Stunning Places

Ålesund is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture. [Source]

The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to separate ethnic realities. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil. [Source]

Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. [Source]

The brick-red tegole almost act as a glue connecting all the masterpieces that make Florence's cityscape something in which to get lost. You'll see The Duomo stand out first, followed by The Campanile and The Baptistery. If you stare into the streets, you'll see impeccably dressed Italian mothers in the latest designer clothing, running errands and chasing after their children who are playing in the piazzas. [Source]

Literally Hong Kong has some of the most impressive skyscrapers in the world, around 7,650 actually. It's incredible for such a small space, there was no other place to build than up. So many high buildings make the view of the city magical. The International Commerce Centre is the tallest of them all, standing 1,588 ft. high and the third tallest building in the world. [Source]

It has been inhabited for over 4,000 years - non-stop. It was also on the road to this city that St. Paul received the vision that made him convert from Judaism to Christianity. The narrow alleyways twist and wind their way to confuse the tourist. Its a city filled with mosques, minarets and old souks. [Source]

Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and became a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew Python, a dragon who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python (derived from the verb pythein, "to rot") is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated. [Wiki]

Absolute Visit not only because it is known for these enormous structures, but it's also a large residential complex with well-preserved murals and the Avenue of the Dead. The ancient city was established around 100 BC and is most famous for the Pyramid of the Sun, the largest building in the area. It's over 233 ft. high with a massive base of almost 3,000 feet. Now, that's impressive. [Source]

The detailed temple ruins date back to the Roman period when Baalbek was known as Heliopolis and was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. The settlement dates back about 9,000 years and since then it has been passed on from culture to culture, which has influenced it's development immensely. [Source]

And thank goodness, because the Czechs drink a lot of it: 43 gallons a year on average per person, making it the highest consumption rate in the world. The city is also one of the most beautiful historical cities in Europe. It has the largest castle area in the world, measuring in at 18 acres with the main castle, which is home to the King, the courtyards and other buildings. [Source]

You might think Shangri-La is the fictional place that James Hilton wrote about in his novel Lost Horizon in 1933, and you're right. But what you don't know is that there is such place, as beautiful and mystical as one might imagine. [Source]

Upstate New York is a region of the U.S. state of New York north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York. The other regions of New York State are culturally and economically distinct from the New York City area and in many ways from each other. Most of New York State is characterized both by agricultural and forested rural communities, and by small and medium-sized cities and their surrounding suburbs located along major transportation corridors. The state's major metropolitan areas outside of New York City are Buffalo, Rochester, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, and Syracuse, each of whose population exceeds 500,000. [Wiki]

Dipping some 200 feet under the streets of Derinkuyu, Turkey, exists another city, big enough to support a population — at around 20,000 — far greater than its aboveground contemporary. No one knows for sure who wielded 7th and 8th century tools to create this multi-level metropolis (was it the Phrygians? The Persians?) But these mystery people left behind a shelter with all the amenities that you might find above ground, for use in times of conflict or natural disasters. Discovered in the 1960s, the underground city of Derinkuyu houses remnants of shops, cellars, areas for livestock and food storage — even access to fresh water. [Source]

Most people who have visited this amazing city often say that no matter the amount of time you spend there, you always feel like you haven’t seen enough. This is because of its historical sites, art and the famous food. Make a point of tasting its cappuccino and a slice of panino. [Source]

The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. There are few roads into the Cinque Terre towns that are accessible by car, and the one into Vernazza in particular is now open (June 2012 - but very narrow at many repair spots) to a parking area leading to a 1/2 mile walk to town after the October 2011 storm damage. It is best to plan not to travel by car at all but to park at La Spezia, for instance, and take the trains. [Wiki]

Acropolis means “high city” in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel. For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides. In many parts of the world, these early citadels became the nuclei of large cities, which grew up on the surrounding lower ground, such as modern Rome. [Source]

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma’an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. [Source]

Presently a laid back village, Hampi was at one time the final capital of Vijayanagar, one of the most stupendous Hindu realms in India’s history. It has some amazingly enamoring destroys, intriguingly intermixed with extensive stones that back up everywhere on the scene. The vestiges, which go back to the 14th century, extend for a little more than 25 kilometers (10 miles) and embody more than 500 landmarks. [Source]