BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany, was built between 2001 and 2006. Designed by Zaha Hadid, the building already received several awards: Deutsche Architekturpreis 2005, Leipziger Architekturpreis 2005, Deutsche Architekturpreis Beton 2005, Best-Office-Award 2006 and a special award at Italian Premio Internazionale Dedalo Minosse architecture event. The exterior is not as interesting as its interiors. Among the signature elements are the 600 m long galleries where body-in-whites are transported to and from the paint shop. There a car production line passes over multilevel floor plates with platforms that function as open office spaces.

Noorderlicht is an old dock place, used by 250 artists working in the fields of theater, film, media, architecture and design. The place is both cafe & restaurant and also a little getaway from the city. Especially when the weather is holding up, it’s a perfect way to spend a late afternoon contemplating your day in Amsterdam on the terrace overlooking the IJ and part of the city center.

The staff is very informal, laid back and friendly, but not particularly speedy when it’s busy. The food is always fresh, healthy and delicious. The menu changes with the seasons and offers a variety of prices, so you can decide if you want to stay on a budget or splurge a little. The desserts are to die for, especially the plum tarte tatin and hangop pudding with rhubarb sauce.

Getting there: An absolute must! From the new Aanmeersteiger behind Central Station, where the big ferry to Amsterdam Noord-establishes, leaves a NDSM ferry to the wharf. Hence it is five minutes walk to Northern Lights. Over 50 more after arriving straight and then turn right at the NDSM. Walk 300 meter straight to the sheds on your left. At the end you see right to a transparent dome ‘t IJ. Just make sure you don’t miss the last ferry back to civilization. Ferries operate daily at 12:00 till 22:00.

The Museum of Quai Branly is a hybrid museum mixing post-colonial and postmodern. The museum is an attempt to merge art and ethnography. It is neither the Louvre nor the Musée de l’Homme. Quai Branly plays a role in transmission not only of knowledge, but also of testimony and emotion, offering visitors a choice of possibilities for taking part in a dialogue of cultures.

The museum boasts with an unusual profile from Jean Nouvel’s sienna-toned cubes piercing the postured exterior to the anti-gravitational plant wall by Patrick Blanc,. Entering through a Jurassic garden, the visitor commences on a winding tour through Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

Shows, music salons, master classes… the museum of Quai Branly is ready to transport you to all four corners of the world, from Morocco to Brazil, from India to Mexico, to discover other cultures and unique artists. As well as a school for documentary filmmaking in the tradition of the direct cinema of Jean Rouch, Richard Leacock and Fred Wiseman, Varan proposes an evening of screenings every three months at the museum.

The gallery installation (one critic dubbed the spotlit cases “monster lighting”) can be disorienting, swiftly shifting between tribes and continents with hidden text panels and interactive stations. That said, the 3,500 objects (out of a total 30,000) on permanent display are incredible. With a little perseverance, you might actually learn about them.

Getting there: The location of the museum Rue 37 Quai Branl 75007 Paris and there is easy access to the museum, by car/metro/bus. Entry to the museum is via rue de l’Université or via Quai Branly.

Wachau is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria , located precisely between the towns of Melk and Krems. It is 30 km in length and was already settled in prehistoric times. It preserves in an intact and visible form many traces – in terms of architecture, urban design, and agricultural use, principally for the cultivation of vines. The Wachau was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in recognition of its architectural and agricultural history.

The Wachau with its mighty Baroque Abbey Melk and the collegiate church of Dürnstein with its famous blue tower.

The Wachau is an excellent example of a river landscape surrounded by hills, where the material evidence of the long history of development is still preserved to an astonishing degree.

Human settlement in the Wachau started already during Palaeolithic times, which is documented by a number of cultural founds. From the 1st to the 5th century the Danube formed the northern border of the Roman Empire.

The new extravagant hotel Roomz is a fresh spot for nightlife and meeting point for modern people who want to experience dynamic, sophisticated and affordable city life whether travelling for business or pleasure. In “Roomz” you will find a cool design in spatial dynamics, innovative architecture and ingenious functionality, as well as a multitude of amenities for a reasonable price.   

The hotel has 312 beds with ideal location in the heart of the new Wiener Gasometers business and office centre. The “Roomz Vienna” offers extraordinary holiday for business travellers with relaxing atmosphere and a lot of comfort. The hotel offers excellent travel connections, high-speed internet access, air conditioning, flat-screen televisions in the rooms and a large parking garage – amenities required by today’s travellers.

The hotel was built in nine months. Dynamic times naturally lead to dynamic developments. This factor is reflected in the astonishing pace of construction of the “Roomz Vienna”. On 6 June 2007, less than a year after breaking ground, the hotel was opened with highly motivated and keen personnel. The hotel will absolutely pique the senses of “people in motion”, thanks to the archisphere architects group – architects & designers with Gabriel  Kacerovsky.

Getting there: It is located near the Gasometer, an architecturally interesting residential and shopping complex housed in gigantic old gas containers, so guests won’t feel so isolated out here in Simmering. But no worries, the subway takes you straight into the heart of the city.

The Kirche St. Leopold is an extraordinary monument, which sits high atop the Baumgartner Hohe at the city outskirts. Locals people jokingly say to this splendid site as ‘Mount Lemon‘, because of the church’s shining gilded dome that beckons from afar. This new masterpiece was built by architect Otto Wagner from 1903–07 on the grounds of Vienna’s Steinhof psychiatric hospital. Planned for the use of patients, many of the church’s salient design features fascinatingly address the special concern for hygiene prevalent at the time.

The church interior was entirely cloth in tiles to allow for easy cleaning; the pews were given rounded edges to minimize injuries; and holy water dispensed by a drip rather than the traditional stoup, for fear of infection.

The ornamentation of the Kirche St Leopold encapsulates the quintessential spirit of the Jugendstil, while Otto Wagner’s open floor plan foreshadows the onset of modernism. You will never miss the beautiful stained glass windows and mosaics by artist Koloman Moser, one of the founders of the Vienna Secession.

Centrale Bibliotheek (OBA) in Amsterdam is not just an ordinary library. Sure it has everything that one bibliotheek should have – an extensive collection of books, a quiet atmosphere and plenty of places to study or read. Yet, the largest library in the Benelux offers much, much more.

Very close to the Central Station, the Central Library opened its doors in 2007, and become the most visited cultural organization in Amsterdam with 2.5 million visitors a year. You can easily spend the whole day here: study at one of the 600 computers (or use the free wireless internet); have a drink at one of the coffee corners while enjoying a magazine or paper from the extensive selection; check out the art exhibitions in the spacious hall; or go the restaurant on the top floor—breathtaking views included in every meal.

The library has 7 floors, creatively designed by Jo Coenen. With its 28,000 square meteres, it offers the perfect opportunity to escape the hustle of the city and soak up some well-deserved knowledge.

How to get there: the Central Library can be reached by public transport, using all metros, trams and buses terminating at Amsterdam Central Station or by bike via the bicycle bridge (left by the pedestrian quay to Nemo). You will see the library at the end of the bridge. Just past the library, you will see the secure bicycle storage.

If you’ve strolled in the sunny Barcelona you will came across magnificent modernist buildings gaze proudly over the tree-lined boulevards, sleek furniture, elaborate tapas, chic couture and handmade chocolates. Hidden from view, there are gardens and courtyards that offers shelter from the urban rush and an intimate view of everyday Barcelona life.

Most of the gardens have been carved in recent years from the patios that form the center of each city block, and are reached down narrow passageways or by cutting through a building. They are the ideal place to relax between the sights of the Eixample, which stretches from the old city to neighborhoods like Gracia.

The picture displays the swimming pool at Calle Roger de Lluria by a water tower. This is one of the first patios returned to the public by the city in the late 1980s and home to a looming brick water tower. “The patios are like a window onto Barcelona,” said Francesc Munoz Ramirez. He also mentioned that, ”You can be an urban voyeur — watch the business of the city from the inside.”

An enormous list of Barcelona’s often-overlooked public gardens — like the serene grounds of the Barcelona Seminary or the courtyard of the Casa Elizalde cultural center, where you can often catch a weekend children’s show — can be found on the Web site of ProEixample (www.proeixample.cat), a public-private partnership dedicated to revitalizing the Eixample. Photos by: Stefano Buonamici

Hotel St Martins Lane is a dramatic and daring reinvention of the urban resort. Entered through improbably tall, luminescent yellow-glass revolving doors—the tallest in London—St Martins Lane’s lobby is a soaring and theatrical space that offers a provocative manipulation with oversized columns and angled niches painted a deep fluorescent yellow, complemented by Portuguese limestone floors.

The hotels features meeting room hire, arrival fruit juices, yoghurt and granola shots, working lunch, afternoon fruit teas, fruit skewers and mineral water.

Most of the light-saturated bedrooms offer floor-to-ceiling windows and impressive views; a few suites even flaunt lush private gardens fragranted by orange trees. The Covent Garden hotel offers surprisingly good packages on their website, especially considering its list of amenities which includes a full gym and two restaurants. And though it caters to the more average Joe these days, even we have to admit: the Light Bar is still pretty damn cool.

At Martins Lane also features an Executive Boardroom with 24-hour multilingual secretarial staff available upon request, additional multi-use meeting spaces, and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. Plasma monitors for audio-visual playback, smart boards, electronic flip charts, portable computers, mobile phones and fax machines are also available upon request.

One of the best feature, which St Martins Lane offers is the Back Room, available for private functions, is a beautifully tranquil space lined in seamless white marble and featuring a zen-like wall of bubbling water. Its simple, streamlined elegance provides the perfect backdrop for a wide variety of private uses. Also available for special functions are the hotel’s acclaimed Asia de Cuba restaurant, Penthouse and Apartment.

Grass is a lovely spot to sip a colorful, tropical bottle surrounded by dense flora in Miami. Grass is 2 in 1 – lounge and restaurant, relax and eat, accompanied with quality chill music. A variety of substantial flower buds and plant specimens float in lit jars behind the bar, and the open air setting’s breezes rustle palm fronds overhead.

A variety of substantial flower buds and plant specimens float in lit jars behind the bar, and the open air setting’s breezes rustle palm fronds overhead. As well as favouring break beat and Michael Jackson, DJs have been known to fill its dance floor. The late-night party continues at their adjoining club, The King is Dead.

Grass Restaurant & Lounge is located on 28NE 40 Street, Miami Florida!

Once Das Triest was a former coach station on the route from Vienna to Trieste. Today renovation converted the property into a unique, luxury design hotel. Hotel Das Triest is situated in the heart of Vienna, about 10 minutes from St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It is designed by Sir Terence Conran with an overall unity which is warm and inviting. It is accompanied by a carefully chosen tailored selection of furnishing materials.

The hotel has 72 rooms, which immediately trnsport to guests a sense of Viennese flair through their lovely design. The suites offers 70 square meters of living space and are so popular that they have already become an insider tip within an ever widening circle of design hotel enthusiasts.

Das Triest can provide meeting space to 120 people in two naturally-lit, air-conditioned conference rooms. As well as the 70-seat restaurant Collio serves modern northern Italian cuisine. The Silver Bar offers chill music and lovely warm lighting.
There are fitness center with sauna and solarium and 3 spectacular gardens.

Each room has Satellite TV, VCR, phone and fax connection, NOKIA wireless LAN providing free internet on the guest’s personal laptop.

Cross-vaulted rooms give the building a distinctive flair, but rooms are casually broken up by Conran’s solid colour blocks of reds, yellows and royal blues, be it for the carpeting or the upholstered armchairs. Great care was also taken in selecting and pairing designer pieces by a host of renowned manufacturers and designers including Conran himself, B&B Italia and Casa Milano.

Christiania Freetown was established in 1971 by  under the ownership of the freethinking individuals who reclaimed the land for public use in 1986. Today the  self governing community has a population of roughly 900 inhabitants, with visitors arriving daily to bear witness and explore within this ongoing social experiment.

Until 2004, one of the main attractions in Christiania was a series of hash stands on the main thoroughfare, aptly named Pusher Street. While hard drugs have always been banned by community law, the hash trade was very much at home in Chritiania, until the Danish government finally cracked down and the community was forced to refocus its business ventures. Today, a series of small businesses including shops, cafes and restaurants lure visitors to contribute to the local economy.

Christianians has  defended themselves through peaceful means and remains autonomous. Cars are banned from use within the community borders, where community members reside in abodes as typical as houses and as non-traditional as tree-houses. Chritiania is certainly an important destination for dreamers, explorers and hippies.

Christiania is located within the parameters of Copenhagen’s city bike network, we recommend you hop on one of those free access bikes and cross the river to check out a truly one-of-a-kind community.

Tycho Brahe Planetarium, is hard to miss. A statement to everything galactic, the Planetarium is where you go if you have an interest in space rocks, interstellar light beams and the planetary rings of Saturn. With one word Tycho Brahe Planetarium is Denmark’s most advanced centre for popularizing astronomy and space research and promoting knowledge on natural science.

All day round they present the spectacular IMAX films – the largest film format in the world and digital 3D films – that show you nature’s magnificence, whether they take you below the surface of the sea, out in space or into the jungle. The films are displayed on 1000 m2 dome-shaped screen which gives you the impression of being part of the on-screen action. Each film starts with a brief description of the actual night sky. Seated in the comfortable flight seats you can look forward to an hour with no time or space limitations.

The current stellar constellations are shown on the screen, which prove to be a good come down, as they also own a star projector that is able to project more than 4000 stars, complete with the different planets of our solar system.

In their permanent exhibition, The Active Universe, you’ll find the answers to some of the mysteries of space. Most of the shows are narrated in Danish. If you would like to hear the English narration, headphones are available e for DKK 20. If you are interested in our planet, in the universe or in the twinkling stars, the exhibition on natural science, astronomy and space travel is a must.

It sounds little weird, however one of the best place for relax in the centre of Copenhagen is cemetery -park Assistens Kirkegard. Initially the ground was intended for the poor to be buried. During the years passing by became a trendy resting place for the wealthy and famous, like physician Niels Bohr and world-renowned writers H.C. Andersen, M. A. Nexo and Soren Kierkegaard.

I would say that the cemetery is a local advantage these days. Locals using it as a picturesque park; in warm weather, expect to see people sunbathing and students studying nestled in between the rare trees and the graves. So bring a carpet, newspaper, boombox, and lay out in the verdant surroundings. Fittingly, the place never gets overcrowded.

If you’re holidat trip is time-limited, you can explore the cemetery as a shortcut to outer Norrebro by strolling through the dazzling mainway Poppel Alle. And don’t be scared if you suddenly find yourself far away from the main entrance—Assistens has several exits.

This installation is created by the american artist Jeffrey Inaba, in collaboration with Luca Peralta Studio, Rome, Italy, at Rome’s Policlinico Umberto I, the most important hospital in the Italian capital and one of the largest in Europe. 

The structure is focused on the waiting and transit areas, used every day by large numbers of people. Within the delicate and complex social context that a hospital represents, the artist offers different kinds of space where patients, passers-by, visitors and doctors can enjoy moments of relaxation.

Colors, lights, geometric shapes and various environmentally friendly elements give the hospital a new, dynamic energy. Through art, waiting becomes potential energy, transmitting positivity and bringing an element of comfort to an architectural space normally seen as a temporary and highly emotional environment.  The solar PV system generates more than the energy needed for the electricity to run the lights and the monitors and DVD player inside the sphere.