Smag31

Linderhof & Herrenchiemsee Linderhof Castle Linderhof’s history began as a hunting lodge of Maximilian II that Ludwig II had dismantled and reassembled in the park in 1872. Originally planned as a second Versailles, the castle turned out to be far more modest in scale, albeit designed in a delightful and whimsical neo-Rococo style. Linderhof Castle … Read more

An idealized vision of a knight’s castle on the outside and a homage to Wagner’s operas on the inside, Neuschwanstein was Ludwig II’s most ambitious project. During the same period, he commissioned Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee, two castles in the French style. More than 50 million visitors have admired these fairy-tale castles since they were built … Read more

Occupying the northwestern edge of the Magnolia headland north of Elliott Bay, Discovery Park is Seattle’s largest and most varied in-city escape. Even though the US Army’s Fort Lawton sold surplus base territory to the city, Army Reserves still use a portion of the park for training and officers’ quarters. At 534 acres, the park … Read more

Designed in 1909 by architect John Olmsted, this is one of the oldest zoos on the West Coast. Occupying an area of 92 acres, the landscape offers a natural habitat for nearly 300 animal species. Reflecting a naturalistic mission to advocate conservation and education while imparting the value of an ecological perspective, the animal habitats … Read more

Barcelona’s Modernista movement reached its aesthetic culmination in this magnificent concert hall (1905–1908), designed by renowned architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The lavish façade, ringed by mosaic pillars and brick arches, just hints at what awaits within. Domènech’s “garden of music” (as he called it) unfolds beyond the front doors, with each surface of the … Read more

Pay homage to the 20th-century’s most acclaimed artist at this treasure-filled museum. Highlighting Pablo Picasso’s (1881–1973) formative years, the museum boasts the world’s largest collection of the artist’s early works. At the tender age of 10, Picasso was already revealing remarkable artistic tendencies. In 1895, aged 14, he and his family moved from the town … Read more

This shrine to Canada’s favorite sport celebrates all things hockey, including those who have achieved greatness in the game. Housed in part in a beautiful former bank building dating to 1885, which is incorporated into BCE Place, this Hall of Fame contains the most comprehensive collection of hockey artifacts and memorabilia in the world, among … Read more

Named after Canadian retail legend Timothy Eaton – whose mail-order catalog and department store, Eaton’s, was a beloved national institution until 1999, when the company declared bankruptcy – this multi-story shopping center is the quintessential downtown mall: big, busy, and boisterous. Opened in 1979 and heralded as the anchor that would transform down-at-heel Yonge and … Read more

One needn’t be a fervent patron of the arts to be wowed by the Gardner Museum. Its namesake, who travelled tirelessly to acquire the pieces now housed here, opened the museum in 1903 to befit (some would say to rival) her staggering collection. The 15th-century, Venetian-style palazzo is a veritable feast of artifacts, art, and … Read more

Boston has a knack for creating curious visual juxtapositions, and one of the most remarkable is in Copley Square, where H. H. Richardson’s 19th-century Romanesque Trinity Church reflects in the blue-tinted glass of the decidedly 20th-century John Hancock Tower. The breathtakingly beautiful church was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971 and has earned the … Read more

Paintings in the Met Self-portrait Rembrandt (1606–1669) painted a self portrait each decade of his career. In this moving study from 1660, when he was 54, he portrayed age very honestly. View of Toledo Darkening clouds set an eerie mood for one of El Greco’s (1541–1614) most memorable paintings, depicting the capital city of the … Read more

One of the world’s great art museums, the Metropolitan is a veritable collection of museums, spanning 5,000 years of culture from every part of the globe. Each of its specialized galleries holds an abundance of treasures. It was founded in 1870 by a group who wanted to create a great art institution in America, and … Read more

New York’s “backyard,” an 843-acre swathe of green, provides recreation and beauty for over two million visitors each year. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1858, the park took 16 years to create and involved the planting of over 500,000 trees and shrubs, the hauling in of vast amounts of stone and … Read more

Today Paris’s beautiful Panthéon building is a fitting final resting place for the nation’s great figures. However, it was originally built as a church, on the instigation of Louis XV to celebrate his recovery from a serious bout of gout in 1744. Dedicated to Sainte Geneviève, the structure was finished in 1790 and was intended … Read more

Today one of the world’s most famous pieces of modern architecture, the Pompidou Centre opened in 1977, when architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano startled everyone by turning the building “inside out”, with brightly coloured pipes displayed on the façade. Designed as a cross-cultural arts complex, it houses the excellent Musée National d’Art Moderne (Modern … Read more

This graceful mansion, on the banks of the Potomac River, is the second most visited historic residence in America after the White House. George Washington spent part of his childhood here and returned after his presidency. With many of the buildings and activities brought back to life, no other place better portrays the character of … Read more

Palazzo Altemps Collection Garden of Delights Loggia The loggia frescoes (c.1595) are a catalogue of the exotic fruits, plants and animals then being imported from the New World. Athena Parthenos The 1st-century BC Greek sculptor Antioco carved this statue to match the most famed sculpture in antiquity, the long-lost Athena in Athens’ Parthenon. “Grande Ludovisi” … Read more

The National Museum of Rome, with its excellent Classical art collection, grew too vast for its home in the Baths of Diocletian, which closed in 1981. In 1998 the collection was split between various sites, becoming a truly modern, 21st-century museum. The Ludovisi, Mattei and Altemps collections of sculpture moved into the gorgeous 16th-century Palazzo … Read more

Eats like royalty on a vegetarian cookery course in Turkey with the ultimate sea view. Sweet, syrupy, soft and with a textured, nutty finish – you haven’t tasted proper baklava until you’ve experienced Yediburunlar Lighthouse’s fresh and utterly delectable homemade version. With layers and layers of paper-thin pastry painstakingly rolled out by expert hands, it … Read more

Anassa, a glamorous thalassotherapy spa decorated with Roman mosaics and Venetian frescoes, nestles on one Cyprus’ fitnest beaches. It’s good for families, couples and singles wanting to escape to peace and nature.   The hotel The five-star spa has a Byzantine theme, reflected in its fountains, archways and cobbled courtyard; it even has a tiny … Read more