Orvieto is one of the most spectacular hill towns in Italy, a volcanic tufa plateau rising almost vertically from the Umbrian plain whose crown jewel is the Duomo di Orvieto, one of the greatest Gothic cathedrals in Italy, with a glittering facade of gold mosaics, carved biblical scenes, and rose windows that the art historian […]
The basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi rises from the hillside like a vision of peace, its simple Romanesque facade belying the artistic treasures held within. This is the spiritual heart of the Franciscan order, a UNESCO World heritage Site that draws pilgrims and art lovers from across the globe. Saint Francis, born here in […]
Ischia and Procida are the two often-overlooked gems of the Bay of Naples, Ischia, the thermal spa island of volcanic origins with its dramatic Aragonese Castle rising from the sea, and Procida, a tiny, impossibly colourful fishing island that was Italy’s Capital of Culture in 2022 and remains one of the most authentically beautiful places […]
The Abbey of San Galgano is one of Italy’s most atmospheric and romantic ruins, a roofless Gothic Cistercian abbey in the Tuscan countryside near Siena, whose soaring walls and empty window arches frame nothing but sky, and whose nearest hilltop hermitage houses the legendary Sword in the Stone, Italy’s own Excalibur. Abandoned in the 18th […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Religious Monuments, Sights, Sights
Delft is one of the most delightful small cities in the Netherlands, a perfectly preserved Dutch Golden Age town of tree-lined canals, humpbacked bridges, and gabled merchant houses that is synonymous with three things: Johannes Vermeer, Delft Blue pottery, and being the final resting place of the Dutch royal family. Often described as a smaller, […]
Categories: Netherlands, Sights
Pärnu is Estonia’s “Summer Capital”, a charming Baltic seaside city with a 3-kilometre white sand beach, a beautifully preserved 19th-century spa quarter of tree-lined avenues and wooden villas, and a laid-back cultural scene that transforms the city into Estonia’s most popular holiday destination every summer. With a history as a Hanseatic trading port and a […]
Tongeren is officially the oldest town in Belgium, a captivating Roman-founded city in the Flemish province of Limburg where 2,000 years of history are woven into every cobblestone street, medieval rampart, and Roman archaeological find. Best known today for its sprawling Sunday antiques market, the largest in the Benelux, Tongeren offers a perfect blend of […]
Maastricht is one of the Netherlands’ most distinctive cities, a vibrant university town whose medieval heart of cobbled streets, Roman ruins, and Gothic churches has more in common with Flanders or Wallonia than with the canal-ringed cities of Holland. Sitting at the southernmost tip of the Netherlands, wedged between Belgium and Germany, Maastricht’s cosmopolitan, Burgundian […]
Categories: Netherlands, Sights
The windmills of Kinderdijk are the most famous Dutch landscape on Earth, 19 beautifully preserved 18th-century windmills lined up along the canals of the Alblasserwaard polder near Rotterdam, forming a UNESCO World heritage site that is the single strongest image of the Netherlands in the global imagination. More than just a photo opportunity, Kinderdijk is […]
Categories: Netherlands, Sights
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, the biggest and most vibrant city in Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava. It is also the largest city of the Baltic states and third-largest in the Baltic region, behind Saint Petersburg and Stockholm. Riga’s historical centre is declared a […]