First settled nearly 2000 years ago, the city of Riga, Latvia in Northern Europe is among the more fantastically beautiful places in the EU. It is also one of the least traveled. As such, it is a wonderfully interesting tourist destination for those looking for a taste of old world Europe without all of the crazy crowds and over priced bistros. Long serving as an important stop in trade routes from East to West (due to its location along the majestic Daugava River), Riga has benefited from its position. As the capitol of Latvia, the historic city center is simply magical. Although many of the earliest structures have been lost to wars and fires, there are still numerous aspects of medieval, neoclassical, and art nouveau architecture to surprise and delight.
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Warwick Castle :: Warwickshire, England
The amazing Warwick Castle is England’s finest medieval castle and for nine centuries was at the heart of British history. Originally built in 1068 to keep people out, today the castle is England’s second most visited castle behind only Windsor. The fortress was used as a defensive fortification until the early 17th century when Sir Fulke Greville converted the property into a country home. Throughout the years the castle has undergone various structural changes including being rebuilt in stone during Henry II, additional towers added and redesigned residential buildings. Did we also mention that it’s haunted?
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Arguably the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida is home to some of the oldest buildings in the country. Among these is one incredibly cool and interesting Spanish fort. Construction started on the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672 on the instruction of the Queen of Spain after several wooden forts that originally stood there had been continually sacked. This new fort was made of a unique local stone called coquina. Similar to limestone, it insured that this fortification would endure any future barrage. After 23 years, this magnificent masonry star fort was completed and ready to defend the Spanish territory in the New World.
[Read more…] about Castillo de San Marcos :: St. Augustine, FloridaHearst Castle :: San Simeon, California
Although the United States has never been a monarchy, there have been some truly royal residents. Among the most renowned was the media tycoon, William Randolph Hearst. Although he died nearly six decades ago, the impact he left is still being felt today. One of his biggest and most beautiful imprints is on the central coast of California. The amazingly ornate Hearst Castle was constructed over a period of nearly 30 years (from 1919 to 1947) and was the pinnacle of social invitations even before it was finished. Also known as La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Slope) and San Simeon (after the area in California it’s located in) Hearst Castle easily rivals the grandest palaces of Europe. Among its many attributes, some of the original features were fifty six bedrooms, sixty one bathrooms, nineteen sitting rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, 127 acres of gardens, a movie theater, airfield and the at one time world’s largest private zoo.
[Read more…] about Hearst Castle :: San Simeon, CaliforniaTopkapi Palace :: Istanbul, Turkey
Today one of Turkey’s major tourist attractions, Topkapi Palace was the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 of their 624 year reign. This sprawling 175 acre complex once accommodated a community of four thousand people and is home to the most holy relics of the Muslim world. Throughout the years the complex has been expanded with many renovations done after an earthquake in 1509 as well as a fire in 1665. The palace is full of amazing examples of Ottoman architecture and its hundreds of rooms and champers house large collections of porcelain, weapons, robes, armor, murals and much more. In 1924, after the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish government transformed Topkapi Palace into a museum of the imperial era.
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