Cities travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Kungliga Djurgarden (Royal Djurgarden) is an island consisting mainly of parkland and forest, with enough to see to keep visitors busy for several days. A wonderful walk along Djurgardskanalen during the summer will get you to Skansen, for instance, an open-air museum presenting historical Sweden, and Vasamuseet(the Vasa Museum), featuring the warship Vasa, which sank in Stockholm on her maiden voyage in 1628. Younger visitors will love Junibacken with its storybook worlds of iconic Swedish children’s author, Astrid Lindgren. Thielska Galleriet (the Thielska Gallery) and Prince Eugen’s Prince Eugen’s Waldermarsudde are two outstanding art museums, housed in former private palaces and famous for their collections of Scandinavian paintings and sculptures from the period around 1900.

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Located in the southern sierra of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level, Cuenca is the third largest city in the country. Founded in 1557, the city offers a rich diversity of art, history and colonial architecture. Considered as the country’s cultural heart and soul, in 1999, the city was included on UNESCO‘s list of World Heritage sites. Cuenca is the site of four universities, many museums, research and cultural organizations and many travel writers call Cuenca the “most European” of Latin American cities. With its large student population, the city also has a modem edge, with international restaurants, art galleries, cool cafes and welcoming bars all tucked into its colonial architecture. The architecture, parks, restaurants, museums, cafes and four free flowing rivers make it a destination in itself.

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Located alongside the Turia River, the Palau de la Musica is one of the most emblematic buildings of modern Valencia. Transparency is one of its main characteristics. Designed by José Maria Barcia de Paredes – a creator of other concert halls such as the ones in Madrid, Granada and Cuenca, the Valencia Concert Hall was constructed in 1987. This concert hall is built like a giant greenhouse, employing the theme of transparency and live plants inside. Since its construction in 1984, it has considered as one of the best concert halls in Europe.

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The Hotel Tassel is an elegant urban house with facade defined around centered, stacked oriel bay windows and balcony. Designed by Victor Horta - the architect to initiate the Art Nouveau style, the building was built for the Belgian scientist and Professor Emile Tassel. Because of Horta’s highly innovative plan, the old urban house was inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. This building is generally considered as the first Art Nouveau building in Brussels.

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Smolny Convent is a Baroque ensemble of buildings situated on the curve of the left bank of the River Neva, in the city St. Petersburg, Russia. The complex’ name means “Holy Virgin Convent of the Resurrection”. It was built at the behest of Empress Elizabeth I in the years 1748. Designed by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Smolny Convent consists of a cathedral and a complex of buildings surrounding it.

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Located in central Shanxi Province, the city was founded in the 14th century. This tiny city was the main banking center in China during the Qing Dynasty in 19th century. There is no charming landscape. No green mountain or clear waters. But Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city. Pingyao was added to the UNESCO‘s World Heritage List on December 31st, 1997.

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The wall that encloses the present-day Old City of Jerusalem, in Israel/ Palestine was built in the sixteenth century and originally it had seven gates; an eighth, aptly named New Gate, was added in the late nineteenth century in the wall’s northwest sector. The Damascus Gate is one of many entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem and it has been the site of the city’s main entrance since ancient times. It is the busiest and most magnificent of all Jerusalem’s gates.

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Offering a range of recreational activities for families, couples and single travelers, Lake Havasu City is one of the most popular vacation destinations in Arizona, United States. It is a thriving tourist town with plenty of accommodations, tours, shops, a multitude of fun activities and recreational facilities. Due to its beautiful location and welcoming atmosphere, Lake Havasu City attracts tourist from the entire world.

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These days Tel Aviv boasts with high-concept industrial shops, single-artist showrooms, and expertly curated furniture boutiques are popping up across the city. At Israeli artist Ayala Serfaty’s just-opened Aqua Creations Showroom, you’ll find a selection of ottomans and chairs covered in velvet or Lycra and in organic shapes—bubbles; poufs.

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Today the San Francisco‘s Mission District is well known for its vibrant latino culture, colourful murals, and hip artistic spirit. The Mission is now experiecing the second coming with a new crop of restaurants, boutique and more. The best place to stay there is the 21-room Inn San Francisco (doubles from $175), set in an 1872 mansion, brims with authentic Victorian details—ornate woodwork; marble fireplaces; featherbeds—minus the chintz (not a weathered doily in sight). Don’t miss the rooftop deck with 360-degree views of the city.

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