The 10 Great Best Museums in the World

A museum is a non-income, everlasting group inside the service of society and its development, open to the general public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and reveals the tangible and intangible history of humanity and its surroundings for the purposes of education, observe and entertainment. Aiming to respond to the want for a democratic and open process of consultation to the National Committees, International Committees, Regional Alliances and Affiliated organizations that represent ICOM, the Standing Committee for the Museum Definition formulated a brand new methodology going forward. The design of this system is based on extra transparency, in addition to the careful being attentive to all proposals. Here is the listing of 10 Best Museums within the international.

1.LE Louvre, Paris, France

The Louvre’s portray series is one of the richest within the global, representing all intervals of European art up to the Revolutions of 1848. French Grand Louvre country wide museum and artwork gallery of France, housed in a part of a large palace in Paris that became built at the proper-financial institution web site of the twelfth-century castle of Philip Augustus. It is the sector’s most-visited art museum, with a set that spans paintings from ancient civilizations to the mid-nineteenth century. In 1546 Francis I, who became a notable artwork collector, had this old fort razed and started out to construct on its website online every other royal residence, the Louvre. Under Francis I, most effective a small portion of the prevailing Louvre become finished, below the architect Pierre Lescot. The Louvre constructing complex underwent a primary remodeling within the Nineteen Eighties and ’90s so that it will make the vintage museum greater accessible and accommodating to its site visitors. A good sized underground complicated of places of work, stores, exhibition areas, garage areas, and parking regions, as well as an auditorium, a tourist bus depot, and a cafeteria, was constructed underneath the Louvre’s imperative courtyards of the Cour Napoléon and the Cour du Carrousel. The ground-degree front to this complex was located inside the centre of the Cour Napoléon and become topped by a arguable metal-and-glass pyramid designed through the American architect I.M. Pei. In 1993, on the museum’s 200th anniversary, the rebuilt Richelieu wing, formerly occupied by way of France’s Ministry of Finance, become opened; for the first time, the complete Louvre turned into devoted to museum functions. The new wing, also designed by means of Pei, had extra than 230,000 square feet or 21,368 rectangular metres of exhibition area, firstly housing collections of European portray, ornamental arts, and Islamic art. Three glass-roofed indoors courtyards displayed French sculpture and historic Assyrian artistic endeavors. The museum’s increasing series of Islamic art later moved into its own wing (opened 2012), for which Italian architects Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti enclosed some other indoors courtyard underneath an undulating gold-coloured roof made of glass and metal.

2.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Met has important collections of Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, East Asian and Middle Eastern, Greek and Roman, European, pre-Columbian, New Guinean, Islamic, and American art, which includes architecture, sculpture, portray, drawings, calligraphy, prints, photographs, glass, bronzes, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, lacquerwork, furnishings, length rooms, fingers and armour, and musical instruments. The Thomas J. Watson Library, constructed in 1964 more often than not for the usage of the museum staff and travelling pupils, has one of the most whole artwork and archaeology reference collections within the international. It is the biggest of a community of committed libraries inside the museum, such as the Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library and the Robert Lehman Collection Library, however simplest the Nolen Library is open to the public. European art of the Middle Ages is determined on show in each the Central Park complicated and on the Met Cloisters, the Met’s museum of medieval artwork in Fort Tryon Park, northern Manhattan. Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) is the largest and maximum complete artwork museum in New York City. The complex of buildings at its present location in Central Park opened in 1880. This museum became included in 1870 and opened years later. The Met’s important building going through Fifth Avenue, known as since 2016 the Met Fifth Avenue, changed into designed with the aid of Richard Morris Hunt and completed in 1902. McKim, Mead, and White designed positive later additions. The American phase, introduced in 1924, blanketed the 1823 marble facade saved from the demolished U.S. Branch Bank on Wall Street. The remainder of the 20th-century additions were finished by way of the architectural company of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates.
They included the Robert Lehman Wing (1975), with its Old Masters and Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works; the wing housing the Temple of Dendur, a monument given via Egypt; the American Wing (1980), a 4-acre addition that changed into wrapped across the vintage phase and includes the largest collection of American arts within the global; the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing (1982), which homes the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing (1987), which shows modern-day and cutting-edge artwork; and the Henry R. Kravis Wing (1990), which contains sculpture and ornamental arts of Europe as much as the early twentieth century. A renovated and reconceived institution of 15 galleries offering the “artwork of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia”—one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind—become opened in 2011. From 2016 to 2020 the Met hosted its present day and modern artwork applications in the former region of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a Marcel Breuer-designed building at East seventy fifth Street and Madison Avenue; the Met Breuer became designed to host exhibitions and performances associated with twentieth- and 21st-century artwork, artist commissions and residencies, and academic programming.

3.The British Museum, London, United Kingdom

The British Museum in London is one of the world’s biggest and most important museums of human history and tradition. It has more than seven million objects from all continents. They illustrate and file the tale of human subculture from its beginning to the present. As with all different country wide museums and art galleries in Britain, the Museum charges no admission rate. The British Museum installation in 1753 and opened in 1759. It become the first museum in the global to be open to anybody. The museum step by step grew over the subsequent hundred years. It has nearly six million site visitors a yr and is the third most popular artwork museum within the global. Some of the museum’s most popular and essential well-knownshows encompass the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. The history of the British Museum began with the Irish born British physicist Hans Sloane, who died elderly 93 in 1753. During his life, he had collected many essential matters from all over the international. When he died, he did not want his series to be cut up up among his loved ones. He bought his series to the parliament of King George II. The parliament set up the British Museum to keep the gathering. By the time he died, Sloane had accumulated over eighty,000 items from all around the world inclusive of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Americas. The series turned into in the main books and manuscripts. There had been many essential archaeological portions protected as nicely.

4.The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy

“The Uffizi isn’t an remoted museum within the center of nowhere, however is the culmination of a landscape full of surprise and art and herbal splendor”. The Uffizi has about 12,000 visitors, making it one of the maximum popular museums within the international. Tourists have apparently been behaving so badly in Florence that the town created a campaign to encourage respectful behaviour. The director of the Uffizi desires to combat the Florentine over tourism via shifting a number of art work with the aid of well-known artists to different museums in Tuscany. This project is called ‘Uffizi Diffusi’, or ‘scattered Uffizi’. The Uffizi’s director, Eike Schmidt, has stated that this ‘scattering’ could have some of benefits. Not only will it with a bit of luck draw site visitors far from Florence, it’s going to additionally increase smaller museums within the region. Finally, this assignment has an underlying venture of connecting Tuscan historical past. The art work concerned in this plan will all circulate to museums in towns they’ve a reference to, like the hometown in their respective painter. The Gallery completely occupies the first and second flooring of the massive constructing constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by way of Giorgio Vasari. It is famous worldwide for its fantastic collections of historical sculptures and paintings. The collections of art work from the 14th-century and Renaissance length consist of a few absolute masterpieces: Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, further to many precious works with the aid of European painters. The Gallery boasts an invaluable series of historical statues and busts from the Medici family, which ornaments the corridors and consists of ancient Roman copies of misplaced Greek sculptures.

5.The State Hermitage Museum, ST Petersburg, Russia

The unique Hermitage collections are housed in 6 historical homes nestled at the Palace Embankment in fairytale St. Petersburg. The Winter Palace is a fabulously huge green, white, and gold constructing on the side of the Neva River, aka one of the edifices of Hermitage Museum that epitomizes Russia’s love affair with artwork and subculture. It is the house to the biggest series of art work within the world. The total wide variety of pieces kept by using the museum tallies to somewhere around three million. Apart from the Winter Palace, you may be similarly surprised with the aid of traveling some greater museum’s buildings just like the Menshikov Palace, the General Staff Building, the New and Old Hermitage and the Small Hermitage all through your St. Petersburg travel. The Hermitage was created in 1764 as the non-public series of Empress Catherine the Great. She commanded Russian ambassadors around the arena to buy the great pieces of artwork they might discover. She grew her collection, which went on public show in 1852. The Hermitage is one in all international’s most essential collections of artwork. St. Petersburg’s most famous visitor appeal, and one of the international’s largest and maximum prestigious museums with over 3 million objects in its collection. Among them is one of the global’s richest collections of western European painting because the Middle Ages, inclusive of many masterpieces through Renaissance Italian and Baroque Dutch, Flemish, and French painters. Russian artwork is nicely represented. The Hermitage also has extensive holdings of Asian artwork; specifically noteworthy is its collection of the artwork of Central Asia.

6.The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA

Smithsonian Institution, research group based by using the bequest of James Smithson, an English scientist. Smithson, who died in 1829, had stipulated in his will that should his nephew and inheritor himself die with out problem, his final belongings might bypass to the USA and be used to located the Smithsonian Institution. The nephew died, heirless, in 1835, and the U.S. Government became apprised of the endowment. Although it turned into held by means of John C. Calhoun and different individuals of Congress that the federal government had no electricity to accept such a present, it changed into eventually secured, largely thru the efforts of John Quincy Adams. By 1838 the estate have been liquidated, and the ensuing $508,318.46 become surpassed to the U.S. Authorities. Because the intent of Smithson’s bequest was vague and he simply said that the funds need to be used for the “growth and diffusion of know-how among men”. There was big war of words over how the cash was to be deployed. Conceptualized as a university throughout early discussions, the organization ultimately set up by way of a congressional act in 1846 and as a personal group in consider of the U.S. Government become a hybrid of later ideas for a studies centre, an observatory, a library, and a museum. The cornerstone for the Smithsonian Institution Building turned into laid the subsequent 12 months at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The building changed into inspired by means of Norman structure and designed by James Renwick and it turned into finished in 1855. Smithson’s remains could ultimately be reinterred there. When in 1901 the organization become alerted to the imminent disturbance of his grave in Italy due to mining in the area, regent Alexander Graham Bell started advocating for the stays to be shipped to the USA. In 1903 he traveled to Italy and supervised their disinterment. They had been established in a crypt inside the building known as the Castle years later
The Smithsonian persevered to amplify, and by way of the flip of the twenty first century its diverse constituent museums housed over 1.3 million artifacts, among them many American “country wide treasures.” The group comprised greater than 15 museums and a number of research centres; over a hundred and sixty institutions have been affiliated. Among the high-quality items held via the organization were the big blue Hope diamond, the Columbia command module from the Apollo eleven Moon-touchdown project, and the flag that stimulated Francis Scott Key to put in writing the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814. The Smithsonian also maintained substantial ethnographic and natural records collections, among them John Wesley Powell’s record of his research on Native Americans in Colorado, a numerous array of greater than four million fossils, and the National Herbarium, which preserved 4.Five million plant specimens. The institute additionally cared for pop-tradition esoterica, which include the ruby slippers worn by way of Judy Garland in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939). Slightly greater than 1 percent of these gadgets had been on display; most have been in garage or studies areas of the various museums or in a facility in Maryland.

7.The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy

Vatican Museums and Galleries, artwork collections of the popes considering that the start of the fifteenth century, housed in the papal palaces and other buildings in the Vatican. The Pio-Clementino Museum (Museo Pio-Clementino or Musei di Scultura) was founded inside the 18th century through Pope Clement XIV and enlarged through Pope Pius VI. This museum reveals the pontifical collection of ancient sculpture that originated with the gathering of Pope Julius II. The Chiaramonti Sculpture Gallery (Museo Chiaramonti), hooked up via Pope Pius VII in the 19th century and designed by using the sculptor Antonio Canova, is also committed to historic sculpture. It has three components: the museum, in a gallery designed with the aid of Bramante; the New Wing (Braccio Nuovo); and the Gallery of Inscriptions with its unrivalled series of historic epigraphy. The Gregorian Etruscan Museum, based in 1836 with the aid of Pope Gregory XVI (reorganized in 1924), houses a collection of objects from Etruscan excavations and gadgets from the Regolini-Galassi tomb with its series of Etruscan earrings. The Egyptian Museum, also based through Gregory XVI, changed into opened to the general public in 1839. The Pinacoteca, founded by using Pope Pius VI in 1797, has been housed in its gift gallery considering 1932. It has an terrific series of Italian non secular art work and additionally consists of Russian and Byzantine portray. In 1956 a contemporary art collection changed into initiated, which famous secular works by using such 19th- and twentieth-century artists as Renoir, Seurat, Van Gogh, Rouault, Matisse, and Picasso. In 1973 the Vatican opened its first museum of modern-day artwork, consisting of the paintings of both European and U.S. Artists, housed in 65 galleries in the Vatican Palace.

8.The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York, USA

Vatican City collection without a doubt is a feast for the eyes and attracts over 6 million site visitors every year to explore the beauty of museums. It has the streets with the museums crammed to the brim with a number of the world’s most well-known works of art. The beginning of those museums changed into inside the early 16th century. Pope Julius II founded them with the aid of buying the Vatican’s first actual piece of artwork. What makes this tale all the more charming is the reality that this sculpture become found in a winery near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore at the outskirts of Rome and was just an installation in the vineyard. After some consultation from the Pope’s artwork ‘retailers’, Julius II decided to make the primary buy and thus started out the Vatican City’s significant collection of works of art. It honestly is enormous, with over 70,000 artworks inside the partitions of Vatican City, it’s miles certainly one of the most important collections inside the world. However, not all of these are on display, only around 20,000 works of art are to be had to the public, even as the opposite 50,000 continue to be in safe garage. To accommodate such an excellent variety of works of art, the Vatican City is domestic to fifty four galleries, referred to as the Vatican Museums. These galleries are made out of 1400 rooms and offer the suitable lights and situations to each preserve and display every piece of artwork. Many of the museums also double as sights in their very own, together with the Sistine Chapel, that’s well-known for the works of Michelangelo at the ceiling, or St Peter’s Basilica, the most important Catholic church within the international. Some of the arena’s maximum crucial renaissance masterpieces are on display within the Vatican Museums, all of which have been gathered through a series of Popes via the ages. Painted to permit Pope Gregory XIII to see the expanse of the Papacy, the Gallery of Maps is an amazing piece of geographical art. The frescos function extraordinary sections of the map of Italy and enhance the walls of the 120-meter-long corridor on the 0.33 floor of the Belvedere Courtyard. Ignazio Danti become the artist and he took handiest 18 months to complete the works. The frescoes throughout the ceiling of the hall are depictions of activities that befell at every of the respective map locations along with the Seige of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto.

9.The Prado,Madrid, Spain

One of the maximum important museums in all of Spain, Prado Museum Madrid is understood to have the maximum complete series of Spanish art and one of the most excellent collections of European Art among the twelfth century to the early 20th century. One of the finest artwork museums within the international, it homes works by way of Spanish Greats like Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez, amongst others, and is visited by using millions every yr. Renowned architect Juan de Villanueva designed the constructing that homes Prado Museum in 1785 in his signature Neoclassical structure fashion. While it became in the beginning commissioned for the National History Cabinet with the aid of King Charles III, his grandson King Ferdinand VII, encouraged by using his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza, ultimately decided to have it residence the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. The goal of this museum become to display the astounding collection curated by the royal circle of relatives. The venue turned into ultimately renamed the National Museum of Paintings and Sculptures, earlier than sooner or later getting its cutting-edge call — Museo Nacional del Prado. The museum opened to the public in November 1819.
At the time of establishing, the museum became solely dedicated to Spanish artwork and had a little over three hundred paintings in its catalogue. Over time, it controlled to accumulate a collection of works with the aid of Flemish, Italian, German, and French artists as well. Its series saw a full-size growth beneath the patronage of Charles V in the sixteenth century and saw a consistent upward push as different monarchs got here to electricity. Between the nineteenth and 20th centuries, the footfall of the museum rose exponentially. In order to deal with the visitors, the museum become accelerated as tons as viable, with additions being made to the original Villanueva building. The museum is about to expand further, having sold 61,500 rectangular feet of area with their buy of the Buen Retiro palace’s Hall of Realms.Today, Museo del Prado has round 7,500 paintings, at the side of dedicated sections for sculptures & decorative arts, and print, drawings, and snap shots. Prado Museum, at the side of Reina Sofía Museum and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, forms Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art. As traffic walk around Villanueva’s implementing constructing, not handiest will they get to enjoy the works of well-known artists, however additionally revel in Prado Museum’s records. Some of the famous artists represented at Museo del Prado consist of Albrecht Dürer, Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Pieter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Francisco Goya, amongst others. In 2021, the museum also announced that it might be including more works by female artists to its everlasting exhibition as properly.

  1. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

It is in 1800, that The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum opened first its collection to the general public as the Nationale Kunstgallerij (National Art Gallery). Since then, it moved numerous times before being installed in Amsterdam (1808) by using the decree of the King of the Netherlands Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. Named then the Royal Museum, received in 1815 from the Dutch King Willem I its present name. In 1885 Rijksmuseum moved to its lovely building, designed with the aid of the Dutch architect Petrus J.H. Cuypers. It has been constructed inside the then fashionable Dutch neo-Renaissance style, the use of ancient neo-Gothic factors in it to shape and decorate. The enormous series of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum outgrew its 19th C. Constructing and due to the fact that December of 2003, it was reconstructed. New, contemporary exhibit has been built and the museum reopened after 10 years of preservation in April of 2013. Rijksmuseum is the only museum inside the international with a road inner of it. It turned into built at the edge of the historical city centre of Amsterdam. So the constructing served as a historical gate into the town. The avenue became opened for motorized vehicles till 1931, however that wasn’t the excellent solution for well-known shows and the building itself. The first stable ground in Amsterdam is some fifteen meters below the ground degree. Rijksmuseum is constructed on some eight,000 piles which can be nonetheless supporting the building nowadays. Rijksmuseum is home to the largest artwork library in the Netherlands.

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10 Great places to visit in the world

The world is filled with such a wide variety of wonderful destinations and beautiful places to visit, it can be quite difficult to compile a list of the best ones. Thinking about a traveler who, for whatever reason, has never set foot outside his or her home town, where would be the first places they might visit?

The list of the world’s best places to visit has to include great cities, like New YorkParisLondon, and so on, each of which is filled with a multitude of individual sites or must-see places to visit. The list also includes specific sites, monuments, and locations, each also worthy of a visit in their own right.

For more ideas on where to go and what to see, read our list of the top places to visit in the world.

  1. Machu Picchu, Peru
photo of machu picchu
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Machu Picchu is located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, on a 2,430-metre  mountain ridge.It is located in the Cusco RegionUrubamba ProvinceMachupicchu District, above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres  northwest of Cusco. The Urubamba River flows past it, cutting through the Cordillera and creating a canyon with a tropical mountain climate.

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas”, it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Intihuatana, the Templeof the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared. By 1976, 30% of Machu Picchu had been restored and restoration continues.

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Machu Picchu built in the 15th century AD and abandoned less than a 100 years later, the remote site continues to amaze with its perfectly joined, mortarless, intricate stonework. Huge multi-ton blocks of stone are perfectly joined with each other, without the use of mortar or cement.

The journey to Machu Picchu typically starts in the mountain city of Cusco, which was the capital city of the Inca Empire. Cusco is a fascinating place to explore-be sure to spend a few days there before or after your Machu Picchu adventure. It’s possible to hike the Inca Trail from Cusco to Machu Picchu.

  • The Grand Canyon, Arizona
grand canyon during sunset
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The Grand Canyon is an awesome place. Its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape make it without question one of the seven marvels of the natural world.

While it is not the deepest canyon in the world, it is unmatched throughout the world for the vistas it offers to visitors. Geologically it is hugely significant because of the thick sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geologic history of the North American continent.

Most of the 5 million annual visitors to the Grand Canyon arrive at the South Rim and experience its beauty from the many overlooks along the canyon edge. There are many miles of paved and unpaved walkways along the rim. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon shares similar outstanding views from a vantage point 1000 feet higher than on the South Rim. Here too are walkways and overlooks that let you take in the grandeur of the canyon.

Strong hikers can climb down to the Colorado River via the Bright Angel Trail or South Kaibab Trail. For a less exhausting experience, mule pack trips use the same trails to take their riders down and up canyon.

With geology formed over the past two billion years, yes billion, the 277 mile-long canyon itself is believed to have been started around five to six million years ago. It was formed by the flow of the Colorado River, which still flows through it and continues to erode the geology along its course. The Grand Canyon is up to 18 miles wide in places and up to a mile deep. Imagine standing on the edge, looking down a sheer rock wall almost a mile to the river below.

Most visitors come to the area referred to as the South Rim, and there is a range of accommodations available, from tents to a rustic luxury canyon-side resort built from logs. There are a few accommodations on the remote North Rim, and these are reserved years in advance.

Many visitors access the canyon via the historic Grand Canyon Railway, which runs from the town of Williams, Arizona. The 64-mile rail line provides an entertaining way to get to the canyon with food and live music onboard. For those driving, the canyon is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive north from Phoenix .

3. Rome, Italy

colosseum rome italy
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The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum is a rectangular forum  surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

The Eternal City is more like a giant, living museum. Visitors are immersed in and surrounded by thousands of years of history. It include the Colosseum and adjacent Roman Forum; the Pantheon; and Vatican City, a separate country in the middle of central Rome.

Take some time to explore the outskirts of Rome, too. Consider a hike along a tomb-lined section of the Appian Way, the ancient Roman superhighway, and a visit to one of the aqueduct ruins outside the city.

For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city’s great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly.

Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman Kingdom‘s earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, the Regia , and the Temple of Vesta , as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins, all of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome.

Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and the Vulcanal (Shrine of Vulcan), developed into the Republic‘s formal Comitium (assembly area). This is where the Senate as well as Republican government itself began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area.

Over time the archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia . Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia, along with the new Curia Julia, refocusing both the judicial offices and the Senate itself. This new Forum, in what proved to be its final form, then served as a revitalized city square where the people of Rome could gather for commercial, political, judicial and religious pursuits in ever greater numbers.

4. Maui, Hawaii

shore during sunset
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The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the best island in the world. Travelers around the globe favor “The Valley Isle” so much, they’ve named it a top destination and the best island.

Possessing a luxurious and hip image, Maui hosts world-class resorts, exciting activities and championship golf, all surrounded by staggering natural beauty. The islands’ “aloha spirit” and native host Hawaiian culture provides an unparalleled vacation experience.

In addition to relaxing by the resort pool or on the beach with a great book and the iconic fruity cocktail, visitors can take advantage of activities such as golf, sailing, eco-tours, shopping, ziplining, wine tasting and farm tours plus so much more.

Points of Interest The central Maui town of Kahului/Wailuku is the island’s business center, while West Maui hosts sprawling beaches, upscale hotels of Ka’anapali and the historic whaling town of Lahaina. South Maui is home to a high-end resort district, Wailea plus offers a good spot for snorkeling, diving and wildlife watching. Maui’s best area to explore underwater is the lava rock crescent-shaped Molokini, so take a 25-minute boat ride and explore.

Iao Valley, reposing between the volcanoes near Kahoolawe, is a place the modern world seems to have left behind. There is fascinating and dramatic history here, much of it violent, with the Iao Needle rock pillar having served as a natural altar.

In the case of Hana, the journey may be as important as the destination. With giant waterfalls, artist hamlets and rainbows along the way, make it a day trip and stop for picnic supplies in Pa’ia. The infamous Road to Hana is curvy and minimally maintained. Thank goodness development of this isolated town has been limited so visitor’s can enjoy a truer sense of Hawaii.

This Hawaiian island offers a wide range of experiences for visitors. You can surf, enjoy a meal on the beach at a five-star luxury resort in Wailea, ride a horse across a dormant volcano in Haleakala National Park, or hike through a rainforest in the West Maui Mountains. The natural scenery is amazing-it’s truly one of the most beautiful islands in the world.

When it comes to accommodation, there is something for everyone here, from rustic hippie bungalow bed and breakfasts to five-star luxury resort hotels. Wailea has all the luxury

5. Maasai Mara, Kenya

group of man on a desert
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Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lion, African leopard, cheetah and African bush elephant .

Maasai Mara, also known as Masai Mara, and locally simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in NarokKenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language, due to the many short bushy trees which dot the landscape.

Kenya’s Masai Mara is an incredible bio-diverse area and a popular safari destination. It’s an opportunity to see the “big five” animals (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo) all during one trip .

Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lionAfrican leopardcheetah and African bush elephant. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten Wonders of the World.

The Greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and several Maasai Conservancies, including Koiyaki, Lemek,  Mara North, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet

The protected Masai Mara National Reserve park area is huge, over 1,500 square kilometers of mainly grassland, extending all the way to the Serengeti plain of Tanzania. The popular times to visit are during the twice-yearly migrations, the main one being in July and August. Over a million wildebeest and other animals cross the area in huge groups to go from one feeding area to another. Most visitors fly into Nairobi, then take a small bush plane to the Mara.

6. Montreal, Canada

high rise buildings
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Montreal is the second largest French speaking citiy in the world, after Paris. However, most Montrealers – especially in downtown – are bilingual. Many more speak a third language. In downtown stores, shoppers are greeted with a confident BonjourHi, a term which is becoming more and more popular, indicating bilingualism.

As you listen to the sound of French being spoken around you and explore Old Montreal, wandering down its narrow cobblestone streets-you might think you’re in France. The historic area is filled with quaint shops and cafes; this Canadian city can be a chance to experience a bit of Europe in North America.

The city also has a thriving food scene, with several popular farmers markets, including the Atwater Market and the Jean Talon Market. It’s also known for its bagels, cooked hot and fresh by several iconic must-visit bakeries.

Be sure to visit the beautiful Notre-Dame Basilica and take a drive up to Mount Royal, the big hill (or low mountain) the city is named after. You’ll be rewarded with some amazing views extending all the way to the port.

Montreal has the highest number of restaurants per Capita in Canada and the second in North America after New York. Montreal’s restaurant scene is very cosmopolitan with menus from literally around the world, with an often added French touch.

Montreal is the first North American city to have been designated UNESCO City of Design by the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity in 2006. With this honor, Montreal’s effort and enthusiasm as well as the city’s potential for economic and social development in the field of design is recognized.

Montreal is build around Mont Royal, from where the city received its name. Mont Royal Park, located on the mountain, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same person who designed New York City’s Central Park. No building in Montreal can be taller than the famous Cross found on Mont Royal!

Montreal has an Underground City, which is a series of interconnected tunnels beneath the city that run for over 32km. The tunnels connect shopping malls, over 2000 stores, 7 metro stations,universities, banks, offices, museums, restaurants and so on. Unlike what is commonly believed, Montrealers use the underground tunnels mostly in the heat of the Summer rather than to escape the cold in Winter!

7. New Zealand

scenic view of the mountains
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Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, then extending in Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 dormant volcanic cones. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two separate major bodies of water.

The isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled c. 1350 and was valued for its rich and fertile land. The Maori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans.  After a British colony was established in 1840, William Hobson, then Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, chose the area as his new capital. He named the area for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty. Maori–European conflict over land in the region led to war in the mid-19th century. Auckland was replaced as the capital in 1865 by Wellington, but the city continued to grow, initially because of its port and logging and gold mining in its hinterland, later from pastoral farming , and manufacturing in the city itself. It has throughout most of its history been the nation’s largest city. Today, Auckland’s central business district is New Zealand’s leading economic hub.

The University of Auckland, founded in 1883, is the largest university in New Zealand. The city’s varied cultural institutions—such as the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Museum of Transport and Technology, and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki—and national historic sites, festivals, performing arts, and sports activities are significant tourist attractions. Architectural landmarks include the Harbour Bridge, the Town Hall, the Ferry Building and the Sky Tower. The city is served by Auckland Airport, which handles around one million international passengers a month. Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, Auckland is recognised as one of the world’s most liveable cities, ranked third in the 2019 Mercer Quality of Living Survey.

With its striking natural beauty, friendly citizens, and recent popularity due to its use as the filming location for the Lord of the Rings films (as well as many others), this island nation is one of the world’s great places to visit. The biodiversity here is amazing-it’s believed New Zealand was one of the last places on earth to have human inhabitants.

Start your visit off in the capital city of Auckland, with its culture, history, and museums. Spend some time on the water and at the beach-Waitemata Harbour has beaches, along with a range of sailing and boating activities.

Visit the Rotorua area to learn about and experience indigenous Maori culture and head to Queenstown to experience the country’s wide range of outdoor extreme action sports. Remember, this is where bungee jumping was invented.

8. Istanbul, Turkey

brown concrete dome building at night
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Istanbul is a major city in Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Its Old City reflects cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot races, and Egyptian obelisks also remain. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring 6th-century dome and rare Christian mosaics.

The city held the strategic position between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It was also on the historic Silk Road. It controlled rail networks between the Balkans and the Middle East and was the only sea route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence, Ankara was chosen as the new Turkish capital, and the city’s name was changed to Istanbul. Nevertheless, the city maintained its prominence in geopolitical and cultural affairs. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in and city limits have expanded to accommodate them. Arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established towards the end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city today. Infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network in the city.

Turkey’s capital city is another destination that offers a great mix of culture, food, and history. There are thousands of years of history here, starting with Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and leading up through the Ottoman Empire.

It’s an Islamic country with a secular government, so it’s a good place for Western tourists to experience Islamic culture. There’s a mix of the new and the timeless here unlike anywhere else. You can spend the night at a wonderful restaurant eating great Turkish food and dancing to Turkish music, then rise (very early) in the morning to the sound of the Ezan or morning Islamic call to prayer. It echoes across the rooftops as it’s broadcast from loudspeakers set atop the minarets of the city’s mosques.

Istanbul has excellent public transit, which means it’s easy to get around and explore all the major sites and monuments. Must-see places include the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and Topkapi Palace.

9. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

man looking at an ancient temple
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Angkor Wattemple complex at Angkor, near SiemreabCambodia, that was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–c. 1150). It is the world’s largest religious structure, covering some 400 acres (160 hectares), and marks the high point of Khmer architecture.

It is located just outside the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, Angkor Wat is the largest religious site in the world. It was created originally as a Hindu temple and mausoleum for the Khmer ruler in the early part of the 12th century and was converted to a Buddhist temple at the end of the 12th century. Just part of a enormous ancient city. Angkor Wat is the temple area, Angor Thom was the city and palace area. There are hundreds of other ruin sites in the area, all part of the ancient capital of Angkor.

Siem Reap and its temples and ruins are now very easily accessible via daily flights from Hong Kong and other large Asian cities. Accommodations range from inexpensive guesthouses to lavish luxury resorts, with everything in between.

10. London, England

city view at london
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Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel.

Throughout its history, London bridge has been a busy thoroughfare, and was once lined with shops. The road over the bridge was only about 4m wide between the shops. It was so narrow it often jammed with people, horses and carts.

The Old London Bridge of nursery rhyme fame dates from 1176, when Peter, a priest and chaplain of St. Mary’s of Colechurch, began construction of the foundation. Replacing a timber bridge (one of several built in late Roman and early medieval times), Peter’s structure was the first great stone arch bridge built in Britain. It was to consist of 19 pointed arches, each with a span of approximately 24 feet (7 metres), built on piers 20 feet (6 metres) wide; a 20th opening was designed to be spanned by a wooden drawbridge.

The stone foundations of the piers were built inside cofferdams made by driving timber piles into the riverbed; these in turn were surrounded by starlings. As a result of obstructions encountered during pile driving, the span of the constructed arches actually varied from 15 to 34 feet in the width of the protective starlings was so great that the total waterway was reduced to a quarter of its original width, and the tide roared through the narrow archways like a millrace. “Shooting the bridge” in a small boat became one of the thrills of Londoners.

In 1205 Peter of Colechurch died, and three other London citizens completed the bridge by 1209. Almost immediately the bridge became not only an important commercial crossing but also a choice business and residential site. Shops lined both sides of the roadway between the fortified gates at either end; houses were built above the shops, with 138 premises being recorded in 1358. Walkways and additional rooms were extended between the buildings, transforming the roadway into a tunnel-like passage through which merchants and other travelers bustled. In the 1580s, during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, water mills were installed that added to the uproar.

This historic English city is another destination just filled with incredible places to visit. A trip to London is an opportunity to visit iconic places like the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London.

Take advantage of the city being a cultural center as well by seeing a West End theater show or watching a musical performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Modern London is also a city of fine dining, luxury hotels, and world-class shopping.

Don’t miss the museums, the vast British Museum is free, and usually quite crowded. Make time to visit The Wallace Collection, a free museum on Oxford Street. It has one of the world’s greatest collections of furniture and porcelain, along with some important Old Master paintings.

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