Category Archives: Urban

Nicknamed the Baltic Versailles, Rundale Palace (Rundāles pils) will transport you to an age of splendour. Designed by Francesco Rastrelli, the architect who also created St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, Rundale is a superbly restored Baroque and Rococo masterpiece packed with art treasures and surrounded by a delightful rose garden.

In the Croatian capital, Zagreb, the main sightseeing area is the medieval Gornji Grad (Upper Town) district. Here, popular tourist attractions include the cathedral with its neo-Gothic façade, twin steeples, and treasury with its large collection of religious art and artifacts; the Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski sabor); the Church of St. Mark with its famous colored tiled roof; and the 13th-century Tower ofContinue reading “Gornji Grad (Zagreb, Croatia)”

The Louvre is an incomparable museum that ranks among the top European collections of fine arts. Many of Western Civilization’s most famous works are found here including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci, the Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese, and the 1st-century-BC Venus de Milo sculpture. 

Part of the Prague Castle complex, St. Vitus Cathedral is best known as the home of the Bohemian Coronation Jewels, as well as the tomb of the Czech people’s most revered saint, St. Wenceslas. The cathedral has a long history, dating back to the year 925, when Prince Wenceslas built a chapel on the site.

Once the principal mosque of western Islam and still known as the Mezquita, Cordoba’s mosque is one of the largest in the world and the finest achievement of Moorish architecture in Spain. In spite of later alterations that carved out its center to build a Catholic cathedral at its heart, the Great Mosque ranks withContinue reading “The Great Mosque of Cordoba (Mezquita, Spain)”

One of the most famous of Poland’s churches, this Gothic structure features two striking towers of different heights and surprisingly richly decorated insight, mostly thanks to the vibrant polychromy by great polish artist Jan Matejko. The greatest masterpiece is though the Main Altar by Veit Stoss – a late Gothic illustration for St. Mary’s andContinue reading “Bazylika Mariacka (Krakow, Poland)”