The Ancient Agora is where Athens feels most like a real, living city of the past rather than a collection of isolated ruins. Just below the northwestern slope of the Acropolis…

Scaligero Castle is the stone gateway to Sirmione, guarding the narrow neck of the peninsula that juts into Lake Garda. Built in the 13th century by the powerful…

Topkapı Palace is the place to go in Istanbul if you want to understand how the Ottoman Empire actually worked, not just how it looked in postcards. Spread…

Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences is the place where the city’s modern face really comes into focus. Laid out along the old Turia riverbed, this vast complex by…

The Prague Astronomical Clock, or Orloj, is the star of Old Town Square and one of Prague’s defining landmarks. Mounted on the façade of the Old Town Hall, it’s…

The House of the Black Madonna (Dům U černé Matky Boží) is one of those places in Prague where you don’t just tick off a sight – you step into a whole design movement…

Vyšehrad is Prague’s quieter citadel, a hilltop fortress above the Vltava that feels worlds away from the crowds around Charles Bridge. It sits just south of the…

The Louvre is less a museum and more a small city of art: over 35,000 works on display spread across a former royal palace beside the Seine in central Paris. Expect to feel a bit overwhelmed at first – that’s normal.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica sits at the highest point in Paris, at the top of Montmartre, and is one of the city’s most visited landmarks. Built between 1875 and 1914, it’s…

Les Invalides is one of Paris’s most recognizable landmarks, its golden dome catching the light from almost anywhere along the Seine. Yet what makes it truly…