Tagged: architecture

“If It Is Not Closed, It Will Collapse”: Converted Hagia Sophia Is Now Crowded and Crumbling

The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul's iconic cathedral-turned-mosque-turned-museum-turned-mosque, will begin charging foreign tourists an entrance fee starting January 15, 2024, Turkish…

Chip and Joanna Gaines' Hotel Opens This Fall, Cementing Their Waco Takeover

Waco, Texas, takes another step toward becoming Chip-and-Joanna-Gainesville this fall. The married stars of the home-renovation series Fixer Upper have developed and designed their own…

Marie Antoinette's Private Rooms at Palace of Versailles Now Open for Tours

At the Palace of Versailles in France, members of the public may once again step behind the gilded paneling of the Queen's State Apartment and into the two-story suite of rooms used by…

Boston’s Prudential Tower Observatory, View Boston, Ups Its Game

Recent visitors to Boston may have noticed a dearth of publicly accessible views of the city from atop its tallest buildings. The tallest of all, the John Hancock Tower (now…

Is Milan Worth Visiting? Reasons to Linger in Italy’s Fashion Capital

Milan was once seen as a chilly northern city clouded in fog. Aside from the impressive and imposing 14th-century Duomo (pictured above), Milan’s treasures and attractions were less…

In Morocco, Discovering the Joys of ‘Blind Architecture’ and All Those Cats

When I got an invitation from the Moroccan National Tourist Office to travel and observe the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival, I leapt at the chance. For over twenty…

Hidden Places: 9 World Wonders You've (Probably) Never Heard Of

When it comes to many of the world's wonders that weren't on maps for a while—the citadel of Machu Picchu, the tombs of Luxor, the Delta Sky Club lounge at DFW—the secret is definitely…

PHOTOS: The Most Beautiful Churches in Paris

Novembrer 16, 2022 Badly damaged by fire in 2019, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen in time for the city's turn hosting the Summer Olympics in 2024, French government officials…

PHOTOS: Go Inside the Grandest Homes in London

Royal palaces aside, the historic homes of London are usually overshadowed by their stately country cousins (your Blenheims, your Chatsworths, your Downton Abbey–inspiring Highcleres),…

Vast Sculpture in Nevada Desert Finally Opens After 50 Years

An immense outdoor sculpture that's been in the works for more than 50 years finally opens to visitors this week in the desert expanses of eastern Nevada's Basin and Range National…

What to See In and Around Dijon, France, If You Only Have a Few Days

You may not rank spices by their importance, but they do in Dijon. Local guides will tell you that while salt and pepper take the gold and silver medals, mustard is proudly in the…

How to Spend Two Days in Strasbourg, the Proudly French City That Looks Like Germany

Let’s say you’re visiting Paris and you’d like to see another side of France—or even another country in Europe—but you don’t have a lot of time and you don’t want to take a plane. The…

An 800-Year-Old English Landmark Finally Gets a Visitor-Friendly Makeover

One of the most historically significant buildings in England hasn't had much to offer visitors for about, oh, three centuries or so. The 800-year-old Clifford's Tower in the…

Why Now Is a Great Time to Visit Italy's Most Popular Cities

Rome, Florence, and Venice have signaled that they're ready to welcome visitors again after the pandemic lull—though residents understandably prefer the sort of measured tourism that…

The Best Dinner in Paris and Other Secrets from the Author of Our Brand-New Guide

Paris is a perennial dream vacation destination for many travelers. That's one reason why Frommer's has been covering the city for 65 years now, starting with our first guidebook,…

Frommer Guide Flashback: Why Is Barcelona's Sagrada Família Still Under Construction?

The first Frommer’s guidebook, Europe on 5 Dollars a Day by Arthur Frommer, was published in 1957. In our series of Frommer’s flashbacks, we’re revisiting noteworthy places featured in…

Slip Slidin’ Away: Venice’s Too-Slick Glass Bridge Getting a Stone Makeover

We're not structural engineers or anything, but putting an arched footbridge made out of a notoriously slippery substance in the middle of a famously soggy city seems like a surefire…

Offices at Helsinki’s Grand Railway Station Have Been Turned Into a Hotel

Helsinki's central train station frequently appears on lists of the world's most beautiful railway terminals for its art-nouveau design by Eliel Saarinen (not to be confused with his…

Giant Star Added to the Top of Barcelona’s Still-Unfinished Sagrada Família

Barcelona's La Sagrada Família received a (literally) dazzling new addition this week: a giant, illuminated star on the top of the still-unfinished basilica's second-tallest…

Float Over Dubai in the World’s Highest Infinity Pool with Wraparound Views

You can now take a soak while soaking in limitless views of Dubai's over-the-top skyline at a new infinity pool suspended more than 650 feet above the United Arab Emirates…

PHOTOS: The World's Most Impressive New Skyscrapers

A stunning addition to the already iconic harborside skyline of Sydney, Australia, has been named the world's best new skyscraper. The 890-foot-tall One Barangaroo tower (pictured…

From Souks to Skyscrapers: Astonishing Then-and-Now Photos of a Middle Eastern Metropolis

The Middle Eastern nation of Qatar gained its independence from the British in September 1971. In the 50 years since, this tiny nub of land on the northeastern coast of the Arabian…

Havana Blues: Photo Book Celebrates Cuba’s Vibrant Capital

Visiting Cuba remains a complicated endeavor for U.S. travelers, owing to the six decades of strained relations between the two countries. But a new coffee-table book from luxury…

34 Natural and Cultural Wonders Added to UNESCO World Heritage List

Europe's historic spa towns, a railway that crosses two Iranian mountain ranges, a prehistoric Peruvian calendar, an Indian temple, a French lighthouse, and a collection of Arabian…

9 Ghost Towns to Explore During Road Trips Through the American West

To the triumphalist tale of America’s westward expansion, ghost towns offer a chilly rejoinder: Sometimes things don’t work out. The gold mine runs out of gold, the train begins…