Amazing Chicago’s Funhouse Maze completes the carnival atmosphere, while Chicago Children’s Museum is a fun and educational way to spend a day.

Navy Pier hosts live entertainment performances and various expositions throughout the year, like the Strictly Sailboat show and the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel), Paris , France

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) is one of the most iconic structures in the world, visited by over 7 million people annually, making it the most visited paid attraction. Constructed for the 1889 World’s Fair and over 80 stories tall, at 320 meters (1,050 feet) high.

Visitors can take the stairs and elevator up to the three levels of observation decks and restaurants in the tower for great views of Paris. The two restaurants in the tower are Le 58 Tour Eiffel and Le Jules Verne. The Eiffel Tower is a world famous landmark that can be seen from all around Paris.

Grand Bazaar, Turkey

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul Turkey

One of the world’s first shopping malls, the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey is also one of the largest covered markets today. With over 3,000 shops along more than 60 covered streets, it has grown over its long history, and now receives from 250,000 to 400,000 customers each day.

The Bazaar first started around 1455 when the Ottoman Empire took control of then Constantinople (now Istanbul), and the expansions to the shopping center were finished by the early seventeenth century. The strategic location of Istanbul helped make the hub of trade and commerce in the Mediterranean. There are four main gates to the Grand Bazaar – one at each of the two major streets, whose intersection is at the southwest corner of the shopping center.

The market’s streets are named for the items sold in their zones, like jewelry, furniture, carpets, leather goods, clothing, and books. The famous Bazaar is a social meeting place, where the community goes to interact, having discussions over coffee, though there were originally no restaurants at the market. Until the mid-nineteenth century, trade at the market was very different from today, with a lack of competition between sellers and a single fixed price for items.

Today, the structure is being renovated to upgrade its heating and lighting and other facilities. Some argue that has become too westernized in recent history, but there are still many traditional parts to be found.

Atlantis Paradise Island

Atlantis Paradise Island

A resort and water park on an island in the Bahamas, Atlantis is designed to resemble the legendary lost city of Atlantis. The water park features nine water slides, eleven pools, and a mile-long river for tubing. Themed slides include the Mayan Temple slides, the Challenger, with two side-by-side slides so friends can race one another down, the Serpent Slide, and the Abyss, a 200 foot body slide with a 50 foot vertical drop into an underground lair. Access to Aquaventure Water Park is free for resort guests.

Another popular attraction at Atlantis Paradise Island is Dolphin Cay, where visitors can interact with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, stingrays and more.

 The resort also features several hotels, a shopping district, and frequent live performances from some of the hottest celebrities.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, (New York and Ontario)

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls along the border between the United States and Canada, in New York and Ontario. Formed from the melting of glaciers after the last ice age, Niagara Falls consists of Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. On the Canadian side of the border is Horseshoe Falls, while American and Bridal Veil Falls are on the American side of the boundary.

Visitors can view the waterfalls at the observation stations, or take a boat tour on the Maid of the Mist, or take a tour behind the falls.

In addition to the waterfalls, there are many other entertaining attractions, like the boardwalk, White Water Walk, and Niagara Skywheel. The nearby Marineland Theme Park offers close encounters with marine life, like whales and dolphins.

Katmai National Park

Katmai National Park

Katmai was first established as a National Monument in 1918, to protect the area surrounding Novarupta volcano, which formed the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes with its pyroclastic flow after the 1912 eruption. The National Monument was later expanded to cover over 4 million acres, becoming Katmai National Park in 1980. Katmai National Park was named for Mount Katmai, a stratovolcano located within the park.

Known for its volcanoes, brown bears, salmon, rivers, and rugged coastline, Katmai is a vacation destination for outdoor activities and adventures such as camping, hiking, backpacking, skiing, fishing, and kayaking. There are about fifteen active volcanoes in the park, notably Mount Martin, Mount Mageik, Trident, Novarupta, and Mount Katmai, which are situated within the preserve. Fourpeaked Volcano became active in 2006 after 10,000 years of lying dormant, demonstrating that there may be more active volcanoes that are yet unknown.

Also located in the park are archaeological sites dating back to prehistoric traditions. A glacier formed inside Mount Katmai, and a lake formed in the caldera. Coastal areas of the park, including Hallo Bay, Kukak Bay, and Chiniak, are popular for their clams and other food sources.

Brooks Camp is the developed area of the park, which offers bear viewing platforms for visitors to check out the nearly 100 annual brown bears that catch salmon in the river.

Iguazu Falls in Argentina

Iguazu Falls in Argentina

The impressive Iguazu Falls, which separate the Iguazu River into the upper and lower sections, are situated along the border between Argentina and Brazil. The number and height of the falls varies throughout the year depending on rainfall. The largest waterfall is the Devil’s Throat, which is about 82 meters (269 feet) high. Union Fall is the largest cataract at Iguazu Falls.

Local legends have it that a Naipi, a beautiful woman, was expected to marry one of the gods. Instead, she escaped from the wedding with her love, Taroba, in a canoe. The angry god left at the altar responded by cutting the river and creating the waterfall, so the two lovers would fall to their doom.

Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

The Petronas Twin Towers are dual skyscrapers with a postmodern design, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The design of Cesar Pelli is inspired by the Islamic symbol, Rub el Hizb – two overlapping squares, rotated to create an eight-pointed star. The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004 (when they were surpassed by Taipei 101). There are 88 floors in each of the towers. The two towers are connected at the 41st and 42nd floors by the sky bridge – the highest two-story bridge in the world, which is 170 meters (558 feet) high, and 58 meters (190 feet) long.

The towers have a total of 78 elevators. The 29 main elevators are all double-decker – the bottom deck stops at odd-numbered floors, and the upper deck serves even-numbered floors. To reach an even numbered floor from the ground, passengers must take an escalator up one level from the ground floor.

Doñana National Park in Spain

Wetlands at Doñana National Park in Spain

Doñana National Park is situated along the banks of the Guadalquivir River and the delta where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Consisting of various areas of marshland and swamps, lagoons, sand dunes, streams, scrub woodland, and maquis, the park is a habitat to diverse plant and animal life, including several threatened and endangered species. Spanish lynx, Adalbert’s eagle, marbled teal, and white-headed duck are among the threatened species residing within the park.

Doñana serves as one of the largest habitats for herons in the Mediterranean, and serves as a winter migration destination for over 500,000 waterfowl. The park also serves as a breeding ground for various animals including egrets and waders.

As such an important wildlife habitat, there have been many conservation efforts put into effect at the park. The World Wildlife Fund works to protect parts of the park, including the ecosystem of the marshes, which is threatened by irrigation for agricultural use as well as tourism. There has also been a suggestion that the lost city of Atlantis was located around the swamps of Doñana.

Darien National Park, Panama

Landscape from Darien National Park, Panama

Darien National Park is a large natural park and preserve located in Eastern Panama’s Darien province, extending along most of the Panama-Colombia border. The region included in Darien National Park functions as a natural bridge between North and South America, though the two are separated by Darien Gap. Across Darien Gap is the Colombian side of the park, which is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world because of drug trafficking and paramilitaries.

Darien is the largest national park in Panama, covering 5,790 square kilometers (2,235 square miles). The park contains the Alto Darien Protection Forest, designated in 1972, covering about 700,000 hectares of the park. The park was made a national park in 1980, and became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

Darien National Park is noted for its many ecosystems, with habitats ranging from rocky and sandy beaches, to mangroves, swamps, and tropical forests. Wildlife across the park includes the macaw, parrot, tapir, and harpy eagle. Animals from the endangered species Red List include the Spotted Paca, Guatemalan Black Howler, Night Monkey, Black-headed Spider Monkey, Central American Agouti, American Crocodile, and Capybara.

The park is also one of the few protected areas in the world that is also inhabited by humans. Two indigenous tribes live within the park: Chocó and Kuna. There are also a number of archaeological sites found within the park.

Mesa Verde National Park in US

Mesa Verde National Park at Colorado , US

Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO Heritage Site and a US National Park. What makes this special? Spread over more than 52,000 acres in the Montezuma County in southern Colorado in the US, the park preserves the cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloan people known as the Anasazi.

Mesa Verde in Spanish translates into “green table”. The cliff dwellings constitute some of the best preserved archeological sites in the country. The Anasazi lived in the Mesa Verde region between 450 CE and 1300 CE. Over 600 of these dwellings are recorded in the national park including the famous Balcony House, Square Tower House, and Cliff House. In all the national park protects over 5,000 archeological sites and others are continually being discovered. The south-west Colorado plateau on which the Mesa Verde National Park is located is at an altitude of about 8,500 feet and over 572,000 visitors head to the national park each year.

The Mesa Verde villages were initially discovered in 1874. The rock-cut dwellings were soon pillaged by collectors and treasure hunters. By 1889, much of the artifacts in the region were sold – in 1889 collectors held a large pottery sale. At about this time, archeologists started to study and excavate the remains. By 1906, the site come under the protection of the Federal Antiquities Act and has been well-preserved ever since.

The Falkland Islands in South America

King Penguins at Volunteer Point on the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in South America.

A beautiful archipelago of about 778 islands – small and big – in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are home to just over 2,500 natives but offer some stunning views to the tourists who keep pouring in in ever-increasing numbers. A British Overseas Colony, Falkland Islands have long been the center of contention between European colonists and Argentina which continues to stake a claim on the territory. Despite the dispute, the Falkland Islanders continue to remain British citizens and acknowledge the monarchy of the Queen.

Stanley, the capital and the largest city, continues to be the administrative hub of the islands. The capital has a population of over 2100. The islands are demarcated into East and West Falkland. Mount Pleasant is the next biggest hub with a population of about 500. The archipelago is small but self-contained. The enterprises and establishment here reflect the rich cultural legacy and rustic bend of the community.

Falkland Islands have everything that make for a great vacation, including some great accommodation options, internal ferries, and air services. About 60% of Falkland Islanders are native born but the rest are immigrants who have come in drawn by the sweeping farm lands and dreams of an idyllic life. Sheep rearing and pisciculture are major economic activities and ornithology (the study of birds) the favorite activity of visitors. The islands are home to a huge avian population. Tiny hamlets, nested harbors, flocks of sheep, stretching grasslands, and sunny coastlines – all connected by an incredibly well-maintained road network. That is the mystique of Falkland Islands.