Part of the wonder of traveling is the opportunity to experience the past, present, and future in a city’s buildings. Many cities have stood for hundreds of years, and provide a dramatic view of human achievement and life. The style of architecture often tells a great deal about the times and people who have inhabited these places, and it’s possible to get a sense of history and time when walking where knights and their ladies, merchants, holy men, and barbarians lived and interacted with others. There is no better way to develop a sense of the people who inhabited a city than by looking at the places where they lived and worked.
- Sibiu in Romania is definitely a city with some of the best medieval architecture in Eastern Europe. Much of the old city has been preserved and presents a delight to those who wish to wander through what is essentially a historic city. Against a backdrop of the Fagaras Mountains, you will find such architectural treasures as The Stairs Passage, Brukenthal Palace, Ursuline Monastery, and Goldsmith’s Square.
- Florence, Italy, has been a place of human habitation since Roman times, when it was called Florentia. Florence has maintained the feel of a Renaissance city with its piazzas, palaces, cathedrals, and cobbled streets. One of the biggest tourist destinations is the gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which contains over 40 stained glass windows. Another place not to be missed is the Villa della Petraia. This was the country home of the Medicis and features the villa itself and the formal gardens.
- Athens brings to life the glory that was Greece in the Hellenistic Age. Ruins of temples such as the Parthenon, Temple of Erectheion, and Temple of Hephaestus still stand as a monument to this fabled civilization. The Athens Academy features buildings and statuary in the style of Ancient Greece and allows the visitor to the city a chance to imagine how Athens looked at the time of Ulysses and Hector.
- Oxford, England gives the tourist a chance to follow the timeline of the city architecturally from its founding in around the year 1000 AD to the present. Oxford Castle was built after the 1066 Norman Conquest to provide secure dominance over the surrounding countryside. Oxford City Centre offers buildings from the gothic, Elizabethan, and later eras, as well as the Radcliffe Camera. Christ Church Cathedral, dating from the early 16th Century is a magnificent gothic cathedral with soaring interior arches and a lovely rose window.
- Agra in India offers you the chance to visit one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal. This is a stunningly beautiful tomb built for a Moghul emperor’s favorite wife. Besides the Taj, however, there are other interesting architectural sights in Agra such as Agra Fort and Itmad-ud-Daulah.
Travel will introduce you not only to new peoples, but also to a variety of fascinating architectural treasures. The differences in cultures and building styles are part of what makes the world so interesting.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’][/author_image] [author_info]Noc enjoys traveling to cities with unique buildings and sometime uses Travel Advantage Network for accommodations.[/author_info] [/author]
