The Colosseum is 1,935 years old and it is still the largest amphitheatre ever built. The outer wall originally rose 48 metres, the height of a modern 16-storey building, and the arena floor covered 3,357 square metres. It held 50,000 spectators who entered through 80 numbered arches. The building was completed in 80 AD under […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Rome, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel
The carriage stops at the main gate. The driver cuts the engine and the silence hits you first. No cars, no scooters, no hum of daily life. Just the sound of your own footsteps on limestone and the wind moving through the alleyways. Mdina sits on a hill in western Malta, 185 metres above sea […]
Cobblestones worn smooth by centuries of footsteps lead you into the main square of Banska Bystrica. Colourful Renaissance and Gothic facades rise around you, each building telling a story of copper mining wealth and royal patronage. The clock tower stands guard over the plaza while cafe patrons sip espresso beneath striped umbrellas. A massive plague […]
Silver built this town and death decorates its chapel. Kutná Hora once rivalled Prague in wealth and importance. The Sedlec Ossuary contains the bones of over forty thousand people arranged into chandeliers, coats of arms, and a giant bell. It is strange and solemn and unforgettable. Beyond the bone chapel, the town offers the Gothic […]
Categories: Czech Republic, Sights, Sights
Towers capped with steep slate roofs rise from the forest like something out of a storybook. Pierrefonds Castle, rebuilt in the nineteenth century under the direction of Viollet-le-Duc, stands as a vision of medieval grandeur reimagined for the romantic age. Moats surround the outer walls, and the inner courtyard reveals carved stonework, ornate chimneys, and […]
Categories: Castles, France, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel
Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane) is the most romantic and famous part of Prague Castle, a tiny, impossibly picturesque street of miniature 16th-century houses built directly into the castle fortifications, originally home to the castle’s goldsmiths (hence the name), later to Kafka (who lived at number 22 in 1916-1917 and wrote much of his early work […]
Categories: Czech Republic, Sights, Sights
Pena National Palace (Palácio Nacional da Pena) is one of the most extraordinary royal residences in Europe, a riotously colourful Romanticist castle perched atop a rocky peak in the Sintra mountains above Lisbon, whose vivid yellow and red towers, ornate Manueline stonework, and eclectic blend of Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance, and Manueline architectural styles make it […]
The name Parma is spoken in kitchens around the world. Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano have made this city famous long before most tourists ever visit. But Parma is far more than its edible exports. The Romanesque cathedral and baptistery dominate the old centre, their pink Verona marble glowing in the afternoon light. Correggio’s fresco […]
